“Lena’s dead. Died three years ago. I didn’t know… I just went t-to see how they were doing and I found Blair in a… bad situation,” my daddy grinds out between clenched teeth. “C-can we talk about this later? I’m pretty sure I’m bleeding out.”
Daddy needs me. I have to move. I have to grab my backpack where the first aid kit is and get to his side quickly. But that man… Who is he? Will he hurt me? Did he do that to Daddy? Fear threatens to consume me.
The only reason I’m able to unfold myself and get to my feet is because I do the breathing technique Daddy taught me. I grab the backpack and force my feet to move towards both men.
The giant watches me in disbelief. I struggle between returning this intimidating man’s wide-eyed stare and wanting to not acknowledge him at all. There’s something about him that reminds me of that time I’d run out into the middle of the street just as a drunk driver had come barreling down the road. At that moment, time had felt suspended. All I could do was stare at the oncoming headlights. There was no time to react or to hope the car would swerve. All I could do was gasp. That’s what it feels like now as I approach this stranger.
As I come to a stop before my daddy, the stranger looks away from me. The minute his attention is elsewhere, I feel like I can breathe again.
“That’s a good girl,” my daddy says with pride. “Now Blair Bear, I… I need you to get the kit out, cut my shirt off, grab the tweezers, and pull the bullet from my stomach. Alright? Then you’ll need to disinfect?—”
“Wait a damn minute,” the stranger bellows, cutting off my dad and causing me to flinch away from him. “She’s like, five years old! You expect her to?—”
“I’m eight!” I correct with a scowl.
“—fucking dig a bullet out of you?—”
“Yup, and out of you too,” my daddy interrupts with a lopsided smile as if he’s not hurt or on a dirty floor with a stranger towering over the two of us. “Don’t worry, Ledger. She’s got steady hands and a strong stomach. Blair’s great with stitches too. I only had to show her a few times?—”
“No! This is a new level of fucked up. You taught her how to clean wounds and stitch you up? For what? In case something like this happened? God, you’re fucking twisted, Anchor.”
Daddy chuckles. “It’s a useful skill now, though, isn't it?”
“She’snotdoing this, Anchor!” the man shouts. “Fuck, I can…”
The giant suddenly staggers to the side before going down on one knee. He reaches up and covers the bloody spot on his shirt, by his left shoulder.
“Shit, Ledger?” Daddy turns his head to face the man, his voice twisting with concern.
The man, Ledger, waves a dismissive hand before he growls out, “I’m fine. I’ve had worse.”
“Blair Bear, come here. It’s time to get to work,” my daddy orders, looking back at me. “You remember how to do this? What we went over?”
With a nod, I lower myself to my knees beside him and open my backpack. Daddy had shown me how to pull bullets out of all sorts of stuff and how to stitch up the skin afterwards. It’s one of the first things he taught me. I pull the first aid kit out and place it beside me.
The giant glances over at me with a grimace. I cringe away from him but don’t stop pulling the supplies I’ll need from the kit.
“Don’t worry about Ledger, Blair. He’s one of the few good ones in this world,” Daddy says softly. “He’s practically my brother. You gotta help him too, after me, okay?”
“Anchor…”
Daddy waves a hand weakly in dismissal of whatever Ledger is about to say. “You saved me, we’re going to save you, Ledger. Brothers until the end, right?”
“You saved my daddy?” I ask, surprised.
Ledger’s face scrunches up like he doesn’t like my question. “We look out for each other.”
My trepidation of this man ebbs away. Without my daddy, I’d have nothing and no one. Uncle Al is dead, one of Daddy’s bullets had landed right between his eyes the night he’d come to take me away. Mommy’s been gone for a few years, and… that’s all I had. By saving Daddy, Ledger saved me too, in a way.
“I’ll help you,” I promise in a soft voice.
Ledger stares at me, his expression suddenly unreadable.
“Yeah, you will,” Daddy agrees, pleased. “Now, Blair, I’m going to need you to hurry. The bullet isn’t deep, you can probably even see it since it went through my vest which slowed it down. I-I might pass out while you work but don’t worry. I’ll be okay. When you’re done with t-the both of us, try to relax until I can get us out of here…”
I nod again, quickly laying out the supplies in the order I'll need them.
Ledger swears under his breath and shakes his head. “I can’t believe we're trusting our lives to an eight-year-old. Who the hell brings their kid on a hit?”
