I Don't Know You

“Christien!” I gasped, covering my mouth. My mind spiralled, and I could hear my heart beating fast.

“What happened to you?” I asked again. He looked up, his dark eyes much darker than before.

He opened his mouth, but instead he fell against my shoulder.

“Christien,” I said as I placed my hand on his back. I withdrew fast when I felt something warm and sticky touch my palm.

It was blood!

His whole back and shirt were drenched with blood.

I didn’t know what to do.

I dragged him into his room. The room was beside the staircase, and I dropped him on his bed with his back up.

I ran out to get a towel and a bowl of water.

I came back and his eyes were still closed.

I hoped nothing was wrong with him.

I bent over and dropped the bowl and towel on the table beside the bed, placing my ear on his chest to hear his heartbeat.

But suddenly he opened his eyes and grabbed me, slamming my back on the bed while he hovered over my body.

I stared blankly at him. His necklace dangled, and this posture exposed the tattoo on his chest.

I didn’t know his tattoo stretched from his chest up. I thought it was just his neck.

“Let me help you clean up,” I said.

“I don’t need your help,” he said, releasing me and sitting upright on the bed.

I stood and went to his front.

“Stop trying to pretend you are strong! Look at you. You are bleeding all over, you look so pale.”

“I said I don’t need your help.”

“But I wanna help!” I yelled.

He was getting on my nerves.

How could I leave him looking like this? It looked like he could die any minute.

And I… I couldn’t leave him in pain.

He looked up at me, and something in his eyes softened, but he quickly replaced the emotion with an ice mask.

I went toward the nightstand and grabbed the towel and bowl.

“You should probably take off your shirt,” I said, but he hesitated.

“Oh, sorry… tell me when you’re done,” I said, turning away from him to give him a little privacy.

I didn’t know why I did that when I was still going to see it while cleaning his back.

“I’m done,” he said, and I turned to see a whole collection of tattoos.

His chest was covered with different kinds of tattoo drawings.

“Ava?” he said, and this time I wasn’t ashamed that I was staring too much. I was surprised because he called my name for the first time since yesterday.

I was so excited. The way my name sounded in his deep voice gave me butterflies in a very unusual manner.

I stepped closer to him, dipped the towel into the water, and began to wipe his back. His back was covered with cuts.

Was he whipped?

Did he get into a fight?

He had a single tattoo on his back. It was a very big letter V, but beneath the V there were scars, while some cuts were just healing.

“How did you get this?” I asked, more to myself than him, my finger trailing down a big cut.

He flinched at my touch.

“Are you done?” he asked in a low voice.

“Not yet,” I replied, and quickly cleaned the rest of the blood.

“Let me get a bandage,” I said as I rushed out to get one.

I came back and bandaged him.

“This will stop the bleeding for now. You should go see…”

“Thank you,” he said, and I just stared at him.

Cold Christien just told me thank you.

As much as I was excited about the changes in him tonight, he still hadn’t said what I wanted to hear.

“How did you get hurt, Christien?” I asked.

“Go to sleep, Ava,” he replied.

“What happened? Why can’t you tell me?… you can trust me,” I said, and he looked up before turning his head away.

“I don’t know you. Why should I trust you?” he replied.

And I felt hurt more than I should have been.

Why was it so painful to hear that from him?

It was true. We had just met yesterday, and we weren’t even that close.

What made me think he would want to talk to me?

He was better off talking to Sophie. They understood each other well.

My eyes burned slightly, and I was angry. I should have left him to bleed.

“You are right. I’m nothing to you, and I’m stupid for thinking that we had come to develop an understanding since we stayed under the same roof.”

“It’s just my fault… goodnight!” I turned away and left, slamming the door with so much anger.

I would never care so much about him again.

No matter what he does.

No matter who he’s with.

It was none of my business!