I smiled. “He said you punched him in the face?”
A slow grin pulled at her lips. “‘No, don’t touch the necklace, it’s my special present.’” Sage mocked Sawyer’s deep voice and clutched at her neck as if re-enacting the scene. “Homeboy was brainwashed. I knew then I had to get that thing off of him.”
Walsh chuckled and pointed to my eye. “You and Sawyer have matching shiners.”
Okay, I totally forgave Sawyer, because it wasn’t his fault, but somewhere deep inside of me I felt a little spark of joy at Sage punching him.
Walsh pressed lightly on my shoulder and I hissed. “Your back is still bleeding. I need to suture it.” Walsh probed my wound further and I whimpered.
Sage looked at me sadly. “Can’t we wait until we find a blade to cut off her cuffs?”
Walsh shook his head. “That could take us all night, and she’s lost a lot of blood. Her whole back is crusted with it. She needs suturesnow.”
Oops…
At that comment, dizziness washed over me. How much blood had I lost? How long until we could find a blade? Was this going to hurt? What could possibly hurt more than sticking a hot poker into the front of my shoulder?
“Were you?” He paused. “Shot or…?”
I nodded. “With an arrow, and then I burned it with a hot poker to stop the bleeding.”
Both of their eyes widened.
“Damn.” Walsh appraised me with pride.
“Just do it quickly please,” I said through gritted teeth.
Walsh nodded. “Sawyer sent a morphine patch, but I’m afraid with your cuffs on it might hit you too hard, like it would a human, and you won’t be alert enough to—”
I shook my head. “Is there Tylenol?”
He reached into a small red canvas med bag and gave me two pills with a bottle of water. I greedily gulped them down.
“Want me to wait twenty minutes until it kicks in?” he asked.
I chuckled. Two Tylenol weren’t going to do shit for the feeling of being sewn up while awake. “No. Let’s just get it over with.”
He appraised me with pride and nodded.
Sage reached out her hands and clasped them with mine, looking up at my face. She smiled dryly. “You almost shot me. Where did you get the gun?”
I chuckled, welcoming the distraction when I felt Walsh’s cold hands pinch the skin in my back together. “Met a friend in Troll Village. She gave it to meahhhhhh—” I screamed as sharp shooting pain sliced through my shoulder. Sage’s hand yanked from mine and clamped it over my mouth as sweat beaded my brow.
“He’ll be quick. Just breathe through your nose,” Sage cooed with her hand still over my mouth.
Another sharp pain stabbed into my shoulder and I half screamed, half sobbed. I didn’t think it would hurt this bad, but I was so wrong. It was like getting a lip ring torn out and then getting it re-pierced the same day. Too many wounds in one already sensitive spot.
“I thought you were a Paladin with that blue paint,” Sage commented. “Did your troll friend help you with that too?” she asked as two more short stabs entered my shoulder.
I just nodded, unable to focus on what she was saying, trying to keep conscious and as quiet as possible. Talking about Arrow right now was not a good idea.
“Done,” Walsh said. “I’m going to put some disinfectant on it. Shouldn’t burn too bad since I’ve already closed it.”
Oh hell no. The word disinfectant always meant burn like a motherfucker. Sage’s hand tightened over my mouth as cold liquid washed over my shoulder and trickled down my back. It felt like someone had poured gasoline on my back and lit it on fire. I had no more strength to scream, so I just huffed and groaned into Sage’s hand while squeezing her other in a death grip.
Sawyer suddenly surged into my brain and I whimpered as the pain in my shoulder finally eased.‘I fell asleep by accident. Why does it feel like you are being skinned alive! Talk to me, Demi!’I lay forward on Sage’s lap, breathing in and out softly as she stroked my hair. I felt sick, like I was going to vomit.
“All done. You’re okay now.”
