chapter 43

"Shoot," you whisper.

You stand up shakily, and suddenly, Al's by your side.

"What the heck happened!?"

You turn your head sideways, sparing a glance at Al, but his face holds hints of reproachfulness. You feel something drop in your stomach.

You snap your gaze back to Ed, and you rush to him quickly, ignoring the tangy smell of blood, and flipping him over onto his back, where the source of the blood seemed to be.

His dark red cloak seems to be even darker, and there's a certain stickiness to it. You quickly pull the cloak off of him carefully and set it aside. You can feel Al's gaze hot on your back.

It's black undershirt is soaked with blood as well, and you don't know what to do. Brushing your fingertips against the hem of his shirt, you hesitate a bit. You're about to pull a shirt off of a guy, and it seems really wrong to you.

But the fact that Al is staring at you angrily from behind spurs you on, as it is very rare for Al to get so angry.

Slowly, and carefully, you begin to pull the shirt over Ed's toned body, showing more and more of his back. Soon, you slip the sticky, black shirt over his head and set it aside, next to his blood-soaked cloak.

There's a huge gash running along his spine, gushing blood. The liquid is already pooling on his back and slipping down onto the couch. You now realize why Ed had been so pale while you were carrying him, and where the scream of pain had come from while you were escaping from the crowd.

You turn to Al. "Where are the bandages kept again?" You ask him, avoiding his eyes.

Al turns around, avoiding your gaze as well. "In his room, inside the second to top drawer on the left, I think." He says, pointing towards Ed's open room door.

Without saying anything, you rush inside Ed's  room, fumbling with the doorknob to the door. You rummage in the drawer, finding not only bandages, but  anti-bacterial creams. random pills, and others. You grab everything that looked like it would be usefull, and rush back into the living room, where Al had knelt next to Ed, muttering.

You pulled the bandages out of the dumped materials and quickly scanned for the start of the roll. It doesn't take you long to find, and you begin to unwrap the untidy roll.

You place one end of the bandage just before his chest, and picking to wrap the entire roll around his body, taking care to be gentle with him.

When the entire gash is covered up, using up the entire roll of bandages, you use waterproof medical tape to tape down the end. You hear Ed groan a little, probably at the pain, but you ignore the sound.

Al is by your side, staring at Ed's unconscious body. You give him a sideways look, a bit wary because of his mood. You watch Ed for a while, and everything becomes silent. You wonder where the girl could be.

Ed's lying on his stomach, head to the side. His golden braided hair is messy, with many flyaways and loose strands. His eyes are closed, hiding the beauty behind, and his chest rises and falls as he breathes.

You sigh a but.

Suddenly, a voice speak.

"(Y/N), you should go... rest."

You jump a bit, retreating a bit from Al.

You watch as a bit of hurt flashes across his face, but it disappears as quickly as it had come.

"I... why?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's been a horrible day already. It's the twenty-fourth. Yes, its the day before Christmas, but its also three days before.. day. You need to rest up."

You stare at Al unthinkingly. In the chaos, you had completely forgotten about Christmas and day and the lunar eclipse. You give Al a small wary smile, suddenly feeling tired after Al's suggestion. You stand up and nod.

"Okay, but tell me if anything happens to Ed, alright?"

"Okay." He promises.

You turn around and head towards your own room, leaving Ed and Al by themselves in the living room. You shut the door behind yourself, and realize that it's already in the afternoon, as the clock states that it's 2:42 PM.

You decide to take a shower and read yourself of the sour smell of blood. Ed's blood. You wince a little at the thought and go to your small briefcase, where all your clothes are You pull out something simple, and head into the bathroom.

You lock the door behind her self and turn on the water. Slowly, as the water warms up, you strip yourself of the sticky, wet clothes and step inside the steamy shower.

It's a relief, really. The warm water helps relax you a bit, and you just stand under the water for a few moments, enjoying the warmth.

After a while, though, you pull out the shampoo and wash Your hair thoroughly. You apply conditioner, and as it settles, you use the body wash to cleanse yourself of the blood.

The warmth of the water makes you feel sleepy, but you know you can't fall asleep in the shower.

Soon, you step out of the shower, wrapping yourself in a white towel. You pat yourself try and make sure your hair is as dry as possible before putting your new clothes on.

You gather your old clothes and wash them in the big sink. The blood causes the water to run red, looking extremely creepy.

After rubbing off as much as possible, you leave your clothes soaking in the water in the basin of the sink.

You unlock the bathroom door, stepping outside, where the cold, not steamy air, greets you happily.

You collapse on your bed, and in moments, you're asleep.

*****

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~Sky-chan

Word count: 989 words