Cover Up
He shoved a thermometer in my mouth and moved to the edge of my bed to wait for it to ding. I was making weird faces every time he would over which made him laugh and smile. A bang at the door made us both jump. He got up to answer it. The warden walked in.
“How’s your patient?”
“Weak and in pain.”
“I just need him alive.”
“Sir why do you come so late?”
“I deliver good news. There is a short visiting day tomorrow just a few hours. So the waking time is going to be earlier. Friends and family will be visiting in you rooms so they will need to be cleaned. And all patients need to be clean. I came to personally say to make sure he looks alright.”
“Can do,” the thermometer started beeping.
“I have something to cover him up. No bruises or marks can be showing.”
“I can do that.”
“I will be checking in before they arrive.”
“Mind if I use my body heat to raise his temperature.”
“Will this affect your treatment?”
“No. I learned better. You taught me well.”
“Glad to hear. Go ahead use whatever you need.”
“I just did not want you to see me laying here and suspect something.”
“Thank you for asking. That was the right thing to do.”
He left and I heard the several locks relocking. Charlie walked back to where I was seated and removed the thermometer from my mouth.
“We are going to have to redo it. The temperature is gone.”
“Great.”
“I technically just got permission from the warden to sleep with you.”
“That was an interesting wording for that sentence.”
“I know.”
He put the thermometer back in my mouth and waited until it beeped. I could tell he was not happy when he read the temperature.
“What?”
“Still too low. Little below ninety-seven.”
“It will raise soon.”
“Hopefully. Time for me to tell you something. What do you want to know?”
“How you got into the medical field at such a young age?”
“I wish there was a better story than they were the books on my shelf and I got bored.”
“That was a bad story.”
“I think we need to go to sleep. Mind if I use my body heat again.”
“Not at all.”
He knocked on the bars for a nurse to shut off the lights and then took off his clothing before laying closer to me. Soon enough he matched his body up with mine. I felt his warmth as I drifted off to sleep. I woke up and just look at him thinking that I was lucky to have a good friend in this hard time. Minutes later there was a rattling on our door and someone had dropped off a bucket of soapy water, two sponges, and one plate of food. Charlie got dressed and grabbed the items from the door. He handed me the plate after helping me up but I could not bring myself to eat it.
“Echo you have to eat. This is your first meal in forever.”
“You eat it. I will be sick if I do.”
“Please.”
“I will eat this bread.”
“That’s a start.”
We moved the bread off the tray and handed him the rest. As soon as the bread hit my empty stomach, I wanted to be sick. We both ate our food with no talking he was continuing to sketch something in his book. The nurse came back for the food tray just ten minutes later. He got on the ground and began to scrub the lower walls.
“Let me help you.”
“I’m okay.”
He turned back to his work but I could not let him do this alone. I painfully pushed myself to the edge of the bed and up onto one leg. He turned around and was beside me in seconds.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?”
“Like you are hurting yourself,” he sat me back down.
“This does hurt me but I feel bad.”
“Don’t worry. I have done it before by myself so it’s fine.”
“Okay. I just didn’t want you to think I am lazy.”
“I know. Now stay here. Don’t cause any more pain for yourself.”
“Just call over if you need anything.”
He went back to wiping off one of the walls. I watched him quickly finish the entire room. He works extremely fast when focused. The same nurse came around an hour later to take that bucket of water. The warden came in holding another bucket of cleaner water and some soap.
“Thought I would bring this to you personally. How is he?”
“Temperature back up to normal, still extremely weak, and a tad bit shaky.”
“Good. Here is the cream to cover up everything. I will checking that nothing is showing. Everything everywhere has to be covered. We cannot have anyone seeing him like this,” he motion towards me.
“Can do sir. You won’t see anything.”
“I better not. You get yours an extra hour early so I expect the most.”
“You will get the most.”
“People will being checking everywhere on him no matter if it is covered or not. Get every last crevice of his body.”
“Everywhere?”
“I know it sounds strange but yes. I can get a nurse if you want.”
“No its fine sir.”
He left the room after handing Charlie a few bottles of something. Charlie sat down on the edge of his bed and began to wipe off his legs and arms with the soap and water.
“The warden seems to like you the best.”
“My parents have money so therefore he gets money.”
“Then my family must be really, really poor.”
He laughed, “Perhaps.”
“Can you pass me a cloth?” I moved to the edge of my bed.
“Yeah.”
He handed me a cloth and I dragged myself over to the sink. I leaned my entire body on the wall and hunched over the small sink. Once I found my balance I placed my cloth under the dripping water and wiped the dried blood off my chest. In the corner of my eye I could see him watching me.
“What?” I ask facing him.
