Somehow repeating it to himself doesn’t make it sound any more real.
In the end, when Izz reaches out, gripping his wrist to tug him closer, he goes. No fuss. No resistance. He complies. Satan help him. He complies.
Fatigue is heavy in Izz’s features, in the sluggish way his eyes droop. “Can you stand on the other side . . .” the words trail off. But it was most likely somewhere along the lines of,‘so you don’t kill anyone.’
An exam table between himself and the others won’t stop him from getting to them and slitting their throats. But again. He complies. Prowling behind the table, pulling a chair over, and sitting by Izz’s side.
His gaze locks on the nurse cutting off the soiled bandages. And when Izz grunts in surprised discomfort, Sinn'ous nearly vaults the table to strangle her.
“S-sorry. I need to clean it,” the nurse stutters a nervous apology, her eyes flicking between her task and Sinn'ous.
“I’m okay. The pain’s not so bad,” his boy lies, pinching his eyes shut. And the way he instinctively turns to Sinn'ous in his time of vulnerable need. It’s enough to have his direct response ofkillkill kill, slip into a voice that doesn’t conduct his actions.
He takes his boy’s arm in both hands, fingers tracing over the soft skin there. Using the touch to ground himself.
Stay in control.
Stay in control.
“I’ll have to go shallower next time,” he’s unable to catch the words, they slip out in a murmur only Izz can hear.
Satan, I need you.
“I’ll stitch him up. His side is deep but nothing life threatening.” The nurse speaks directly to Sinn'ous. “He will need to take it easy for a few days, to allow the injury to heal. Does he have any others or just what I can see?”
“More on his legs and back—”
Reni’s voice cuts through the room, “you piece of shit. How could you do this to him? I thought you were supposed to be protecting him.”
“Reni. It’s fine. It was consensual—” Izz’s words are coiled in pain, and softly spoken. Sinn'ous’s temper threatens to burn back into existence, but his boy’s calm, collected response soothes him more than he’ll ever admit.
Consensual.
And it is. He makes a point of it being just that. Consensual.
Nothing done until Izz gives his consent. If he needs a push, and nudge to get to that, then that’s also what Sinn'ous will give.
“How the hell is that—” Reni gestures at Izz’s body “—consensual.”
“Reni, please leave.” Izz’s voice is strained by pain. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”
And the nurse backs Izz up. Interjecting with a professional dismissal. “Jasper is correct. You are not helping in this situation. I’ll ask you to step out of the room or be escorted out.” She has a tablet leaning against her hip. And appears to be set in the frame of mind that gets her through the day working on criminals in a prison system that would shove her name under a rug if one of those inmates decided to get nasty. Rape. Maim. Kill. And not strictly in that order.
Reni scowls at Sinn'ous but he does as the nurse professionally ordered, storming out of the room to wait in the corridor.
“Alright,” she takes a deep breath to ground herself, “I’m going to need him to undress so I can look over his entire body. If that’s okay with you. It will benefit his health to do so.”
In the end he gives his reluctant permission. He is good at cutting and killing, not at suturing and saving.
It’s straight forward from there. She works quickly and efficiently. Izz’s stripped naked. Every injury is assessed by a clinical eye that doesn’t once snap to Sinn'ous in judgment. Probably more to do with self-preservation than acceptance in what he does to his boy. However, she does send Izz a few worried glances.
She runs over hygiene practices, cleaning the wounds correctly, while suturing the largest of the cuts. The dos and don’ts. Basic stuff that Sinn'ous knows, but still absorbs all the information regardless.
His boy is given pills. And Sinn'ous is given instructions on what to look for in case of infection, and to come back to medical if he’s showing prolonged signs of pain.
He sends Izz out into the corridor alone, because if he sees Reni he is going to kill him. And killing him in front of Izz will drastically decrease the trust he’s cemented into his boy. And he needs that trust for what comes next. When they are no longer stuck in Sandstone Correctional.
58
