Chapter 4
"That fucking hurts, you asshole!" She shouted at him, screaming out in pain when he started pouring peroxide on it, and actually felt the tears streaming down her face. It was too much pain as she buried her face in the cushion, digging her nails into the couch, and screamed out more as the peroxide began bubbling madly. She hadn't washed it, not wanting to touch it because it hurt her too badly. She kept it wrapped up while in the shower when she should've been letting the water and soap clean it. "GODDAMN IT STOP IT!" She screamed out again, punching the couch, knowing if she punched him, he'd probably knock her out with his size.
"No, you wanna be a jackass and not take care of yerself…this is what happens." Mark replied coldly, taking a cleaning wipe and rubbed the nasty looking scab off the wounds, growling and moving so he was straddling her, his back to her. "KNOCK IT OFF, VATI!" He bellowed. "It's goin' to fuckin' hurt for Christ sakes!" He winced, seeing the pus and sighed heavily. Kids.
"GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!" She screamed out in pain, more tears streaming down her face like two rivers. That's how bad it hurt as she dug her nails further into the couch, coughing uncontrollably. She'd kill for a shot of Jack right about now as he cleaned her leg, screaming out in pain, and finally buried her face in her arms, her entire body trembling from the intensity of the pain. Ravati wasn't the type of person who cried often, not even with injuries, and she had a high threshold for pain. But this was beyond her limit as she cried harder, knowing she couldn't fight him off, and wished someone would put a bullet through her head.
Mark finally let go, the wound raw and bleeding, which was a good thing since it'd help wash out the infection. "I need a drink." He muttered, getting off of her and raked a hand through his hair. He walked into the kitchen, got down a bottle of Jack Daniels from over the fridge and poured two shots, carrying them out in one hand and the bottle in the other. He handed her one and shot his down, at the same time pouring some of the whiskey over the wounds, sterilizing them better then peroxide or alcohol could.
Ravati screeched out when he did that, more tears streaming down her face, and started crying so hard, her chest was heaving dangerously. She could barely breathe as her face was buried in her arms, and knew she probably left holes in his couch from how much scratching and clawing she'd done. Her black hair covered her face, which was tear streaked, and wished John was there to protect her. She hated her uncle for doing this to her, for leaving her here with this madman, and hoped he died a slow and painful death. She coughed more, her entire body racked with pain, but her leg hurt the worse.
Mark poured himself another shot, now sitting in a recliner, staring at her. He knew she was in some serious pain, but it served her right, not taking care of herself better. "You'll spend tomorrow in here." He said finally. "In shorts and leave that ankle uncovered. Let it get some fresh air, you can dust or somethin'…but I want ya cleanin' it regularly throughout the day, warm water and soap, got it?"
"Fuck you!" She spat, her voice full of pain and sorrow, coughing a little more, already having downed her shot of Jack. She needed it to deal with this amount of pain she was currently in and wished for another. A whole bottle actually. That's what she needed. "God I fucking hate you." She cried out when it began stinging again and gripped the couch even more before slowly sitting up, not able to do it as she collapsed back down. Mark had done a number on her with cleaning the bite marks and her body was too weak to move at the moment. 'My uncle is paying DEARLY for this!' She promised silently, flames of rage in her midnight blue eyes.
Mark looked her over, reaching over to grab her glass and refilled it, pushing it on her. "I don't care if ya hate me, Vati. Yer not here to be my friend. Yer here to pay for what ya did." He said grimly. "So the sooner ya learn to start listenin' AND take care of yerself properly, the better off we'll both be."
"Whatever, you don't know a fucking that happened-" She stopped herself and shook her head, managing to pull herself up from the couch, and downed the shot, not even wincing as the liquid burned down her esophagus. She had her knee bent, her forehead resting on it, while her injured leg was lying prone on the couch, which had a towel underneath it so the blood didn't get on the furniture. "Forget it. It's not important. I'm getting the fuck outta this town as soon as I get out of this Hell hole." She promised darkly and leaned back against the couch, trying to think about anything except her pain racked body.