“Nothing. There is a bucket of water right here.”
“I know,” a headache just hit my mind and I slid myself down into the corner, “but I’m cover in blood.”
“You alright?”
“Just a headache.”
“Drink some water.”
“I hate to ask but can you help me up?”
“Of course. Then sit over here.”
He came over to help me off the floor and then moved me back to my bed. He pushed over the bucket and I continued to do what I was doing. I thought I finished minutes later.
“You missed a spot.”
“Thanks. I am sure I missed a lot of spots.”
“I mean the blood on your face.”
“I cannot even see it.”
“Allow me.”
He came over to wipe off the blood. It stung a bit because I assumed the cut on my head is actually a big gash. He had his hand on the back of my head and had the strangest look.
“Can you turn around?”
“Yeah.”
I grunted in pain as I spun around. He was dabbing the back of my head with the wet rag which ever so often caused some pain. I was watching as the water was slowly growing a dark pink. I worrying that he was not speaking.
“The back of your head is split open. Might be the reason for the memory loss.”
“Agree with that.”
“Time to cover everything up now.”
“Ugh.”
“Don’t ugh me. I have to do this.”
“I know.”
“We are going to do your back first.”
He laid me down and rolled me over. I placed my head on my pillow.
“You don’t have much on your back so this should be quick.”
“Okay. Do what you need.”
“This is what I am putting on you,” he showed me a bottle of skin-colored cream.
“Okay.”
It felt weird for him to be rubbing this onto various marks on back but I do appreciate him doing it. He ran his finger down the center of my back sending chills in my body. At some point he found something on my calf. He rolled me back over and laid next to me.
“Partially done.”
“I am going to be in pain now.”
“Yeah. There are chemicals in here and warnings not to put it in open cuts.”
“Great.”
“Want to start low and work our way up?”
“Sure. This feels so weird.”
“Tell me if you need a break and I will stop.”
I slightly moved my head to kiss him before he started on the bruise on the lower half of my unwrapped leg. He moved my waistband of my undergarments and rubbed the cream on a bruise. My chest is literally one bruise. There is barely an area where there is not a bruise or a cut. He began on my lower stomach and waist area. He was taking his time doing little areas at a time. He took a break and started to trace circles on my side. I smiled at him as my mind was fading again.
“Hey, hey. No fading out on me.”
“I’m good.”
“Stay awake.”
“I’ll try.”
“Also I am about to test if your ribs are broken so hold on.”
He applied a little pressure in different spots. I gripped my sheets and shut my eyes trying not to scream in pain. He noticed the amount of pain I was in but continued to feel around. I released sheet when he stopped and opened my eyes. I blinked a couple times because my eyes were sore.
“Something is most definitely broken or severely bruised.”
“You think.”
“Don’t get sassy with me,” he jokingly said.
“I’ll get sassy with you whenever I want.”
“Oh really.”
“Yep.”
“I have my ways to deal with that,” he kissed me.
I kissed him back, “Can I have that break now?”
“Yes,” he continued kissing me.
I stopped him for a moment, “We should continue this later. He could walk in at any time.”
“You’re right. I will take a raincheck for tonight.”
“Shall we continue?”
“Thought you wanted a break.”
“Just want it over with.”
“Alright.”
He squeezed more out and continued covering the lower half. As soon as any cream touched my open wounds, I jumped. It burned. He stopped and looked up at me.
“Please continue.”
He continued despite being a bit hesitant to cause me pain. My entire chest when now looking somewhat patchy but normalish. He whispered sorry into my ear before moving on to my head. Carefully with one finger he dotted some cream on to the gash on my head.
“I no longer have a head ache.”
“That’s good.”
“I have a migraine so bad my head is pulsating.”
“That’s not good. Put this on your head the cold water shoulder help and close your eyes. It needs to go away in ten minutes or before the warden comes.”
I did what he said, “It’s not that bad so it should not take that long.”
“Just say quiet. Silence helps the mind.”
I closed my eyes and thought calmly. His hand moved up my leg to my stomach and then my chest. His touch sent a different kind of chill throughout my body. A good kind of chill. I felt a light kiss on my cheek.
“You know this does not help calm me. It makes my heart race.”
“Don’t know if that is sweet or not but I think it is,” I removed the cloth off my face but he placed it back on, “As much as I like you blue-gray eyes, this need to stay on you head.”
“Fine.”
I laid here with my eyes closed slowly erasing the pounding in my head. He had his legs laying across mine as he was sketching in his notebook. I could hear the soft sound of pencil on paper. It was quite calming actually until our door creaked open. I left the cloth on my head as Charlie got up to meet the warden. He subtly moved blanket to cover my body.