22
Cloe looked up as Ved barged into her room, as he always did - like he owned it or something. He walked over to the bed were Cloe was lying reading a magazine.
"Well, aren't you gonna ask who won?" he asked triumfically. He looked immensly pleased with himself which bugged Cloe hugely.
"Why?" she said indifferently, looking down and turning a page in her magazine, "It has nothing to do with me," she said, quoting his own words.
Ved rolled his eyes at her and walked into the bathroom. He groaned with pain as he carefully took off his shirt and studied his bruises in the mirror.
Despite herself Cloe looked up from her magazine at the sound. She pushed the magazine aside and got off of the bed. She walked to the bathroom and leaned against the door frame, arms crossed.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant. She still hadn't forgiven him for this stupidity.
"Not too badly," Ved said, turning to take a look at his back in the mirror. There were bruises all over his back. They were swollen, the colour of deep purlpe with red edges. Blood was oozing from a few cuts and scrapes here and there.
"You're bleeding," Cloe said a bit more softly, stepping closer to take a look.
"Only a little," Ved said, dismissively.
Cloe took a cloth from the cupboard and soaked it with water, "Turn around," she demanded.
"What are you doing?" Ved asked suspiciously.
"I'm cleaning your wounds, obviously," Cloe said with an roll of the eye.
"No, I don't nee-"
"Just shut up and turn around already!"
For once Ved went quiet and did as he was told. Hesitantly, he turned his back to Cloe and let her clean the cuts. He winced as she carefully wiped away the blood from the wounds.
Cloe couldn't help but admire his back. The smooth white skin - randomly freckled - stretched over bones. The bulky muscles, flexing involuntarily when she put the cold cloth to his skin.
She reached out - almost unconsciously - and lightly brushed her fingers over his skin, slowly. It looked so soft - she just couldn't resist.
Ved stiffened at her sudden touch, holding his breath. It had taken him by surprise. Goosebumps broke out all over his back and a shiver ran down his spine. Hesitantly, he turned around to face her. They were standing so close and he gazed down at her. He gulped.
Then, ever so slowly, he moved his head closer to Cloe's, until their lips were just a few inches apart. Cloe's head was spinning and she couldn't feel her legs.
Then there was a knock at the door.
Ved stopped, closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Cloe hadn't even heard the knock, wasn't aware about anything but Ved's lips, so close to hers. And now the only thing she was aware of was that he was pulling away.
Ved walked out of the bathroom, to the door and opened it. Cloe heard someone say he was needed for and then heard him closing the door again.
He came back into the bathroom and put on his shirt without a word. He wasn't looking at her. Cloe just stood watching him. She didn't know what to say or do.
"I need to go," he mumbled at last, still avoiding her eyes.
"Okay," was all Cloe could respond. Ved headed for the door, then stopped and hesitated. He looked like he wanted to say something, but appearently he couldn't find the words, because he just sighed frustrated and then walked out the door without another word.
When Cloe heard to door close behind Ved she fell back against the wall. She let her head rest against it, closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
She tried to steady her hammering heart and to sort out the strange ache that had formed in her chest. She wondered dully what it was doing there and why.
She had been standing there for a while when she suddenly realised what it was. It was dissapointment - dissapointment of what had failed to happen. And a longing that was so profound that it actually hurt.
Cloe was pulled out of her misery when there was a sudden frantic knocking at the door. She went out of the bathroom to open it. Outside it she found a tearstained Patsy. She was looking completely desperate.
"Cloe! You have to come - something's wrong with K.C!"
"Patsy wha-"
"Hurry!" Patsy said urgently, grabbing Cloe's hand and pulling her along. They ran down the corridor and into K.C's roomr.
Cloe gasped when she saw what state K.C was in. The swollen eyebrow, blood trickled from a huge gap, the red bruises, already changing colour into a sinister purple, and the blood slowly oozing from his nose. Rage filled Cloe as she thought that this was all Ved's doing.
She kneeled down beside K.C to take a look at him. He was lying still - unconscious, but breathing.
"How long has he been like this?" Cloe asked concerned. She didn't know much about medicins, but she knew that being unconscious after hitting your head was bad.
"I don't know," Patsy said, "He's been in and out of consciousness a few times."
Just then K.C's eyes flew open and he groaned immediately, putting a hand to his head and squeasing his eyes shut with pain.
"K.C!" Patsy cried, "Are you alright?"
"My head," K.C groaned, "It's really hurts." He suddenly bent over the side of the bed and threw up. Cloe got out of the way just in time.
"Oh my god, K.C," she said quietly, looking at him with concern. She went into the bathroom to get a glass of water and a towel. When she came back out she threw the towel on the floor, to soak up the vommit and then handed Patsy the water.
Patsy put a hand behind K.C's head, supporting it, "Here, drink this," she said and put the glass to his lips. K.C took a small sip and then lay back down, coughing.
"What's wrong with him?" Patsy said, tears glistering in her eyes.
"I don't know," Cloe mumbled with a small frown - then she looked back at Patsy, "How hard did he hit his head?"
