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miniscule-rabbit · 3 years ago

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Bloody Tissues

Bloody tissues.

Andrew sat on the grimy bathroom floor surrounded by dozens of bloody tissues.

Fuck, he thought. The grisly sight brought back memories of high school, wearing heavy hoodies even in the summertime to hide his mangled skin. He shuddered. He could practically feel the eyes staring at him again.

Andrew tipped his head back against the wall and sighed, tears marking a path down his cheeks. He pressed yet another tissue against his arm, glaring at the offending wound. He glanced down at the floor, speckled with drops of blood. His gaze quickly shifted up to the knife sticking out of his armband haphazardly laying on the closed toilet seat.

He silently begged his skin to stop bleeding, please, not wanting to admit to Neil that he had relapsed yet again. The song Iris came over his headphones, and he let out a soft breath of amusement at the lyrics.

You bleed just to know you’re alive.

Yeah, Andrew understood that. All too well.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back yet again and let the soothing music wash over him. They remained closed until a knock against the bathroom door startled them open.

“Uhh, just a minute,” Andrew called hurriedly, scrambling to pick up the tissues all over the floor and throw his armbands on. He hoped his wound had stopped bleeding, but his black armband would do a good job of soaking up any offending blood. He jumped to his feet and plastered a smile across his face before throwing open the door and leaning against the doorframe.

“Hi.” He smiled.

He watched as Neil’s concerned gaze traveled around the bathroom before landing on the floor.

The floor that still had blood stains on it.

Shit.

Andrew scowled as Neil opened his mouth. Before he could speak, Andrew interrupted him.

“Look, please don’t say anything. I’m already upset enough that I gave in, I don’t need someone else’s lecturing on top of everything.”

Neil said nothing, but turned around and walked away. Confused, Andrew decided to check on his cut. He peeled off the armband and looked down at it. Shit. Still bloody. Suddenly Andrew felt a warm body slide past him. He looked over and there was Neil, damp washcloth in hand. He knelt down and started cleaning the blood off the floor as Andrew poured rubbing alcohol over his arm to sanitize the wound. They finished their tasks around the same time, Andrew cursing at the sting of the cold liquid pouring over his open skin. Neil looked up at him.

“Do you want some help with that?”

Andrew scowled but nodded yes. Neil silently left the room and Andrew heard him rummaging around the bedroom. He returned with a needle, thread, and a bottle of vodka. Andrew silently held out his arm, and swallowed some alcohol to numb the pain. However he could still feel it as the cold needle passed through his flesh. Within a few minutes, it was over, and Neil carefully tied off the thread. They cleaned up and made their way to the couch, where Andrew lay with his head on Neil’s chest. He pressed a kiss against Andrew’s head, and within a few minutes, Neil was asleep. Andrew could feel sleep’s hold on him tightening, but before it pulled him under, his mind flashed back to the sight of Neil carefully tending to Andrew’s wound. He smiled and gave in to sleep’s warm beckon. Everything was going to be okay. He didn’t have to worry about the bloody tissues.

#aftg #neil josten #andrew minyard

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