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Post by Ashlin Thomas on Jun 24, 2011 0:21:50 GMT -8
"Is it helping at all?" she asked, needing to fill the silence and not focus on the situation at hand. Distraction was good, distraction was great actually because Ashlin did not think it was an appropriate time to be noticing how strong Michael seemed to be beneath his scared skin.
Crushes were proving to be surprisingly inconvenient things.
"You should be able to just use it in the shower from now on, like a soap." she said, babbling just a bit. Huh, she seemed to be babbling quite a bit more often lately.
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Post by Mister Stewart on Jun 24, 2011 0:29:48 GMT -8
"It's...ah...yes, it...yes it is." He turned his head, venturing a glance back at her out of the corner of his eye. His face was tired, but now also...a bit flushed. Was he feverish? He DID seem sort of...warm. And getting warmer.
"...Thank you. I...I think that I can handle that. It...does feel a bit better...when it rains...it hurts quite a bit more." The explanation was very quiet, tentative - he couldn't believe he was discussing this with someone, much less showing them - but it was more concise than most of what he had been saying. The pain was ebbing enough that he wasn't quite so close to the edge.
His gaze slid back forward, flicking to the handkerchief on the nightstand. He hoped she hadn't noticed - or wouldn't, perhaps. It stood out for two reasons; one being that it was the only thing out of place in the room...the other for the very faint aroma of cigarettes that was barely staunched beneath the cloth.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on Jun 24, 2011 0:58:16 GMT -8
Her face was a bit red, but she was smiling softly now. "I'm glad. . ." She stole a look at Michael, was he getting warm? It didn't feel like a fever, she didn't think.
"Just tell me when you start to run out and I can make you up some more." Her voice was warm, encouraging. Ash knew it couldn't be easy for him, trusting her with this, but it meant the world to her that he did. No one had ever trusted her before.
The fact that the rain made the pain worse would explain some of his strange behavior then. It seemed like it would be terrible on a good day, but if it got worse when it rained. . . Explained or not she still sort of missed the rhyming.
As she absentmindedly rubbed in the solve in her hand strayed closer to the sensitive spot from earlier without realizing it. "I have some bruise cream as well, you can use that on your eye." Ash really wished she knew how that had happened.
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Post by Mister Stewart on Jun 24, 2011 1:11:02 GMT -8
"...All right," he murmured in response, glad that she was being so kind - not being repulsed or asking too many questions, but...helping him. Without dashing about telling people about his scars, either. Keeping it...private. Keeping his secret.
As she came a little closer to that particular nerve, he drew a breath and...sort of held it, muscles tightening. He tried to ignore the odd sensations, his voice...a little breathy as he tried to respond to her other comments. Still getting warmer. Much warmer.
"...My...eye? O-oh. Yes. That...." Shame ceased his words. He had done that to himself, and he knew it - which made him wonder about his other wounds. But that whole ordeal was such a blur, and a frightening one at that - just thinking about it made him want to shut down.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on Jun 24, 2011 12:25:10 GMT -8
Noticing the intake of breath Ashlin became more aware of just where her hands were. When she realized it was the same spot as earlier she frowned. Had he been lying earlier about it hurting? She could understand wanting to put on a brave face but if it really was hurting him he could have at least told her so, so she could be more careful of it. Careful to give only the lightest of touches around that area she rubbed the lotion into the skin around the spot, avoiding it as best she could.
She really, really wanted to ask about his eye, but even she could tell it wasn't a topic she should try broaching. "You don't have to tell me." she said not looking at his face. He didn't have to tell her anything did he? And yet he'd already told her so much, and that was important to her. She still wondered why anyone would want to hurt Michael, but as her mind turned to a long healed arm she couldn't deny her own suspcions on the matter.
People could be cruel.
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Post by Mister Stewart on Jun 24, 2011 12:57:43 GMT -8
The light, ghosting touches were almost worse than the firm ones - a light shudder went through him, his eyes drifting shut. He tried to ignore the heat coursing through him, hoping not to see the smoke start to curl through the dark space behind his eyelids. He needed a moment.
"...I think," he said very slowly, cautiously. A hushed tone denoting confidence. She was helping him...he should tell her the truth. "...I might have done it. I...I don't remember very clearly."
And then silence again. He froze, unsure what her reaction to this would be.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on Jun 24, 2011 13:09:08 GMT -8
The shudder confused her a bit. Did people shudder when they were in pain? She didn't think they did. Maybe the cream was cold, he was certainly starting to feel warm after all. She would have to make sure to warm the lotion up a bit first if she needed anymore.
Ashlin froze just a bit, more surprised than anything else by his confession. "What? But how could you do that to your own eye?" There was no scolding in her voice, no fear or disgust, merely confusion. She'd already realized he'd probably given the scratches to himself, that had been obvious earlier; Ashlin just wasn't sure how it was physically possibly to give oneself that kind of bruise.
"Wait you don't remember?" she asked now sounding more worried . "Michael are you sure you don't have a concussion?" People forgot things when they had concussions, she knew that from first hand experience.
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Post by Mister Stewart on Jun 24, 2011 13:23:09 GMT -8
And the shudder came back again the more she brushed over that spot - his body was warming up considerably more, fingers twining hard in the bed sheets. This was...uh...different. A new kind of anxiety was slowly making itself known...and his eyes snapped open as he started to see those damnable curls of smoke again.
