One Minute Too Late

...Before the Storm

The constant dripping of his clothes on the chalk white kitchen tiles were the only sound interrupting the awkward silence. The drops already started to create a puddle, a mix of  water and blood, when Jamie regained her composure and ripped open the bandages she had found underneath the sink. She was about to tend to his wounds by leaning in closer to press the soft fabric against his bleeding forehead, when Billy grabbed her wrist unexpectedly. His eyes were dark, his gaze was dangerous.

"Ouch-" Jamie twisted her arm trying to free herself. "Billy. Stop that. You're hurting me!", she growled behind her teeth. She should kick his sorrow ass right back out on the streets. Apparent memory loss or not!

Billy dropped his hands right away and looked at her confused. Than his gaze turned from her face to his hand, which had tried to rip hers off just seconds before. It seemed like he didn't understand how this hand belonged to him. When his gaze found hers again his eyes were wide open. Jamie shuddered. There was actually terror written all over his otherwise beautiful features.

Which had her started to panic herself.

If there was something Billy Hargrove was afraid of, then it must be something bad.

"It wants so many", he whispered. His cold empty eyes lost their focus as he was starring at something invisible in the distance. He started to tear up. "So many! I can't. I won't!" He turned his head, looking at her desperately "Help me."

Then his body lost all tension and slithered to the floor like an inflatable doll.

Jamie jumped. "Oh Boy." He had lost consciousness. Her limited medical knowledge, which she had gathered through television, books and maybe a few classes in biology told her to first check for his pulse.

There was none. She was about to start a full blown panic attack when she finally found it. There was a reason she had only barely passed her biology class. But she still was certain that the pulse she felt underneath her trembling fingers was incredibly weak and slow. Did people that were unconscious have a slower heartbeat? Maybe she was just to stupid to take it properly? Jamie placed her ear over his chest to listen. It was more difficult than she anticipated. All she could hear was her own stupid heart pounding loudly in her ears, throwing off her counting. She tried to calm herself but she couldn't. Because of this whole situation. Because she placed her cheek on his bare chest (due to the fact that his shirt had already been buttoned down so many buttons it was a miracle it stayed in place). But she could hear it. Weak, quiet but most definitely existing under his firm and cold chest.

Jamie took a deep breath of relief.

"Okay, in that case you are free to take a nap.", she sighs, her voice shaky. Then she decided to use this precious moment to complete all her medical duties of fixing up his wounds without him aggressively interrupting her. She got a cloth and a bowl of warm wet water and started tending to the cut on his forehead before bandaging him up. His stupid hair kept getting in the way. "This could be the time for a haircut, get rid of those ridiculous bangs and the rest of your luscious hair" she mumbled grimly. "I bet you could look rather pretty without those stupid greasy mohac!"

She stopped in that instant, slapping her hand in front of her mouth. She wasn't suppose to think of him as pretty. Or anything really. She had vowed to stay away from him, which... to be honest didn't seem to work. But it wasn't her fault, that he'd apparently decided to stumble into her kitchen with a head injury! With all that adrenaline pumping through her body she felt itchy and jumpy - so she started to clean up the mess surrounding them. After throwing away the remaining medical supplies, Billy still wasn't moving.

With her shy weight of 110 pounds she doubted she could lift or even move his 180lb that had sprawled out on her kitchen floor. Jamie sight, rubbing her forehead. Next time, she just would keep the door closed. Or she would annoy her friends and join them on their date. She could take up night shifts somewhere as well. They were good money, she could use it to take some community classes. She just should come up with something, so she would never end up in a situation like this again.

Gnawing down on her bottom lip she risked another side glance at Billy. This time, more precisely. With him being unconscious and therefore unable to undress her with his eyes or stare her down with the anger of an insane person, he almost seemed vulnerable. Sure, there still was his outgoing, aggressive way of clothing (-or lack thereof), his strong aftershave covering even the smells of dirt and blood but his features were soft, gentle and ... vulnerable. A strong surging impulse of protectiveness hit Jamie like a truck and she groaned. That had to be some cruel kind of joke. She would regret that, most definitely and cruelty. But nontheless, there it was...

Jamie was leaning over the kitchen counter, shaking her head. She grabbed an old washcloth, added some warm water and kneeled back down. Carefully she cleaned her patient's wounds, ridded him of the remaining blood and dirt while drying him carefully. She leaned in closer when she dabbed over his head-injury, trying not to rub in remaining dirt that could cause blood poisoning when she noticed his long thick lashes casting shadows on this rosy cheeks. A growl escaped her lips.

"Could you please tell me what you could possibly need this luscious eyelashes for?"

She thought about her own, stumpy little excuses for lashes she had noticed just this morning in the mirror while contemplating dying them black. They had the same shallow washed-out blonde as her hair, meaning she just as well could have none. Which already was too close to the truth as was. Her lashes were neither long, nor thick. They weren't black and they didn't highlight her blue eyes. At least not without mascara, which she usually already smeared all over her face within minutes, because she'd forgotten she'd used it and her eyes started itching when wearing it...

"The better watch my prey", her not so much unconscious guest mumbled looking up at Jamie through her busy fingers, his eyes with his lashes fixed on her face. His pupils were dilated to the fullest trying to swallow her whole.

Holy crap.