She mumbled something. It was getting harder to form words again; she could feel the darkness creeping up around her, surrounding her.
“Here. Drink this. It’ll help with the pain.” Craig exchanged the water for the small glass of juice. She didn’t have the strength to fight him. She was tired, and she just wanted the pain to stop. Craig was here, and he would watch over her until she could think straight again, just like when they were kids and that bully had pushed her into the slide and she’d hit her head...
“Can’t ... stay... awake...” she murmured.
“I know. Sleep now, baby. Everything’s going to be alright.”
Craig sat next to her, holding her hand. She could feel it, but she lacked the ability to move. A glorious numbness was beginning to spread through her again, suffocating the horrible pain. She still had so many questions, but it was hard to think past the pain and the fog and the lovely numbness, and her mouth didn’t seem to be working properly.
“Sleep, Lacie. Let the medicine help you.” Whatever he had given her, it was some powerful stuff. No matter how hard she fought it, it was dragging her under. Pretty soon her eyes grew heavy and the pain faded until she was simply floating on the most wonderful cloud. It felt good to relax into it, to let her body settle into the warmth and comfort of the bed and the pillows.
“That’s my girl,” she heard him whisper as she felt his lips touch her forehead. “Pleasant dreams, baby.”
*
Once he was sure she was asleep, Craig put the rest of the potent meds back in his locked cabinet. It would not do to have her get her hands on these by accident. They’d been dosed for his height and weight – which was substantially more than hers, designed to help him with the terrible pain he still suffered at times. Tonight they would help Lacie. She’d gone out a lot quicker than he’d expected; perhaps even half a dose was still too much for her much smaller frame. Or maybe he should have waited until the other stuff wore off.
“Sweet Lacie,” he murmured, pulling back the blankets he had so hastily wrapped around her in an attempt to stem her shivering. His first priority had been getting her warm. Now that she no longer felt like a bag of ice, he could look toward other things.
Her clothes clung to her, still damp and splattered with mud and blood. He checked again, lifting her eyelids, talking to her, squeezing her hand, ensuring that she was completely out. Lacie would not be pleased with what he was about to do next, but there was nothing for it. She needed care, and he would be the one to provide it.
As he should be.
Craig removed her clothing, piece by piece. He’d known Lacie all her life, yet now his hands were actually trembling. How many times had he touched her, held her over the years? But never like this. Never with so much intimacy, so much reverence.
He sucked in a breath when she finally lay in nothing but her pretty underclothes before him, her normally sun-kissed skin looking pale. It was so soft, so beautiful, except for a couple a bruises, not all of which were caused by her recent fall. Craig scowled at the discolorations around her hips, echoes of fingers that gripped her too roughly in the throes of passion. He gritted his teeth at the telltale red marks in the tender flesh between her neck and her shoulders where that animal had sunk his teeth into her like the rabid beast he was.
He couldn’t dwell on that now, though; Lacie needed him. He forced himself to put all that aside and evaluate her injuries. Her ankle was swollen and already turning an ugly shade of purple, most likely sprained. He’d have to tape that up. The pale pink cast about her hand had been reduced to a soft, pulpy mass that he cut away, section by section. Underneath, her hand was a mottled mess of purple and black, extending down through a wrist that was now swelling quickly as well. Turning her ever so carefully, he saw the blossoming bruise and an ugly gash along her back and winced. Running his hands over her carefully, he concluded that nothing was broken, but she sure was going to hurt like hell for a while and probably need a few stitches. Overall, he was pleased to see that it wasn’t as bad as he had feared.