[Author's Note: all previous warnings apply. Still probably OOC. Any advice on how to make them less OOC would be great!][AN: I edited this chapter bc I forgot a few things]
They got back into the car, but before they got out of parking, Russell spoke.
"Look I know you don't want to go to the hospital, but you really need to get that bite checked out. It might get infected."
"Judging by how much Murdoc's breath stinks," she replied, "it's definitely going to get infected. But I can handle it."
They sat like that for a while. "Are you sure you don't want to get checked out?"
She sighed and thought about it. "I know a doctor who might be willing to check it out."
She gave directions to a beat-up apartment complex. "You two stay here."
They watched from the car as she knocked on one of the doors. A woman came out, maybe in her late thirties or early forties. She hugged Noble and let her in.
Inside, the woman, Lace, spoke to Noble. "Cheryl, I haven't seen you in ages— I was starting to wonder if you'd show up in the obituaries. What are you here for? You know I can't let you stay here. Did you just want to catch up and say 'hi'?"
"I need you to check out something. Medically."
"Oh, please tell me you aren't pregnant."
"I'm not pregnant!" Noble laughed. "Why do you always think it's that? You know I'm not like that." She looked away to hid the little bit of shame she felt. Stupid. Naïve little girl. Never trust a strange man. She could imagine Lace telling her that if she told the truth. She knew Aunt Lace would never actually say that, but Noble's shame was taking a toll on her.
"Okay, good. You know how I worry." Lace smiled. "Now, what is it you need checked out?"
Noble flipped down her collar. Lace gently peeled off the bandage, making Noble wince, and Noble heard a sharp intake of breath.
"Cherry… what, what happened?"
"A friend was selling a pet monkey and it got loose during transport."
She clicked her tongue. "Sweetie, I know you're lying. This is a human bite." She turned Noble's face to look her in the eye. "Tell me the truth. What happened?"
Noble looked into Lace's kind face and started to cry.
Lace hugged her and rocked her back and forth the way she did when Noble was young. "Go on, let it all out."
Noble sobbed into Lace's shoulder. After a few moments, she calmed down a bit, still hiccupping. "I… I was raped." She held her head in her hands.
Again, Lace took in a sharp breath.
"It's okay though, he's under lock and key. He won't be able to get to me at all." It was a lie, and Noble knew it, But Lace couldn't tell for once.
"Do you have sleeping arrangements? I know you got evicted. I saw some of your stuff being sold at a pawn shop."
"Was it Chaz's shop?" Noble had a sudden jolt of hope.
"Yes, I do believe it was that under-the table fellow's place." She said it with a bit of well-intentioned distain in her voice.
"I'll have to go there. Someone stole my stuff from me."
"Well, that's karma for you!" Lace laughed, and Noble did too. "Let me get a better look. Come in here and sit on the table." She led Noble into the examination room she ran out of her flat.
Noble sat on the low table.
Lace swabbed at it with alcohol pads. "I can't give you stitches for this. It's contaminated. I want you to clean it three times a day. Come back immediately if you see read lines or pus, or at the first signs of a fever, whichever comes first."
"Okay, but, I, uh," Noble started. She paused a moment, then took off her shirt, earning a full-blown gasp.
"Oh, sweetie…."
Noble started crying again. Lace cleaned the scratches, too, then applied zinc oxide cream over the cracked edges to provide a clean seal, then wrapped gauze across Noble's chest and mid-section. She gave her a tube of the cream to take home. "Use this on the open skin and let the wounds breathe after 24 hours."
"Isn't this diaper rash cream?"
"It serves well for burns, too."
"They aren't burns," Noble said quietly.
"Pardon?"
"They're scratches."
"Oh, My…." Lace didn't know what to say. "Well… it'll still work for them. Is there anything else?"
Noble nodded after she put on her shirt. She took down her pants.
Lace was quiet for a few moments. "That bastard has something coming to him, and karma isn't going to be enough." It was a rarity to hear Aunt Lace curse.
"Oh, don't worry about that." Noble laughed. "Did you see the big guy in the car? He's my new unofficial body guard. He's taking care of that," she said cockily.
"If you say so." She took care of the bite like she had the one on Noble's neck. "This one's worse. Take extra care of it. And don't be afraid to come back if you need any more help."
"Okay." Noble put her pants back on. She hesitated, then asked, "How bad will these scar?"
"Oh sweetie…" She looked at her sympathetically. "I don't know. I haven't seen anything like those scratches before, and I've never had a follow-up from anyone with a bite." She thought for a moment. "The bites are going to scar, especially the one on your leg. The scratches will scar less. Other than that, I don't know."
"Thank you, Aunt Lace." She got down off the table and hugged her aunt one last time before she left. "I'll come back with an update soon. I love you. Goodbye."
"I'll count on it. I love you, too. Goodbye."
Noble started towards the door, then thought again. "Um, Aunt Lace?"
"Yes, dear?"
"I need some stitches to take home. There was a fight and one of the guys got cut with glass." She hoped Aunt Lace would assume that 'one of the guys' meant one of the junkies that Noble was known to hang out with.
"Are you sure that's why?" Lace gave noble a playful but knowing look. "You're not planning on hurting yourself, are you?"
"Oh, no, no, of course not. Well, actually, that's another good reason for you to give me stitches. I don't plan on it," Noble lied, "but it'll happen eventually."
Lace looked at her for a moment, then sighed. "You're right. I want you to be safe, but don't think that's permission to be reckless, okay?" She walked into the exam room and came back with a full pack of sutures and needles. "Be safe sweetie. Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Noble hugged her Aunt again and walked out the door.
Noble returned to the waiting car. "There, happy?"
"As long as you'll be alright," from Russell. "Yeah."
2D had been silent the whole time, sitting in the back seat.
After a bit of driving, Noble turned to look at him over her shoulder and spoke coldly. "You don't say much, do you?"
"Yeah," added Russell, "You're pretty quiet today, 2D."
2D shrugged. He couldn't make out what the look on Noble's face. It was calculating, but a little curious, as if she couldn't get a read on him, either. He looked away. "I'm just tired."
Noble turned forward again, adding, "Hah, you and me both."
Russell could feel the tension between the two of them, but didn't say anything. He turned on the radio. They listened to the local hip-hop station as they drove. 2D hummed along to the songs he knew.
"Uh, this is a weird request, but I need something from the pawn shop," Noble said into the air.