CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
“HEY ADDIE,” HE said through gritted teeth. I felt as if the floor gave out from under me and I dropped through blackness into freezing water. I was drowning. “It’s not as bad as it looks,” he said with a forced smile.
His dark eyes met mine, reminding me how to swim. I rushed over to him, dropping to my knees. My body trembled. I put my hands over his. “What happened?” I asked quietly, hardly able to get any volume to my quivering voice. I forgot to act like I didn’t care. Even if I had, I couldn’t hide my fear.
“I pissed off Nate,” he grimaced.
“So he stabbed you?” I asked, heart racing.
“Not exactly.” Jackson wrapped his bloody hands around mine. He closed his eyes in pain. “Sliced.”
“What?” My voice was shrill and pinched with fear. I raised my hands up bringing Jackson’s with me. The front of his gray t-shirt was saturated with blood. Terrified that I might see his intestines hanging out, I slowly peeled the wet shirt off his skin. “Oh God,” I breathed.
Starting under his ribs and going diagonally down to his right hip, was a very fresh cut. It was straight and the edges were clean. I sucked in a shaky breath.
“How deep?”
“Not very. Barely got the muscle. I think.”
“Think?”
“I can still move,” Jackson theorized. “So it can’t be that bad.”
“Right.” I sniffled, unaware until now that tears were streaming down my face. “Lay back,” I told him. “Lily, bring a towel.”
Jackson winced but obliged. I rolled up the hem of his shirt and put my hand over the wound, gently pressing down.
“Hurry!” I called to Lily.
“It’s okay, Addie,” Jackson tried to soothe me. “I’ve had worse and lived.”
“You’re not helping,” I told him.
“It’s true.”
I pushed both sides of the cut in, hoping that if I closed it off, the blood would clot and form a scab.
“Will this work?” Lily frantically asked. She held up a washcloth.
“Good enough,” I told her. She ran over and handed me the washcloth. I folded it in half twice and laid it over the wound, then flattened my hand over that and applied pressure.
“How long 'till it stops bleeding?” Lily asked. She chewed on her nails, nervously shifting her weight. “I’ve never seen this much blood before. I didn’t know it had a smell to it. It smells like pennies,” she rambled.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “Soon, I hope.” I could feel Jackson’s abs flex as he started to get up. “No,” I told him. “Do not move. You’re going to make it bleed more. No moving until it stops.”
He grunted in response but didn’t attempt to get up. My hands shook, and more tears spilled. Bloody fingers caressed my cheek. I turned my head to look at Jackson. His eyes locked with mine. His already beaten face had a few more bruises. There was a fresh cut next to his right eye. Blood was crusted on his chin, and the skin on his neck was red and irritated, as if something had been wrapped around it.
I tipped my head into his hand, comforted by his touch. I closed my eyes and felt myself relax a bit. Then I turned my attention back to his bleeding stomach.
“What can I do?” Lily asked.
I swallowed hard and looked up at her. “Is there any rubbing alcohol left?” I asked her.
“Maybe. I’ll check.”
“Okay. Bring it.”
“Sorry, Jackson, that’s gonna hurt.” Lily hurried away.
He made a face but shook his head. “It’ll be fine.”
“Liar,” I teased and gave a half smile, easing some of the tension. My heart was beating a million miles an hour, and my stomach twisted in knots.
“It’s going to be okay,” he repeated so that only I heard him. “I promise you, Addie.”
“I hope so,” I whispered back.
Jackson put his hands over mine, pressing down on the cut. I slid my hand away and moved up toward his head. My knees screamed at me to stop kneeling on the cement. I ignored them and blotted at the dried blood on his face.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Got into it with Nate.” Jackson turned his head so I could clean the crusty blood from inside his ear. “I didn’t realize he had a taser on him. He hits me in the back, and the next thing I know, I’m on the floor being tied up.” He weakly smiled. “I got him though, before he tased me. Punched him right in the jaw. He’ll have a nice bruise in the morning.”
“Good,” I whispered and folded the rag to use the clean side. “But why are you down here?” I brushed his hair back.
“Nate likes Lou and wants him to stay. He’ll take over what I did when it comes to the girls. And Zane won’t share a room.”
“Oh, so they kicked you out of your room and back down here?” I looked into Jackson’s eyes, wishing so badly that I could kiss him, comfort him, and ease his pain. I ran the rag over his forehead, wiping away tiny splatters of blood.
“Yes,” he said gravely. “All my stuff is over there.” He pointed to the table. I turned, seeing a torn box of books and a pile of clothes.
“At least we’re down here together,” I said with a weak smile. Jackson’s sad eyes said otherwise. Then it hit me. Together.
Shit. Together. We were both trapped in this hell-forsaken basement. Jackson would not be picking up the girls anymore. Our plan of escape would not be executed. We would not be free.