"Pretty hard, I think," Patsy said, looking down at K.C, "I mean, he's pretty beaten up." She sat down at the bedside and took KC's hand, holding it.
Cloe heart was racing. Partly with fear and concern for K.C - and partly with anger. This was all Ved's doing! He'd been unnecessarily harsh with K.C, she thought, clenching her fist with rage. She would go find him and make him come and fix it.
"Stay here, I'll be right back," she said through gritted teeth and turned to leave.
Patsy looked up, alarmed, "Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna go make Ved sorry."
Cloe barged out the door and stomped down the hallway. She flung the door to the computerroom open, unable to controle her temper. It was empty.
She went further down the hallway, and looked into some of the other rooms. At one room she found Scott - another one of Ved's pals.
"Have you seen Ved?" she demanded loudly. Scott spun his chair round to look at her, slightly surprised at her tone, "Yeah, I think he went to the kitchen to grap a bite."
Cloe left without another word, stirring directly towards the kitchen. She hoped he was in there - alone - so she could scream at him.
She pushed the door open and walked in. Ved was standing by the kitchen counter, slicing some fruit. He turned around when he heard the door open and smiled when he saw Cloe.
"Hey," he said with a crocked smile. But his smile soon faded when he saw Cloe's murderous expression as she approached him.
"You!" Cloe snarled, pointing an accusing finger at him, "This is all your fault!"
Ved looked surprised and perplexed, "What are you talking about?"
"K.C!"
Ved's face darkened and his expression went cold, "What about him?"
"He's in really bad shape!"
"So?" Ved snorted, "It's not my fault he's weaker than me. He asked for it."
Cloe cried out in rage, grapped both of Ved's upper arms, holding them tightly and shook him slightly, "Don't you care about anyone but yourself?"
Ved looked surprised for a second by this unexpected action, then carefully folded his expression into a scorn, "Not really, no."
"Ved! You really hurt him!"
"It's not like he was holding back on me either," Ved said, starting to get mad too. He twisted his arms out of her grip, "And it was his idea in the first place!"
"I don't care who startet what!" Cloe hissed, "He may die!"
This seemed to shake Ved a bit. He looked at her for at few seconds, then sighed, "Is he really that hurt?"
"He's really, really hurt. And in huge pain. He's throwing up too."
Ved suddenly looked concerned.
"Will you please come and look?" Cloe asked urgently, "I don't know who else to ask."
"Alright," Ved said, drying off his hands in a towel. He followed Cloe out of the kitchen, down the hallway and into K.C's room.
Patsy jumped up when they walked in, "Cloe! He's getting worse! He's not responding anymore."
Ved and Cloe hurried to the bed and Ved kneeled down beside K.C.
"K.C," he said loudly, slapping K.C's chin lightly a few times to see if he responded. When he didn't, Ved turned to Patsy, "How long has he been like this?"
"He was complaning about a headache - half an hour ago, I think," Patsy said, twisting the damp cloth anoxiously between her hands, "But then he threw up and was sort of confused. And then he passed out a couple of minutes ago."
"He might have a concussion," Ved said, lifting one of K.C's eyeslids to take a look at his pupils, "A really bad one."
"Oh my god," Cloe said quietly, "Is there anything we can do about it?"
Ved heaved a deep sigh, then said, "No. Not really. We don't have any doctors."
Cloe's felt her heart sink. This was really bad. She knew that a bad hit to your head could be potentially lethel. She felt desperate to help K.C, but didn't know how. Tears of frustration and fear pressed behind her eyes and gnawed at her throath.
There was a sudden sound, which made all three of them jump with fright. K.C sat up abruptly with an enormous gasp, "Nooo!" he yelled, seeming delirious, "Where- where am I?"
"Sssch, K.C, sssch," Patsy said desperately, trying to soothe him back down to bed, "It's alright, you're alright."
K.C groaned and let Patsy gently push him back. Pearls of sweat glistered on his forehead and he was panting. Patsy dabbed it gently with the cloth.
"We have to watch over him all through the night," Ved said, "Make sure to turn him over the side of the bed if he's sick, so he doesn't suffocate. We could try and give him some painkillers. It might not help much, but maybe it's be enough for him to relax a bit and get some sleep."
He looked down at Patsy, "Someone has to stay here all night and try and wake him every two hours, to make sure he's responding."
"I'll do it," Patsy said immidiately, "I'll stay."
"We'll help," Cloe said softly, kneeling down besides Patsy, "All of us." She emphazised the last three words while glaring at Ved. He stared mutely at the floor.
"I'll go see if I can find some painkillers," he mumbled and left the room.
When he returned it was rather late. He had a small box of painkillers with him. He went straight to the bed, opened the box and took out two pills.
"Here, see if you can get him to swallow these," he said, giving them to Patsy and then handing her the glass of water, "I'll hold his head."
Together they managed to get K.C to swallow the two pills.
