Page 116 of Voices

“You want me to do that while you hold him? I think there’s something on his back causing him pain.” He lifts the collar of his blood-stained shirt and looks down at his back. “I don’t see anything but blood streaks.”

I take in a breath and slowly let it out as I change my stance so we won’t fall if Charlie pushes on me.

“Go ahead.” I give Ryder a nod and hold onto Charlie’s hips.

He leans over the sink to get a good grip on Charlie’s shirt then slowly tugs it down. The room is silent except for Charlie’s ragged breathing. Ryder slides the shirt further down his back and off his arms.

“Oh shit,” Ryder breathes out as he drops the bloody shirt on the floor.

I can’t see anything through the mirror besides dried blood.

“What is it?”

Ryder opens the first aid kit and pulls out tweezers. He leans over and slowly pulls a piece of glass out of Charlie’s back.

“There’s at least a dozen more. I’ll get the bigger pieces then he should soak in the tub for a little bit before we get the smaller ones.” He gently pulls out another jagged piece, dropping it in the garbage. He opens the vodka, takes a sip then pours some down Charlie’s back.

I squeeze Charlie’s hips when he jerks away from Ryder.

“Shh. I’ve got you, baby.” His panting breaths warm my chest through my shirt. He flinches as Ryder pulls a large piece out. “Almost done, beautiful.” I move some hair from his forehead and place a gentle kiss above his black eye.

“Okay, I think that’s all I can get without causing him more pain.” Ryder sets the tweezers on the counter and then places his hand at the base of Charlie’s head. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Charlie. I promise to find whoever did this.”

As he walks around me to leave, he puts his hand on my shoulder and whispers in my ear.

“I’ll let the guys know. Call out if you need help. I’ll be in the living room plotting Benji’s interrogation. There’s no way he didn’t know about this.” He pats my shoulder before leaving.

I don’t think Benji is responsible for this but there’s no way he couldn’t have known about it when he was with Charlie last night.

Charlie is still slumped against my chest, so I pull his butt closer to the edge of the counter and pull off his boxer briefs without letting him go. Picking him up, I carry him over to the steaming tub and gently place him in the warm water.

His one eye drifts open when I lean him back.

“Hey, beautiful.” I wipe away the blood on the side of his face. He doesn’t keep his eye open long as I drizzle warm water over his pale skin.

I grab my body wash and a cloth and start washing off every inch of his skin. I coax his sleeping body lower into the water so I can rinse his hair, feeling for any cuts. I don’t find any but something had to have caused all that blood on his face.

I lift him up a little and move his hair from his face and that’s when I see a cut along his hairline. It’s bright red and looks like it’ll start bleeding if anything touches it.

I blow out a breath to keep from breaking down. My sweet, beautiful boy doesn’t deserve this. He’s already gone through so much, battling his inner demons almost daily. I hope this doesn’t make him pull away from me again.

I let him soak until the water starts to cool off then pull the plug and lift him out of the tub. I grab my large towel and wrap him in it, then walk into my room and gently place him on my bed. He lets out a soft moan as I gingerly roll him to his stomach. My blankets are thick so they should be a good cushion for his bruised torso. I run back into the bathroom and grab the tweezers and first aid kit before returning to Charlie.

I cover his lower half with my throw blanket and kneel next to my bed. I spot a few pieces of glass shining in his skin, so I carefully pull them out, his warmed skin making it easier. Shining my phone’s flashlight over his inked skin, I pull out the other pieces I find. A few of the cuts start bleeding so I quickly wipe them up and apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Charliedoesn’t make a sound as I continue applying pressure and sticking gauze with surgical tape over the cuts.

I sent Ryder a text to come check if I missed any glass. After a thorough scan we both agree that we got it all. He helps me flip Charlie back over and get him under my blanket. He hands me two ice packs wrapped in hand towels, so I place them on Charlie’s ribs. I pull the blanket up to his chin and lightly brush my thumb over his black eye. Taking a closer look at the cut on his eyebrow, it doesn’t look too bad, so I rub some antibiotic cream over it. I move over to the cut on his hairline. This one is deeper and slightly bleeding. I use the antibiotic cream again and place three butterfly bandages over it, hoping it’ll stay closed as he sleeps. I place a light kiss on his chapped lips before standing up.

“Come on, man. Let’s let him rest. He’s going to be hurting when he wakes up and I know you won’t want to leave his side.” Ryder opens my door and motions me through it.

I leave my door cracked open and follow him to the kitchen where Matt is looking stressed out at the island and Asher is leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed over his chest, anger radiating off him.

Matt stands up and wraps me in a tight hug. “Is he ok? Did he say what happened? Can I finally beat the shit out of Benji?”

A low growl comes from Asher making Matt release me and back up.

“Sorry. They told me not to ask too many questions, but I forgot when you walked in.” He pops his knuckles nervously. “So…how is he?”

I sit down at the island and run my hands down my face. “He hasn’t said anything besides not wanting to go to the hospital. He has cuts all over his back from broken glass, a badly bruised torso, a deep cut on his head, and a black eye,” my voice catcheson the last part. I fight back the tears that have wanted to escape since I found him.

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