Chapter Thirty-five

Chapter Thirty-five

How magical it was to find the possessive, ruthless Brandon surrender to my care at that vulnerable state. I guess, I felt honoured to be endowed with the responsibility to care for him, to nurse him back to health.

I gently wiped my tear stained face with the back of my palm as I watched him sleep. He looked peaceful, charming and ethereal. I had no idea why I felt so sorry for him. Maybe, it was because I had never seen him that way before.

I cut out a big cotton wool and slightly dipped it in a normal sterile saline water for cleaning wounds. I squeezed the cotton gently, to reduce sogginess before using it on his wounds. As I drew my hand to his chest to disinfect his wound, I got a bit hesitant and maybe, scared. Lucavo’s words came ringing back in my mind’s ear; “He might hurt you.”

Did this mean that someone else had tried, and he did hurt the person? I sighed wearily and gulped down the lump that had grown in my throat before inching closer to him with determination and fear playing baseball in my eyes, and I wasn’t sure which was gonna win, but I kept surging forward, carefully and cautiously of course.

As my fingers got some inches away from the wound, I said a short prayer in my heart, just in case I died there, or maybe hoping that I would not die. I held my breath as the cotton wool gently found the surface of his wound, cleaning it gently.

He winced in his sleep, but it did not seem to be out of pain but of rejection from the strange touch on his most restricted area. I heaved and continued cleaning it gently, as I watched his facial features crease with pain and disapproval. My fingers trembled but I tried to keep still and not flop while the moment could last.

A firm hand suddenly gripped mine tightly, squeezing and I could almost say, breaking it. Brandon did not open his eyes but his hand held on to me tightly while I winced in pain, careful not to let Lucavo hear and barge in.

“Don’t touch me…” He said weakly in his sleep, but I could still feel the dangerousness in his voice.

“I didn’t touch you.” I said painfully, trying to unfurl my hand from his grip. “The cotton wool did. You should grab on that.” I whispered again with pain evident in my voice. His grip seemed to have loosened a bit.

“Galena…” he whispered in a defeated tone, letting me go as his hand fell back to the bed weakly. He seemed to have drifted off to sleep again, so I picked up another wool to clean him up, but his words cut me short in my tracks.

“Tell Miss Wool not to touch me…” his voice was weak, sad and lonesome.

Miss Wool? Was that a person? Did he not hear me right?

I heaved in total confusion at his words, but that didn’t stop me anyway. His wound was a bit deep and was sore open, since he left it untreated and bleeding for too long, so I ventured to clean it again. His muscles tensed up at each touch, and he winced and groaned in pain. His body seemed to be trembling like he was terrified from a nightmare, making my heart crease further in pity towards him.

“Brandon. I’m here. There are no monsters, trust me.” I whispered as tears stole away from my eyes to my face, with some dropping on his skin. He seemed to relax a bit, but when I touched him again, he cringed and stiffened.

I finished off with the cleaning process quickly and applied fresh petroleum jelly and sealed it quickly with a bandage. I took the tray back to where I had taken it, and quickly returned to his side, using the blanket to cover him properly while he slept. He winced again in his sleep and I removed the blanket from over his chest, where the wound was, thinking it might be the cause of the pain he was feeling.

He pulled the covers from his body roughly without opening his eyes, and it looked like he was hyperventilating. He seemed really terrified and it looked like he would break into a run if he wasn’t held back. I knew that nightmares weren’t funny experiences at all, and I had visited such dark, cosy rooms before, and I understood how scary and sad it was to feel trapped. The helplessness could literally drive someone crazy.

I gently sank into the bed beside him, inching closer to him, but he seemed repulsive. I hugged him from the side, placing my lips close enough to his ear to let him hear my whispers. I wanted to whisper into his dreamworld, hoping that he would hear me and not feel scared.

“Brandon…” I whispered but he stiffened and I could feel all his muscles tense up beneath me.

“Tell the monsters that Galena is here with you, and you’re not alone.” I whispered again, holding him tighter.

“I know how dark it is to be in that place alone, but I want to be there with you. Don’t be scared, I’ll fight your monsters with you.” I said hopefully with a bit of boldness crossing my voice. He seemed to relax a little.

He hadn’t opened his eyes ever since he passed out, and I could guess it was from the painkillers and sedatives that he was injected with. He needed this rest but it seemed the monsters in his mind were making the better end of it.

“I’m entitled to protect you, remember?” I asked as if waiting for an answer. “Don’t worry, I won’t bite you, only the monsters in your dreams.” I said with a sad smile, repeating his words to me; “Don’t be scared. This monster won’t bite you, only the people who try to bite you.”

When I raised my head to see his face, he had a sad smile on it, and it soon changed into a sulky expression as a tear escaped his eye.

“Believe me dad, I didn’t do it.” He said weakly in a voice laced with pain.

What was he being accused of?