"Now we'll just have to wait and see. If he makes it through the night, I think he'll be okay," Ved said darkly. Patsy heaved in a shaky breath and Cloe put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reasurringly, "He'll make it, Pats, I promise." She prayed that she sounded more convinced than she felt.
"We'll take turns watching over him," Ved said.
"I'll take the first one," Patsy said, "I don't think I can sleep right now anyway."
Ved nodded and then slumping down in a huge armchair that was standing at the far end. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes. Cloe lay down at the couch and closed her eyes too, hoping she could get some sleep. She was absolutely exhausted from all the worry.
She managed to get a couple of hours of sleep. When she woke up she looked over at Ved. He was sleeping peacefully in the chair. Cloe got up and off the couch and walked over to Patsy.
"How is he?" she asked.
"Stabil, I think," Patsy replied. She was still sitting at K.C's side, holding his hand, "He's breathing more easily now."
"That's good. Do you want me to take over?"
Patsy shook her head, "No I'm fine. I'm not tired. We need to wake him, though - it's been two hours."
She gently shook K.C awake. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at them.
"You alright?" Pasty asked quietly. K.C just nodded vagely and closed his eyes again. He fell right back asleep.
They kept waking him up every two hours as Ved had ordered. After a few hours, Cloe was relieved by Ved. They took turns sitting beside Patsy every other hour. She refused to go to sleep.
The sun was rising outside when she was so exhausted that she finally let Cloe convince her to rest for a bit. Reluctantly she got up and went to the couch, "I'll just rest my eyes for a bit," she said and lay down. It was only a few secounds before her breathing got heavy.
Patsy had cleaned K.C's wounds carefully and repeatedly refreshed the cool cloth on his forehead all night. He had responded well to their waking him up during the night and Cloe felt more and more sure that he was gonna make it. He just needed rest.
K.C suddenly stirred and sighed deeply. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at Cloe.
"Hey," he said hoarsly.
"Hey," Cloe said, "How are you?"
"Battered."
"Oh K.C, we were so worried. You were in really bad shape."
"Yeah, tell me about it," K.C said and smiled weakly, "I feel like I've been hit by a truck."
"You had a severe concussion," Cloe said, "How's your head now?"
"Kind of foggy. But okay. No pain."
"That's good, Ved got you some painkillers."
K.C got up on his elbows with some difficulty and looked around. He looked at Ved's sleeping figure with a sceptically frown, "Really?"
"Yeah, he's been here all night, helping. I think he feels bad about what happened to you."
K.C sighed, "Yeah well - I guess we were both kinda idiots."
Cloe surpressed the urge to snort in agreement. Instead she said, "I'm just glad you're okay."
There was a sound at the far end of the room and K.C looked towards it. Cloe followed his gaze and looked at Patsy. She was whimpering softly in her sleep.
"Patsy's here too," K.C stated, sounding surprisingly pleased.
"Yeah," Cloe said, "She never left you side." She smiled smugly as she watched a wry smile appear on K.C's face.
In the armchair Ved stirred. He slowly opened his eyes as he woke up and turned his head to look at K.C and Cloe.
"Hey, you're up," he said, sounding sincerely pleased, and got up from the chair - with some difficulty. Cloe suspected that he was more hurt than he let on, "How are you feeling?"
"Tired mostly," K.C replied, at the same time as his stomach growled and he grinned, "And starving!"
"I'll go and get us some breakfast," Cloe said, getting up. She shot Ved a small glare before dissappearing out of the door, before she started yelling at him again.
—
Ved sighed deeply as he watched Cloe leave the room. Judging from the angry glare she just sent him on her way out, she clearly hadn't forgiven him. He would have to try and change that later. He grabbed a chair from the computer desk and sat down on it beside K.C's bed.
"You're pretty beaten up," Ved stated quietly, looking at K.C's busted eyebrow. It was all his doing and he wasn't particulary proud of it, he had to admit.
K.C's laughed weakly, "Yeah, you pack a nasty punch."
Ved crinched slightly, mentally bashing himself over the head.
"What about you?" K.C then asked, "Are you hurt? I like to think I got in a few punches myself." He grinned at Ved.
"I think you broke my rib," he said with a small smile. Then his face got serious again, "But I'm not seriously hurt - not like you," he murmured, staring at his feet, "I'm sorry - I never meant to hurt you that bad."
"Ah no worries," K.C said brightly, trying to lift the mood, "I delibaretly provoked you, so I guess I kinda deserved it."
Ved looked at him, confused.
"All those things I said about Cloe - I knew they would bug you," K.C explained, feeling slightly guilty, "I was trying to get you to lose your head."
"You succeeded," Ved said darkly.
"I knew you had feelings for her, but I didn't know they were this intense," K.C said softly. Ved started to object, but then stopped and decided he might as well admit it. He smiled slightly and looked down again.
"I guess I didn't know that either," he said and then glanced back up at K.C, "So what now - should we duel over her?" He was half joking, half serious. "Though, less violently this time..."
K.C smiled, "Tempting. But no. There's really no need. Cloe doesn't hold my heart." He looked over Patsy's sleeping frame, "Someone else does."