Once in the bathroom, I got Noah to lean against the sink, hands holding his weight although that seemed to take more effort than anything else. I started the water in the tub, adding a few bubbles and smelling salts.
“I’m going to undress you now.”
I got no reply, which I wasn’t expecting. I slowly took off each piece of clothing, telling Noah when to lift his arms or step out of his pants. With each piece that was removed, I saw more and more of things I’d never be able to wash away.
Cuts and bruises, deep ones at that. Some were fairly new, while others were older, scrapped, and ugly. His entire throat had hand prints around it.
It was a miracle that Noah was still alive.
“Oh, Noah.” I gave in, letting a single tear fall before I shut it all off. Me falling apart wasn’t going to help right now. Or ever.
Once his pants slipped off, I saw exactly why he was limping. His entire left leg was darker shades of bruising than anything else.
What the hell happened?
“I need to check this leg out, then we’ll get you into the bath, okay?”
This time, Noah nodded with a quick inhale.
Kneeling in front of him, I gently felt around his leg. Although he whimpered, nothing appeared broken. An x-ray would confirm that, but now wasn’t the time to push. I’d have time later.
“I know. All done.” I stood again, which put me a head shorter than the boy in front of me.
It took a bit of work to get Noah into the tub, but once he was in there, he sighed, letting out a long breath like he hadn’t had a moment to relax in months. For all I knew, he hadn’t.
“There you go. Just relax.” I ran a hand through his hair, knowing I’d have to make him sit up in a few so I could wash it. “I’m going to get some clothes. I’ll be right back.”
I made sure my steps were heavy enough that he could hear me moving around. There had been a time I was frightened of being alone, or not hearing those around me well enough. I wasn’t sure if it’d help Noah, but it was worth the effort.
I grabbed a shirt and pants for him before taking a detour to the kitchen. There, I got us both water and some pain meds before heading back to the bathroom.
Noah was nearly asleep in the tub, water to his chin. He didn’t bother to open his eyes as I sat the items down on the counter.
“Here, some pain meds.” Noah simply opened his mouth, letting me slide two red pills into his mouth before I tipped the water bottle up so he could get a good drink. “Good boy.” He seemed to melt more into the water at my praise.
“Can I wash your hair?” A single nod. It took a second more before Noah was able to sit up, arms loosely wrapped around his legs.
“Ash?”
“Yeah?”
“M tired.”
“I know sweetheart. I’ll try to be quick, okay?”
He nodded before resting his head on his knees. But then, Noah sat up more so I could wash his hair.
Trying and failing to ignore the marks along his back, I quickly washed his hair out, scrubbing as hard as I dared against his scalp. I couldn’t be sure if there was more than one spot that had broken skin, and I didn’t want to cause him more harm than he’d already been put through.
“All done.”
Noah’s eyes shifted enough to open as he forced his body to stand. Helping him step out of the tub, I quickly wrapped a towel around his body before unplugging the blood-colored water. That’d be something I’d think about later.
“I have one question I need to ask?”
Noah’s shoulders went to his ears as his eyes opened wide at the floor.
“Is there anywhere that hurts that I can’t see right now?” Would he understand what I was asking?
