Special torture

Trudy

I wake up to the sound of the door opening. Taran walks in carrying a bag. I turn on the light and realize his nose is bleeding, he has a split lip, and his right eye is swelling. Jumping out of bed, I ask, “What happened?”

He shakes his head, “I’m fine.” He’s clearly not okay.

I grab the water pitcher in our room and fill it with cold water. Grabbing a rag, I tell Taran, “Sit down on the couch.”

He sits, and I dip the rag into the cold water. I begin cleaning Taran’s face. His nose doesn’t seem broken. I find that surprising, seeing how it looks like his nose took a direct hit since the bridge appears bruised.

After I stop his nose from bleeding, I begin cleaning his lip. It appears the swelling is going down. I move to his eye next, using the cold cloth to reduce the swelling.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” I ask, dipping the rag into the water and putting it back