Page 112 of Bones
“Yeah, me too. Griz is tired of seeing your naked ass,” she grumbled, “so we get to play nursemaids.”
I swallowed down the "hell no" I longed to spit out, reminding myself it didn't matter. So I gave a short nod and then winced at the movement.
“Gods, stop moving your head. They didn’t shred up your tongue. Use that, dumbass!” Raven snapped open the blanket she’d been carrying. It was a quilt, worn and faded, but much thicker than the pathetic blanket I had. She laid it over me without a word, tucking it in around my body in a gentle, maternal move that startled me.
I brushed my fingers over the soft material. It smelled good, like my lavender soap and something…something that reminded me of Trey.
Raven turned on her heel and started cleaning the clinic, giving Sky orders as she went. I was taken aback at the effort she put into making sure everything was spotless. After about an hour, she and Sky managed to get me up and take me to the outhouse. It wasn’t any less humiliating to have Raven pulling down my pants and helping me position on the outhouse hole, but she surprised me again by not making any cruel comments about my vulnerable state.
"With Sam and the kids at the bunkhouse, it's pretty crowded in there," she said like I wasn't struggling to wipe my own ass. "So me, Sky, and Griz are moving into the clinic for now. Trey, Jax, and Mac are in charge of Sam and the kids."
I didn’t miss the way her eyes cut to my face when she said Trey’s name.
“I’m sure Apple will be here most days. That child is obsessed with you. Trey had to promise she could come help during the day before she stopped sneaking out at night and coming over here.”
I remembered all the times I’d woken in a haze of pain to see Apple sitting with me and bit back a sigh of exasperation. I didn’t know she’d been sneaking out.
“We got the kids out before they brought you back, so they didn’t have to see your back hanging off your bones like bloody ribbons.”
I blanched and she laughed humorlessly.
“You think it’s badhearingabout it? I had to help piece you back together. Hard to stitch someone up when there’s not much left to stitch to.”
My stomach turned, but she helped me stand and pulled up my pants for me.
“We gotta get you a skirt,” she muttered. “Course the boys never thought of that, the idiots.”
Once I lay on my mattress again, she sent Sky out to find me a skirt and yelled at Griz to get his ass inside to help change the dressing on my back.
“Hey, Bones,” Griz said as he stepped into the clinic, “is Raven behavin’ herself?”
“Don’t you start,” Raven snapped. “I’m here, ain’t I?”
I stayed quiet, my cheek resting on my flat pillow. The short walk to the outhouse and back had left me exhausted. I needed to get my strength up.
Griz and Raven crouched on opposite sides of my mattress and helped me sit up enough to start unwinding the bandage around my torso. The dressing had to be changed twice a day. The first time Griz did it, I just about lost my shit. If it’d been anyone else, I don’t know if I would’ve let them without an actual fight, but Griz remained patient and calm, explaining until I let him continue. He kept his eyes averted from my chest and had me lay down on my stomach again as soon as he removed the bandage. When he changed the dressing, I passed out from the pain, so I wasn’t uncomfortable for long.
Now having done this routine half a dozen times, I’d gotten slightly used to sitting with my whole fucking chest exposed.Slightly.Raven's eyes dipped to the brand on my chest and my face burned, but she didn't say anything. Half the fucking hold had probably seen it along with most of my chest when I got whipped. I didn't care so much about my naked body. A body was a body, and I’d seen many working as a healer. But the brand on my chest wasn't just a scar. It would forever be a mark of pain, humiliation, and shame.
“This is so fucked up,” Raven muttered as Griz showed her how to peel the old dressing off.
It hurt like hell, but I stayed conscious.
“To put it lightly,” Griz muttered back.
“You don’t have to—” I mumbled.
“Bones, shut the fuck up,” Raven interrupted. “You can’t do this by yourself so don’t even fucking go there.”
I swallowed hard.
“It’s ok, Bones,” Griz murmured, “Raven’s mad at Madame, not you.”
Raven made an angry noise through her teeth that confused me further.
They finished, wrapped me back up, and helped me lay back down. I started to drift off right away, completely spent. I heard them cleaning up by the sink, and I listened with my eyes closed, comforted by the familiar sounds.
“How’s Trey?” Raven whispered.
