A Beautiful Reflection From Firework Eyes

Come At Me With Everything You've Got

There's dark blood flowing from a nasty gash across his cheek. I can see bruises littered across his arms, disappearing under the sleeve of his blood-soaked blue t-shirt.

"What the hell happened to you?" I ask as I help him to his feet.

"I couldn't use them," he manages to get out as I lead him toward his bed. "I just couldn't."

I help him sit down as he lets out a grunt of pain. "Just relax," I instruct as I cross the room, reaching for the first aid kit and a water bottle. The bed creaks as I sit down beside him.

"Can you take off your shirt?" I ask him, knowing he must be in pain.

"I think so," he says. It takes a few tries for him to, but he finally manages to strip off the blood-soaked fabric.

I gasp as the light hits his bare skin. His injuries are worse than I thought they were. Purplish black bruises are littered across his chest, possibly worse than the ones across his arms. A gash runs from his collar bone down to the bottom of his rib cage, another one running along the side of his arm.

"Damn," I mutter as I examine the cuts. They're deep. I wouldn't be surprised if he needed stitches.

"That bad?" he lets out a short laugh, wincing as he does so.

"This is gonna sting," I warn him as I rip open the package, the smell of antiseptic filling the air.

He eyes me cautiously. "You don't have to," he says. "I've had worse."

My body goes cold. "Worse?" I ask. He looks pretty damn bad right now, long slashes carved into his skin. "Kellin, what do you mean?" Last night flashes into my mind, the way he screamed at his father, and my stomach drops.

Kellin's eyes flicker away as he refuses to meet my gaze. "Nothing," he whispers. "Let's just get this over with." I know he's avoiding my question, but I let him brush it aside for now as I get to work tending to his wounds.

He lets out a hiss of pain as I run the wipe along the gashes. They're soaked in blood in an instant. "Ow," he mutters, trying to squirm away from me.

"Sit still," I scold him as I grab a towel, pressing it against the cuts. Hopefully, that'll stop most of the bleeding. He gasps, his face pale and drawn up in pain.

"I'm fine," he tries to move away from me, but I climb onto the bed, pinning him down beneath me.

"No, you're not. You're literally bleeding out. Shut up and sit still." At that, he finally does, watching me as I bandage his wounds best I can. It's not good, but hopefully, it'll work until his powers kick in.

"Can you get off of me now?" He whispers, and I instantly feel guilty.

"Sorry," I mutter, climbing off of him. I move to go toward my bed, but he suddenly grabs my wrist.

"No, uh," his face flushes. "Could you—uh stay with me? I just—don't want to be alone."

"Of course." I'm startled, but I'm glad he trusts me.

He shifts over, giving me enough space to lie down next to him. He rests his head against my shoulder, and I gingerly rest my arm over his chest, careful to avoid the cuts.

We sit in silence, me absentmindedly rubbing his shoulders as he leans against me. The buzzer goes off, followed by a click as we're left in mostly darkness, the only light flooding from the hallway.

"How did this even happen?" I ask.

"I couldn't reach them," Kellin murmurs. "They tried to make me use my powers, but I couldn't. I just couldn't." He sounds so frustrated. "They kept hurting me, but I still couldn't reach them."

"It's okay," I whisper to him as I trace circles on his shoulders, trying to calm him down. "You're going to be okay."

"You think so?" he whispers, his eyes closed.

"I'll make sure of it." It seems to work. He relaxes, leaning against me. Finally, his breathing evens out, and I can tell he's fallen asleep. I gently untangle myself from him, heading back toward my own bed, but I find myself missing the warmth of his body against mine.