Resurfacing

Chapter 17:

Ezra was softly snoring on the short drive back to the apartment. In the streetlights, I could see the blood on his face and how it was matted in his hair. It looked like he got into a fight at the house. I wasn't sure how I was going to explain this to Brynn again. Ezra cried out for help and I dropped everything to run to him. He had inserted himself back into my life like the man who was pushing the needle into his arm injected the poison under his skin. He was my poison.

Tears were streaming down my face. I was so angry at him for doing this to himself. He was beautiful and brilliant and nothing like the pile of rubble that was sleeping next to me as I drove. I was scared that he wouldn't be able to come back from this. I wondered if this was my fault. Did I drive him to this? I didn't stick the needle in his veins; he chose that. It didn't make me feel any less guilty about the role I was playing.

I pulled up to the apartment and got out of the car. I looked around for Brynn's car in the parking lot. I was relieved when I saw her normal parking spot was empty. I opened the door and touched Ezra's shoulder and gently shook him. He looked up at me; his eyes were still covered with a foggy haze.

"Let's get inside and you can lay down." He nodded and moved to climb out of the car. He wrapped his arm around me again, using me like a crutch to help support his weight. He was a little stronger now and was able to support himself a little better as we climbed the three flights of stairs to the apartment. I kept him as steady as I could so he did not fall back down.

I opened the door and flipped the switch to turn on the ceiling light. I could see the deep cuts and bruises on his face better now that we were out of the car. His knuckles on both hands were split open and bleeding. He was a complete mess.

"I need to clean these out." I said, grabbing his hands. He winced and his eyes rolled back into his head when I turned them over to examine them. The right one looked swollen. "I think your hand could be broken. We need to get it looked at."

"No doctors." He said through his clenched teeth. I nodded to let him know I understood. Doctors would want to drug test him when they saw him, which would lead to the police. He had enough trouble to deal with just sorting out the chaos he created in his life. He didn't need legal trouble on top of it.

I grabbed his arm and tried not to cringe when my hands accidentally touched the needle marks on his skin. I guided him into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet to pull out the peroxide and bandages. He held his hands over the sink and I poured the peroxide on the wounds. He swore as soon as the liquid hit his skin and began to bubble. I bent towards his hands, pressing my lips together and blew on the bubbling liquid. Ezra reached out and tried to run his hand through my hair.  I backed away before he could touch me and grabbed the bandages to cover the open skin.

Once I finished bandaging his hands, I moved to reach up to his face to get the cut above his eyebrow. He chuckled when I couldn't reach it easily and tried to stand on my tiptoes. He leaned his back against the vanity and widened his stance to make himself shorter. I had to stand in between his legs to reach the cut. I was careful not to get my body to close to his. I couldn't confuse him more by sending him more mixed signals. I only kissed him in the house to get him to come with me. I was hoping he was so out of it that he wouldn't remember what happened.

I ran the cotton ball with peroxide over the cut and he closed his eyes.

"You're lucky you didn't lose your eyebrow rings." I said, studying the deep cut. He opened his eyes and stayed silent. I looked down at his shirt and realized it was soaked with blood.  I wrinkled my nose, not sure if it was his or the person he got into a fight with.

"I don't think I have anything that will fit you for you to change into." I said, furrowing my brow. 

Ezra shrugged and lifted his shirt over his head. My eyes immediately moved down to the music notes that peeked out just above his waistband. My fingers involuntarily moved to them and traced the delicate thin lines. He watched the movement with soft eyes, a little icy blue trying to peek through the fog. I moved my hand away and looked at the space between us. I didn't mean to touch him again.