Page 19 of Nightcrawler
“Thanks, Trigg.”
“No problem. Here.” He took my hands, and I hauled him out of the chair and then helped him into bed. It wasn’t easy for him; I could tell he was in pain. “Here…sit on the side of the bed so I can undo those wrappings,” I said. “I’m not going to take off the bandages but at least I can see if you’re bleeding enough to change them.”
“I really don’t want to bleed on your sheets again,” he said as I bent over him and began unwrapping the large compression bandage Vonne had put on earlier. I caught a whiff of his shampoo as I worked and let the scent wash over me. After checking his bandage and finding only a little blood had seeped through, I rewrapped him.
“How’s that?”
He nodded. “Good, thanks.” When he paused, I could tell something else was on his mind. He looked up at me. “I hate to ask but I could really use another trip to the bathroom. Do you want to stand on the other side of the door again?” He smirked at me.
I cracked a smile. “Asshole.” I stood there while he got to his feet, keeping a close eye on him in case he needed my help and when he looked like he was trying to steady himself, I slipped an arm around his waist and walked with him to the bathroom. He went in and shut the door between us. I grabbed a clean towel and a washcloth and was waiting for him when the door opened again. I held them out to him. “Here. I figured you might want to wash your face or something.”
“I appreciate that. What I really want is a shower, but I guess that’s off the table,” he replied, taking the towels.
“Vonne will be here in the morning, and he can give you some waterproof bandages and Tegaderm to put over them so you can shower if you really need to, but I think sponge baths would be better for a while.”
He glanced at my tiny shower, barely large enough for one person. He sighed. “What I wouldn’t give for a long soak in a huge tub.”
“I don’t—”
He smiled and squeezed my bicep. “I was kidding, Trigg.” He held up the towels. “This will do just fine until I get home to my own place. Thank you.”
“Yeah, okay.” I turned and walked over to my dresser, pulling out my largest sleeveless T-shirt, bringing it back to the open door of the bathroom. He was standing at the sink, checking his teeth in the mirror. “When you’re done, I’ll help you into this T-shirt. It’s loose enough that we should be able to get you into it without much trouble.” He sent me a thousand-watt smile before turning on the faucet. I stood there hovering over him as he washed up and then pointed to the medicine cabinet. “There’s some deodorant in there.”
“Thanks, Trigg. I feel weird putting you out like this.”
“You’re not putting me out at all,” I said, reaching up and running fingers through my hair.
“You do that when you’re uncomfortable or nervous,” he said.
I dropped my hand, wondering a little about how nice it felt that someone could be that perceptive. No one had noticed anything about me in a very long time. In fact, after my parents died, I’d taken pains to hide things that threatened to betray my feelings, even sticking to casual hookups with guys I picked up in bars. Cassidy Ryan was probably the only person I’d ever met who saw the little things everyone else ignored. Other than him, only the guys in my unit had seen me express genuine emotions.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel nervous, Trigg,” Raven said. “I guess you think I’m just a busybody or something. Or maybe I’m just getting too personal. Anyway, I’m sorry about it.”
I smirked.
“What?” he asked, wiping his face.
“You have a nervous tic yourself,” I said.
“I do not,” he protested.
“Yeah, you do.” I chuckled. “You ramble when you’re nervous.”
“I do not!” He looked back in the mirror, and I caught the ghost of a smile in his reflection.
“You do.” I stepped into the bathroom and opened a drawer, pulling out a razor and a cheap hotel toothbrush still in a wrapper. “You might need these.”
He stared at me for several seconds before smiling at me. When his gaze dropped to my lips, I stepped back. “Thanks, Trigg,” he said to my back as he began brushing his teeth.
I went back into the living room. Stanley was sitting in the middle of my clean bed and I walked over, picking him up and cuddling him, almost surprised at the confirmation Raven Mathis was gay. He’d said he had to call someone and it sounded like a female but no guy looked at another guy’s mouth unless they had ideas running through their head about what they wanted to do with it. The bar bells had gotten me thinking but considering everything that had happened today, and what he’d said about not being married, I hadn’t been sure before now. I had to wonder at how out of practice my gaydar was though, that I hadn’t picked it up sooner. And whether he was in the closet. I grimaced at the thought.
“Trigg?” Raven called.
I set the cat on the ground and walked back to the bathroom. He was clutching the edge of the sink and when he turned to me, I could see how pale he was.
“Oh, shit. You, okay?” I walked into the bathroom, and he pivoted to face me a second before his legs gave out. I caught him before he hit the floor but only barely. He cried out as I grabbedhim, and I realized my hand was over at least one of the wounds. I repositioned him and held him against my side. He looked up at me and I could see the exhaustion in his eyes.
“I’m gonna need another painkiller, Trigg.”