"That's yer business." Mark replied, capping the bottle and stood up from the recliner. He walked back out to the kitchen and put the Jack away. "All I know is this summer yer stuck with me and it'd be a helluva lot easier on ya if you'd get over yer damned attitude problem. You fucked up, deal with it and accept the consequences."
"I don't have a fucking attitude problem, Mark. This is who I am and I'm not changing for nobody, especially the likes of you." She stated heatedly, her leg throbbing more, and actually had to set the glass down on the table before she crushed it in her hand. That's how much pain she was in, but she refused to allow anymore tears to fall from her eyes.
"Suit yerself, Vati. You're the one who's gonna suffer, not me." Mark replied, setting the security system on the house, his back to her, blocking her view. "Go to bed. You'll be busy again tomorrow." He turned to stare at her, his green eyes unreadable as he scrutinized her.
"I'll fucking be busy until the last day of summer." She stated knowingly and shook her head before slowly scooting off the couch. As soon as she put pressure on her leg, she went down, crying out in pain, and punched the floor as she sighed heavily. When Mark went to help her up, she shoved him away. "Don't fucking touch me! You've done enough damage to me for one night." She pressed her forehead to the floor, trying to get the pain to stop.
"Damage? You wanna see some damage? Would ya like to see what happens when ya don't take care of yerself, Vati?" Mark demanded, hands on his hips, glaring down at her. "Face it, kid. You need somebody to knock some damned sense into that thick-headed skull of yers. Now, are ya gonna let help ya or ya plannin' on crawlin' like a damned dog?"
"Go fuck yourself!" She hissed angrily and managed to get on her foot, hopping over to the steps past him, and had to stop because of how much pain her leg was in. She took a deep breath, sucking it up, and tried the stairs, hopping up one step. Ravati had never been in this much pain as the tears began falling, knowing she was showing weakness, but right now, she couldn't help it. The amount of physical pain she was in, not to mention emotionally, was more than she could take as the tears fell on the steps as she hopped up the second step, keeping a firm grip on the banister. She would show this prick that she didn't need his help, no matter how hard it was or how much pain she was in.
Mark sighed when Ravati lost her balance and caught her before she could fall down the stairs to the floor, pulling her back against him. "You need help." He said gruffly, pulling her up into his arms princess style. He quickly carried her up the stairs to her bedroom, using his foot to nudge open the door.
Ravati crossed her arms in front of her chest, refusing to look at him as he carried her into her room, and placed her on the bed gently. She winced when her leg brushed against the comforter and angrily wiped her tears away from the pain. "Thanks." She muttered, raking a hand through her black hair, and sighed heavily as she leaned back against the pillow, keeping her leg from hitting the comforter. At least the wounded part of it.
"Welcome." Mark replied gruffly, looking her over. "Hold on, I'll get ya some aspirin." He disappeared for a few minutes, returning with a glass of water and two aspirins. "Here." He held them out to her, waiting to see if she'd taken them or tell him to shove them up his ass.
Sitting up a little more, Ravati sighed as she took the pills from his hand and the glass of water, downing them both, and sighed as she leaned her head back against the headboard of the bed. "Thanks." She said, her voice a little softer this time, and nodded in her appreciation to him before running a hand through her hair, looking down at her injured leg. "What time do you want me up tomorrow morning, Mark?" She quietly asked, the edge in her voice gone, and closed her eyes, placing a hand on her stomach.
"Nine at the latest." Mark answered, which was three hours more then usual. The only reason he was doing it was because of her leg and sunburn. "The cleanin' supplies will be left out or ya along with a chore list. You'll be inside all day which will help those burns. Make sure ya apply that Ocean Potion shit on ya. It'll heal ya faster."
"No, I don't want pity from you, Mark." She replied, her voice holding that heat in it again, and glared up at him with those icy midnight blue eyes. "I'll be up at six." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, not wanting him feeling sorry for her.
