Page 87 of Hurt

“I’m not—”

“You are.” She glared at Willow until Noah took her arm, dragging her out.

She looked over at Kurt, but he was staring up at the ceiling and resolutely not making any eye contact.

Molly turned to Kurt. “I told you.”

He didn’t respond, just stared at the ceiling. His silence continued while she cleaned his head wound and pulled the glass from his cheek. With steady hands, she cleaned the small abrasions and lacerations on his face, not once faltering from the look in his eyes.

“How’s your back?”

“Not as bad as my front.”

She rolled him over anyway, checking the wounds from a few weeks ago. They had mostly healed into ugly flat lines on his skin. Scars that would follow him forever.

Propping up some pillows, she eased him up so he could breathe easier. She didn’t ask if he wanted some water, just laid the glass against his lips and helped him take small sips. The cool liquid felt good, but it was hard to breathe. He had to alternate breathing and drinking. Pain lanced through his sides, but he had felt broken ribs before. The collapsed lung would be more problematic. His brain was constantly trying to go into full panic mode, convinced it was not getting enough oxygen.

“You can’t keep living like this.” She sounded exhausted.

He didn’t look at her. He couldn’t. He couldn’t look at anyone anymore.

“I know.”

Sid brought over some pills. “Do you want something to eat first?”

“No.” He took the handful of pills from Sid and tossed them to the back of his mouth, swallowing down the rest of the water. He winced as the pills scraped down his bruised throat.

His ribs and lung were the worst of his injuries, but his throat was swollen and tender from Ezra’s choking. The head injury was bad, but he could sleep off a concussion. For now, his thoughts were slow and muddled, like he was walking through a fog. The room was spinning, and the thought of eating anything made him want to vomit.

“Can I borrow your cellphone?” Kurt asked once he had swallowed the pills.

Sid handed over the old flip phone and helped his sister collect her equipment.

“You won’t manage those stairs for a while, so get comfortable. I’ll have them bring you some blankets.”

They turned to leave, but Kurt stopped them. “Sid, I need a favor.”

Stooping down so Kurt didn’t have to talk too loudly, he spoke quickly.

Sid looked like he wanted to say no. He shook his head, but he saw the look on Kurt’s face then looked at the bruising around his neck.

“What about you?”

“I’m fine,” he lied again.

Sid didn’t believe him, but he picked up Molly’s remaining equipment and left.

When he was done, he dialed a number on the phone.

It rang four times before it connected.

“Noah is here,” he said as evenly as he could. “Has been here for weeks.”

Silence on the other line was followed by a protracted sigh. “I was under the impression he was spending time in Switzerland celebrating his high school graduation.”

“The little shit lied.”

Luther Elliott didn’t say, ‘he got that from your side of the family,’ but they both knew he wanted to.