His voice was starting to sound strained.
"...I don't...I don't know. I suppose it's...possible. I fell asleep in my car...and...and when I woke up, I...?" Trying to recall was difficult for him - he could swear he was starting to see smoke with his eyes open.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on Jun 24, 2011 13:44:29 GMT -8
Moving to feel his forehead with the back of her had Ashlin could feel herself getting more and more worried. "Michael? Are you alright? You don't sound so well, and your face is flushed." Did he have a fever? That was certainly the last thing he needed in his current state.
She wasn't sure what to say about his story. He'd just woken up this way? That didn't make any sense at all unless he really was missing a part of his memory but even then to go to black out and then wake up back in the same place? She'd never heard of anything like that in her life. "Is there anything I can do?"
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Post by Mister Stewart on Jun 24, 2011 13:52:19 GMT -8
"F-fine - I'm - I'm fine -"
Less than believable, and the resulting cringe made it clear that he knew that.
The heat was getting stifling, and he was starting to feel...strange - odd, half-remembered fragments of thoughts trickling down through his head. He started to shake a little bit, a rough, small cough escaping him. He could taste cigarettes...but he hadn't been smoking recently. Had he? he couldn't remember....
"...Are...are you almost...done...?"
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on Jun 24, 2011 14:02:31 GMT -8
Frowning a bit at the very obvious lie Ashlin sighed before running a critical eye up and down his back. She blushed when it occurred to her she was examining a half naked Michael. 'Its only a shirt.' she silently scolded 'It's no different from being at the beach.' "That should do it!" she said trying to ignore her blush. Her attempt at a smile faltered. "You, um, you can get your front yourself right?" She could feel her face heating up further at just the thought of. . . Well it felt all together more awkward than helping him with his back.
"Michael are you sure you're all right, you're shaking!" she asked in concern. It was easier to ignore the effects of her crush if she was busy being concerned.
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Post by Mister Stewart on Jun 24, 2011 14:18:56 GMT -8
"Yes-" Well, he said that MUCH too fast. He flushed deeper. "...Yes. I...thank you. I'm...I'm going to...to go and take a quick shower, then. I...maybe that will...will help...."
He felt like he was burning - his room was growing hazy under his gaze as he sat himself up slowly, still trembling, not meeting Ash's eyes. This was all too much...he was too hot, confused, tense in ways he was unaccustomed too; his thoughts starting to shatter, flicker like a loose reel of film.
"T-too warm in here. I...I'll be right back," he choked, stumbling across the room to fumble with the bathroom door.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on Jun 24, 2011 14:55:08 GMT -8
Ashlin could only blink as Michael rushed away. "Al-alright." she said weakly, not quite understanding why he would just leave like that. She wondered if Michael wanted her to just wait here or if she should, she wasn't even sure, go find Mr.Stewart or something?
She returned to her seat on the bed looking around the room curiously. She felt her eyes being drawn back to that handkerchief though, it was just so out of place in the organized room. It was out of place simply for Michael. Unable to stop her curiosity she lifted up the handkerchief, immensely surprised to find a pack of cigarettes of all things.
For a moment her mind flashed back to the nightmare she'd had just the other night, remembering how she'd been chocked by the smoke when he'd-- She flinched, dropping the handkerchief to cover the cigarettes up again. She was being silly, there was nothing to be afraid of.
It was just a bad dream.
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Post by Mister Stewart on Jun 24, 2011 15:51:43 GMT -8
Once he was safely in the bathroom, Michael groaned, eyes bleary as he staggered over towards the shower. He was burning - despite the cool salve against his back, he felt like he was going to combust, senses oblivious to the rain's chill in the air. Hurriedly, he struggled to get his shoes off, tossing them off to one side as he threw an arm out to get the shower started. Without so much as removing his pants or socks, he plowed into the icy stream, moaning a little at the sting of the cold water against his skin.
The fragments that had been threatening to surface flooded into his head, bits and pieces of images that haunted him.
A cloud of smoke. The clatter of a body against chain link.
Michael hissed through his teeth, turning to face the water directly, shutting his eyes to let it run over his face. The smoke was there, the fire, making him burn. He needed to stop it. Kill it.
A violent kiss. A sudden rush of sensation, friction.
He gasped for air, turning his face away and snapping his eyes open. One hand ghosted across his lips, the other hovering, just briefly, over - NO. Frightened, he turned the water all the way to ice cold, skin going numb but the fire unhindered. His wounds throbbed and then lost feeling.
Cries of protest. But he didn't care. Rhythmic movement, anger, the want (NEED) to harm-
He screamed as he caught his reflection in the mirror over the sink, plainly visible in the space where he had neglected to shut the curtain; flesh cracked and smoking, beginning to peel away from his chest and arms -
Audible in his bedroom, just after the scream, there was the loud THUD of a body hitting the floor of the bathtub.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on Jun 24, 2011 16:04:19 GMT -8
Ashlin shot up from her seat the minute she heard the scream, and the thud had her rushing to the door. "Michael?!" she called out sounding terrified. Oh God what had happened, was he hurt? Had he passed out? She fumbled with the door knob, desperate to get to Michael as scenario after scenario ran through her mind. He wasn't, he couldn't be-- She did notice tears already streaming down her face, as she ripped open the door. "Michael!"
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