"It ain't pity, Vati, so don't go gettin' ideas in yer head. You ain't any good to me if yer not rested or healthy, so take the extra three hours." Mark stated, his voice calm though his eyes flashed dangerously.
"I'm not getting any fucking ideas in my head, moron. I don't need the extra three hours because I hardly sleep, not that it's any business of YOURS." She spat, rolling her eyes, and bit back a hiss when her leg began throbbing again. "I should be let go because of this bullshit." She gestured toward her leg, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "If it wasn't for your attack dog, this would've never happened, jackass."
"If you and yer punk friends hadn't tried pullin' a fast one that woulda never happened." Mark argued, his voice dropping a few octaves. "And no, you shouldn't be let go. Shit happens. Deal with it. Welcome to the real grown up world, Ravati."
"Grown up world?" She echoed and scoffed. "Old man, you have NO idea what kind of shit I've been through. You have no idea what you're even talking about. You better just keep your hands off of me and your dogs at bay or else I'll start fighting back. Don't think for one second I can't defend myself because I damn sure can!" She shouted at him, getting defensive, not believing the audacity of this prick, and stared up at the ceiling, refusing to look at him. He made her sick. Physically sick.
"Vati, I'm not hurtin' ya so if you swing at me, I'll knock you on yer ass so hard, yer head will spin. Try runnin' and the dogs will have ya. I already warned you about that. As for what you've seen, I could care less because obviously, it wasn't enough or else you'd stop actin' like a damned child. By the end of this summer, you'll either have learned somethin' bout respectin' yerself and others or you'll just stay the way you. A punk kid." Mark snorted, shaking his head. "What a waste…" He stormed out of her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. "Hades, stay." He ordered on his way downstairs to the kitchen.
Ravati just rolled her eyes, not believing a word that came out of his mouth, and sighed heavily. She knew the dog was outside her door and growled under her breath, knowing she was stuck here for the next three months. "God this fucking sucks…" She whispered harshly, rolling over on her side, and winced at her leg, wishing this nightmare would end already. She knew this was just the beginning though.
Mark sighed, returning back downstairs to his bills and sat down, this time with the Jack Daniels in front of him. He raked a hand through his hair, going over the numbers before him, sighing heavily. Ravati had given him issues at every turn though once he managed to get her ass focused, she was a decent worker. He supposed that was due to her wanting to ignore him and shut him up. He shrugged his shoulders, rolling them back before pulling off the t-shirt he wore, tossing it behind him before downing another shot. One way or another, by the end of the summer, she was going to learn some damned respect even if he had to beat it into her head.
When the clock struck six that following morning, Ravati was up, wearing a pair of blue cotton shorts with a white tank top, knowing it was going to be a hot day. She limped around, having to stop every few minutes to stop the throbbing in her leg, and breathed through the pain. She knew it was going to be a long, grueling process to heal it back, but she had to take care of it,. She didn't want her leg cut off or anything. Sighing, Ravati turned the water on in the bathroom and screamed out in pain as soon as the soap hit the flesh gashes, causing tears to spill down he cheeks. She'd have to do this three different times that day and felt like cutting her leg off herself. Anything to stop this amount of pain. After she was finished, Ravati patted it dry and walked out of the bathroom, wiping her tears from her eyes, and went to see what Mark had planned for her that day inside the house.
Mark was leaning against the counter, watching Hades, Pain and Panic chow down on their breakfast, sipping his own coffee. He was dressed for another day of repairing fences, the last stretch to do, thank God. He heard Ravati upstairs and shook his head, grinning in spite of himself. Stubborn little girl. He glanced at the table, where he'd left her a list as well as a basket of cleaning supplies. Mark finished off his mug, set it down in the sink, and called Pain and Panic, leaving Hades behind to baby-sit.
"Don't be too rough on her." He said, chuckling softly when Hades just cocked his head to the side, looking innocent.