“No!” Levi screamed again, but I ignored him and pulled him to the sink and turned the water on. But he was fighting me so much that I knew I’d only end up hurting him more if I forced his hand under the water.
“Levi, stop,” I said, but he only fought me harder.
“It’s not who I am!” he cried.
Guilt tore through me as I realized I’d done this to him.
Because I hadn’t been willing to listen.
And because I’d been waiting for proof that he wasn’t a good man. I’d condemned him to try and ease my own conscience.
“Baby, I know,” I said as I released his arm and grasped his face between my hands. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance to explain. But please, please let me help you.”
Levi began to cry. “I’m not like them!” he said brokenly.
I had a good idea of whothemwas. “Levi, I know you’re not,” I said quickly. My heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest. Every second that shit remained on his skin, the more damage it did. “Baby, please, let’s get it off and then we’ll talk.” I kissed him softly and tasted tears.
Levi finally nodded his head even as more tears fell from his eyes. I quickly adjusted the temperature of the water so it was lukewarm and then turned down the pressure so it wouldn’t hit his skin with too much force. I choked back a sob when I put his wrist beneath the flow of water. The foam disappeared and immediately revealed a large oval burn that was black along the edges and an angry, splotchy mix of uneven skin that ranged from black to pink to red in color. Bile rose in my throat as I realized just how many layers and layers of skin had been burned away. I was tempted to use myhand to try to clean the wound since it seemed like not all the oven cleaner was coming off, but I didn’t want to risk causing more damage. Levi was quiet as I worked, but I knew he had to be in extreme pain.
“Leave your arm under the water, okay?” I said as I began searching for a clean towel. I grabbed one from beneath the sink along with a roll of paper towels. Once I returned to Levi’s side, I realized he was starting to mentally check out. “Baby, I need you to stay with me,” I said as I gently put my hands on either side of his face. The move seemed to help him focus, but instead of speaking, he merely nodded.
I quickly folded several pieces of paper towel into squares and then got them wet. “Levi, I’m going to cover the burn with the paper towels and then wrap a regular towel around your arm so we can keep the area wet until we get to the hospital.”
“Hospital?” Levi said and immediately began shaking his head. “No, I’m not going to the hospital.” He started to pull his hand back so I carefully grabbed his arm to keep it under the water.
“The burn is really bad…bad enough that I think it will get infected if it isn’t treated properly.”
“We have to finish making dinner,” he said quietly. I was beginning to think he might be in shock because he seemed out of it.
“I’ll call Father O on the way. I’m sure he can ask Sherry or Patrick to come in early…we finished most everything anyway, remember?”
Levi managed a simple nod.
“So, you’ll go?” I asked, not sure what I’d do if he said no.
Another nod. “Please don’t tell Father O what I did.”
“I’ll just tell him you burned yourself while cooking.”
“I just wanted it gone, Phoenix,” he whispered suddenly.
“I know you did, baby. Let’s just get you to the hospital so they can get you feeling better, okay?”
“Yeah,” Levi murmured.
I got the injury wrapped as best I could and then led Levi to my car, locking the soup kitchen door behind us. Once I had Levi settled, I called Father O and told him the story I’d come up withto cover for Levi. I was certain lying to a priest had to count as some kind of sin, but since I’d been doing it from day one, I figured adding another falsehood to the list wasn’t going to matter much.
The ER was a zoo when we arrived, but fortunately we didn’t have to wait too long after seeing the triage nurse. But as I got up to go with Levi to be examined, Levi dealt me yet another blow when he said, “Can you stay out here?”
I nodded, but said, “You sure?”
He nodded and then followed the nurse down a hallway through a set of automatic doors. I dropped back down into a waiting room chair to begin the wait. I kept replaying the moment in my head when I’d discovered that damn tattoo. Instead of hearing Levi out, I’d turned my back on him.
So much for earning his trust.
The minutes turned into an hour and then another. I’d had enough sense to call Levi’s work, since I hadn’t been sure if he had his phone on him. I’d spoken to his boss, who’d merely introduced herself as Betty, and explained that Levi had had an accident. The woman had been beside herself with worry, but after promising I’d have Levi call her as soon as he was feeling up to it, she’d settled down and told me to let Levi know to take as much time off as he needed.
I suspected it would be a challenge getting him to take off even the one night.
