Down End Road

"OUCH!" I screeched, as the nurse jabbed a needle into my broken flesh. Once I had stepped into the manor, they had rushed me to the in-house clinic and shot me up with several doses of Medela concentrate.

They had said that I broke three ribs, dislocated my jaw and needed steri-strips on my leg. Overall, I was and felt broken. They had used the Medela gel, Alex had used on the scratches on my back, to heal up my other cuts.

However, my shoulder was a different story. The dart's fine tip had broken off into two and torn a deep cut in my shoulder blade. What was usually a minor scratch for everyone else, was a deep gash that required stitching.

"I need you to pull down the top of your suit." The nurse instructed, a bored look on her face. I begrudgingly did as I was told, rolling down the suit with a hiss. My favourite sports bra had a strap coated in my thick crimson blood.

I looked down and saw a bruise the size of a football pitch span across my stomach. Sore, ugly looking black, purple and blue splotches made my stomach resemble more of a toddlers art project than actual skin.

I groaned. The nurse stared wide-eyed at my mid-riff. Her throat bobbed with trepidation and I saw a look of sympathy and anger flare on her face. "This was never supposed to happen," she mumbled.

I heard a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the thin blue curtain. I narrowed my eyes and kicked open the curtain. Suddenly, not in the mood to suffer in solitude. The nurse scolded me about doctor-patient privacy. Her reprimands became a faint hum as I tuned her out.

"Trust me buddy we are in the same boat." My mind stopped when I saw a dark ripped back.

The muscles rippled with Alex's movements as he lifted his arms over his head. He turned his tall frame around a question on his tongue. His nurse nowhere in sight.

He lifted a brow. "Peeping Tom." Alex accused. I glared at him.

"What about you, eyes up here buddy." I teased, even though his gaze was trained on my face. He narrowed his eyes.

"Well we wouldn't have his problem if you had kept the curtain closed." Alex clarified. He moved to pull the curtain back, but I kicked his hand and stopped him.

"No! Don't do that I need to talk to someone." I whined like a child.

"Miss you need stitches, and medical tape and several more doses of Medela concentrate. And by the looks of him he might need a few himself." Nurse reprimanded, worry laced in her tone when she saw the fist shaped bruises that were smattered across his torso.

I felt an aggressive calm overcome me. I wanted to do twice that to whoever had hurt Alex. I swallowed the lump in my throat and pushed all murderous rage aside.

I pouted, "ah yes, but me having someone for moral support would make your job much easier. You know so I don't move and all that stuff." I encouraged.

Nurse narrowed her beady eyes. "Fine, but you must stay still." She conceded. Nurse tucked a strand of her ash grey hair behind her wrinkled ear. I beamed a blinding smile.

"See Alex, even the nurse, who by the way is the professional, agrees with me." I gibed. He screwed his eyes shut and sighed.

"Fine," He muttered, even though the ghost of a smile played on his lips. The nurse prepped a new needle, flicking the point and squirting out some of the green luminous liquid.

I sucked in a sharp breath. "Fighting men twice your size is fine with you, but needles that's what get's you to squirm, really," Alex scoffed.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't like needles. End of," I said, a haunted tilt to my voice. "But tell me, oh wise and non fearful one, why aren't you afraid of needles." I inquired.

"Me and Mavy used to reek absolute havoc in the training room, and outside of it, I got so used to being stabbed with Medela, needles barely bother me anymore." He clarified.

"Used to?" I laughed, he chuckled along with me, and I inwardly swayed listening to the melodious, attractive, rich sound.

I felt a sharp prick on my bruised stomach, I felt my eyes water as the tender fleshes' nerves screamed in agony. I released a deep breath when she took the long needle out of my skin. She prepped another needle and I felt myself teeter on the brink of tears, thinking about another needle penetrating the bruised skin.

"So what courses are you taking, you know for uni?" Alex distracted. I gulped and looked at him. I gripped my suit feeling the fabric trembling with my vice-like grip.

"English lit, business and Spanish." I recited, my hand still gripped the orange lycra. He thought over my lessons, his eyes hard and murderous when he glanced at my shoulder and stomach. I cleared my throat, his grim gaze made me squirm. He reluctantly dragged his weighty stare back to my blue orbs.

"What about you?" I croaked out through the pain of the needle in my leg. He winced when I did. Squirmed when I did. It was odd and unnerving.

"I was going to the Societies uni. The order of Jay... In California, Aveyard." He muttered, a look of regret flashed through his hooded eyes. I sucked in a sharp breath, the jarring pain all over my body forgotten, as a deep heavy weight settled in my stomach.

I had forgotten about life after the never ending summer. He would be off to California, me to London then Conneticut. Only ever seeing each other at the Societies social functions.

Not seeing each other everyday. Not talking everyday. Not... being close, constantly. I would probably be lucky to see him once a year after the summer.

The same pessimistic thoughts whirred through Alex's brain as he sat on the plastic bed solemnly. Nurse looked between us, suspicion and softness threaded in her beady eyed gaze. She smiled as if remembering a memory, her bony finger twirled a stand of her grey strands. A ruefully wistful smile on her face.

"California, that's hot. Pack swim trunks, you end up spending your life at the beach." I replied dismally. He let out a sad imitation of a laugh. His chocolate and whiskey gaze downcast.

"Brace yourself for the stitches miss." Nurse warned. I huffed, my eyes looking at everywhere but Alex. A pitter patter of footsteps alerted me to the presence of Alex's nurse.

He was a short man, his dark hair, stormy eyes and china doll complexion leading me to believe he had asian routes. His scrubs rustled with his movements. "Alright Alex, seems like you did a number on yourself. Again." The new male Nurse sympathised.

"Not as bad as her Jimmy." Alex diverted. Jimmy gave my injuries a once-over his assessing stare lingered on my shoulder. He walked over to my side. His hand poised to prod at my wound. He poked the torn flesh. I hissed, my shoulder retreated from his reach.

"Watch it Jimmy." Alex ground out. I felt a small elation at his over-protective behaviour.

"How did you get an arrow to the shoulder. They aren't permitted in the games." I stared at him strangely.

"The dart was broken off and it ripped up my shoulder it wasn't an arrow." I relayed.

"No, that is an arrow. If it was a dart even broken, it wouldn't leave marks like that." He directed. I clenched my jaw as I thought of the cheating little weasel. Alex's eyes widened a fraction, before they narrowed into slits, he had come to my same conclusion.

Alex glared a whole in the floor, thinking about the cheating weasel. Nurse came back with a needle and thread, a numbing agent and another dose of Medela concentrate and gel.

I thought over several different things at once. My brain spun round in circles, in tune with the roiling nausea in my stomach. Bile rose in my throat, before I grabbed the black bin and chucked up my lunch.

I heard a gasp, as Nurse rushed over to my crouched position, her gnarled fingers pulled up my hair. "You doing good down there Remington." Alex teased, a slight hint of worry in his voice.

"Perfectly fine," I said as I removed my head from the bucket and wiped the remaining sick from my mouth.

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Merry christmas!!!