Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen

Skylar's POV:

Opening the first drawer as fast as possible, I rummaged through the various things present inside, but failed to find the only thing I was looking for right now.

The first aid box.

I couldn't believe searching for such an obvious thing could prove out so hard in such a situation, an emergency. As much as I tried remembering where I had last kept it, I couldn't.

After what felt like hours, I finally spotted a small white box in one of the lower cabinets. Clutching it in my hands, I exited the kitchen and rushed back towards Caden.

"I'm not really good at doing this. Why can't we just go to the doctor?" I think my hands were shaking as I opened the box. "I'll probably injure you more."

And it was the truth, I really didn't trust myself with this. I remember how I had worsened the situation with that gash on my hand, wrapping it tightly in a bandage. What if I messed him up more than he actually was right now?

"Not the doctor. We can't go there." He furrowed his brows, leaning back against the couch he was sitting on. I didn't understand how he was even masking all the pain at that moment. Just looking at the bleeding wound on his arm made me panic even more.

I nodded slowly and ran my tongue over my dry lips. My palms were all clammy as I unrolled the thick white bandage. Caden was just being stubborn, and he was way more stubborn than me.

"All right." I nodded again, trying to reassure myself more than him. I truly sucked at this, the panic brimming inside me confirmed that.

As I sat down on the couch, facing him, I saw him inhale deeply before slowly taking off his shirt in one swift move. I stared at him with wide eyes, my mind screaming at me to focus.

I hadn't really expected that.

I found myself looking back at his arm then, at the bloodied wound just below his shoulder. And it was bad, so bad that it almost made me call the doctor myself.

"It'll hurt, all right?" I whispered to him, furrowing my brows in concentration.

I took a small piece of cotton, slightly dipped it in the disinfectant and started to touch his wound with it. I hadn't even touched his arm when I noticed my trembling hand.

You can do it, Sky.

"I c-can't!" I pulled my hand away. I looked like the biggest coward right now. I didn't even know why I was scared. Maybe because I thought I would mess it up.

Caden looked at me with a frown, an odd expression clouding over his features, as if he too couldn't believe why I was being so scared.

I forced my eyes away from his and inhaled a deep, encouraging breath. "Never mind."

He didn't say anything at all. All he did was slightly hiss at the start, then he kept silent the whole way. If I were in his place, I would've been bawling my eyes out.

When I was done cleaning his wound, I took the large bandage and wrapped it slowly around his arm. It looked decent enough, not that messed up like before. A small shudder escaped my lips and I pulled away from him, my hands going limp on my lap.

"Does it feel better?" I asked him, my eyebrows still scrunched up in worry.

He leaned his head back against the couch, his hair falling over his forehead, drenched in sweat. He had his eyes closed and for once, I wished to see those green eyes. I wanted him to tell me that he was fine.

"What was...all that, Caden?" I asked slowly.

He was hurt, really bad. And I wasn't just talking about the wound on his arm, but also the bruises around his stomach. This wasn't normal at all. What had actually been going on between that blond boy and him? Was he really Aden's brother?

"Not right now." I broke out of my thoughts and realized how much exhausted he sounded at that moment. "I've got no energy left to explain this right now."

I stared at him for few more seconds before shaking my head out of the thousand questions circling inside me. This all was just too fucked up to even think about.

"You can stay here. You're not even in the state of standing up." I murmured before closing back the first aid box and standing up from the couch. Once I had placed back the box to its former place, I glanced back at Caden.

He didn't give any response to me though, so I took that as a yes. I knew that I shouldn't be doing this, but he was hurt. What kind of person would I be if I just told him to leave?

I couldn't possibly do that.

With a heavy sigh, I went inside my parent's room and picked out some clothes from dad's closet. Somehow, Chicken found her way towards me as I went back to the lounge, where Caden was.

"You can take a shower upstairs, if you want." I told him and he finally opened his eyes, his gaze trailing down to the fresh clothes in my hands. "And here are the clothes."

He didn't respond for a few seconds and I was almost about to open my mouth to say something else. But I didn't get the chance when he slowly took the clothes from my outstretched hand. When he stood up, right in front of me, my breath hitched involuntarily in my throat and I took a small step back.

He sidestepped me and my gaze flew over to his leather jacket sprawled at one corner of the couch. Chicken purred around my feet and I saw him disappearing upstairs before I looked back at his jacket.

The same jacket with a gun inside.

••••••

After about half an hour sitting here on the couch and staring at Aden's black jacket, as if some poisonous snake would jump out of it any second, I finally gave up. I had been thinking for a while about all of this.

Who was that blond boy—Blake? Why had Caden been threatening that girl in the first place? Caden told me he wasn't going to be coming at the homecoming, but he did come. Was that blond guy related to whatever gang Caden had told me about?

I wish I knew something. I hated when I didn't know anything.

When I just couldn't stand the uneasiness crowding inside me, I stood up from the couch and started heading upstairs to check up on him. Since the nearest room within the hallway was my own, I opened my bedroom door and went inside.

I was a bit surprised when I saw Caden lying down on my bed, passed out with the exhaustion, with his uninjured arm over his face. His hair was damp, pushed away from his forehead but still looking messed up. Even though he was wearing the sweatpants I gave him, he wasn't exactly wearing a shirt.

And since I wasn't really cleaning up his wound now, I couldn't help but let my gaze trail over his perfect body. A hot guy like Caden Miller was in my house, in my bedroom actually, and I wasn't even supposed to drool over him?

Once again, I had to shake my head out of it. This wasn't normal. Things were different right now. He was hurt.

By his own brother.

I slowly went towards him, picked up the comforter, and slid it over him.

Gangs and guns. East gang.

I slipped outside of my room once I had switched off the lights, and closed the door behind me. I leaned back against the nearest wall and rubbed my entire face with both of my hands.

Sooner or later, he'd have to tell me.