Charles Alblice has always led an ordinary life in Birchtowne. He enjoyed the company of his cousin, Quinn, and their best friend, Michael. The three lived their lives as carefree as any other teenager would.
But life in Birchtowne gets messy when...
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Charles and Lea silently made their way down the steps. Quinn stood at the bottom, one hand on the railing and the other holding a wet and bloodied rag to his bottom lip. He moved his hand on the railing to cover his forehead as soon as he caught sight of Charles's narrowed eyes.
"Hey," mumbled Quinn. He turned to shuffle away from the pair.
"Get back here," Charles demanded. He paused for a half a second before turning around and slowly making his way back over to the foot of the stairs.
Brows furrowed, Charles pulled Quinn's hands away from his face. His lip was busted open and bleeding, and large bruises decorated his forehead. Below his nostrils was dried blood.
"Holy shit, Quinn," Lea gasped. She averted her gaze.
"What the hell happened?" Charles pulled Quinn with him into the kitchen. He didn't answer, silently allowing himself to be dragged around. Lea was close on his heels.
Charles set a kitchen chair by the sink and Quinn immediately collapsed onto it. He handed Lea a clean, dry rag. "Apply pressure to his lip," he said.
Lea did as she was told. Quinn stared up at her, clearly skeptical of her presence, but he didn't speak up about it.
He washed Quinn's bloodied rag out before washing his own hands. After a few minutes, he instructed Lea to remove the rag and get hydrogen peroxide and a cotton ball from the bathroom. He washed the cut with soap and water, and when Lea returned, he deep cleaned it with the hydrogen peroxide. When Charles pressed down on Quinn's lip, Quinn winced and gritted his teeth.
"I don't know what I'd do without you, Charlie." He laughed slightly, but quickly stopped. His arms hugged his stomach. Charles sighed, tossing the cotton ball into the trash. His eyes caught on dried blood on Quinn's hands, as well as in his nose.
"Rinse the blood from your hands and your face," Charles said, running a paper towel under running water before handing it to Quinn. "It's disgusting."
Lea cleared her throat just as Charles bent over the sink again, beginning to wash his hands. "I'm going to get going. I'll see you tomorrow, Charles."
He raised a soapy hand to motion a goodbye. The front door swung open and closed. Charles dried his hands off before sitting back on the edge of the counter, leaning forward slightly towards his cousin. He took in a deep breath of air before speaking.
"What the hell, Quinn?"
Quinn grinned up at Charles, continuing to wipe away the dried blood from his face. Somehow, even his teeth were bloody. He rubbed his hands across his face before making Quinn gargle salt water.
"If you're going to keep getting in fights, you've got to learn to clean up yourself."
Charles watched Quinn swish the water around in his mouth. After spitting it into the sink, Quinn settled back in his chair.
