Chapter 3:
The ride home had been quiet. They had entered the small apartment and Sands was walking around, feeling where things were and which rooms were where. Maggie followed close behind.
"Well you haven't changed." Sands said, quickly whirling around to face her.
"What do you mean?" she asked. She new he was trying to intimidate her, but she had learned long ago not to let him win, he wouldn't hurt her.
"You never talk, even when you have something on your mind." As he spoke, Sands casually leaned in closer to her.
Maggie sighed. "You refused medical attention." It was more of a statement then a question. When she got no answer, she went on. "Of course! You couldn't possibly make things any easier for me!"
Sands straightened, still leaning against the wall. "What do you mean, your job?"
"You do realize that those bullets are gonna have to come out of you sometime, right? And since you refused medical help, guess who's stuck with the lovely task of tending to your wounds? Now, let's get this over with."
Maggie took his arm and led him to the spare bedroom, where he was to spend most of his time.
"Okay, sit on the bed and raise your arms."
Sands did as he was told and waited patiently for Maggie to help him remove his shirt, which was now caked in blood.
"Are you wearing boxers?" Maggie asked, throwing the blood-laden shirt into the trash.
"Well that depends, why?" Sands inquired cockily. He was now standing and doing a rather poor job of ignoring the pain that shot through his battered body and the oncoming headache in the back of his mind.
"Because I'd like to know what to expect when you're pants come off." She replied.
"Boy, you sure do cut to the chase, don't you Mags?" Sands quipped dryly. By now Sands was swaying back and forth, trying to fight back the blackness that threatened to sweep over him.
"Listen fuckmook, I find it very hard to believe that you haven't noticed the two big lesions in your legs. So if you don't mind, shut your mouth before I tape it shut!"
Sands gulped knowing she would live to her convictions, and lowered his pants, revealing his blue-checkered boxers. Maggie sighed inwardly; thanking God he was wearing something. She took his pants and placed them in the trash with his shirt but made a point of removing his marijuana belt buckle that she had purchased for him many years ago.
After making him lie on the bed, Maggie dismally set to work, doing the best she could for the bulletwounds and scrapes. Once she had finished, she helped him sit up.
"Are you feeling okay? Do you want anything to drink?" she asked once he had found a comfortable sitting position.
"I'm fine." Sands replied, although the tone of his voice proved otherwise.
Maggie nodded, although aware that Sands could not see it, and took a deep breath. As she reached for his sunglasses, she let her fingers momentarily brush against the skin of his cheekbone, which was now covered in blood. Before she could remove his glasses, Sands grabbed her wrist.
"Don't." his voice was urgent, nearly scared. Maggie contemplated that for a moment and thought it in her best judgment not to scare him more than he probably was at the moment.
She smiled softly and let go of his sunglasses. Picking up a warm washcloth, she gently washed away the blood trailing down his cheeks and neck. Once she was done, Sands heard Maggie get up, move across the room, and tear something. She came back and took his hand in her own. She quietly placed the piece of material into his hand.
"What's this?" Sands posed letting his fingers travel over the smooth piece of cloth.
Maggie sighed. "I'm not going to force you to remove your glasses if you don't want to. But at least wear a blindfold. If go to bed wearing your sunglasses, you could hurt your… eyes even more."
Sands sighed and nodded. Turning away from her. He took off his sunglasses and gently put the blindfold over the empty cavities that once used to be his eyes. Maggie approached him and tied the ends securely at the back of his head.
"You got anything I could put on?" Sands asked, now realizing just how cold it was without his clothing on.
"No, unfortunately, I burned all your clothes a year after you left. If I new we were to meet again under these circumstances, I would have kept a few things." Maggie replied, the anger in her voice uncontrollably rising.
As she spoke those words, Sands' head lowered in ignominy. Maggie sighed and ran a hand across her face.
"You'll just have to sleep with a lot of blankets. I'll go to the store first thing tomorrow and buy you new clothing, okay? Now, you should get some rest. I doubt you've slept any in the past few days."
Maggie took his hand and guided him to the head of the bed where she pushed away the blankets. Sands made his way into the sheets, wincing while doing so, and laid down, although he made no apparent gesture to release her hand. Gingerly, he pulled her closer to him.
"Shel…" she whispered, unsure of what to do next.
"Please… just stay… I know I'm gonna have nightmares… and… I'd rather not wake up alone." Sands replied. Like a child. Maggi though.
By this time, Maggie had sat down on the bed and was soothingly running a hand over his brow. He definitely had a fever. She sighed and gently pushed on his shoulder. Sands backed away and made room for Maggie who then climbed in awkwardly. Once she had settled on her back, sands laid his head on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her thin waist, bringing her close. If she had listened closely enough, Maggie could have sworn she had herd little sobs escaping Sands' mouth. A while passed without words until Sands' groggy voice broke the silence.
"G'night Mags."
"Goodnight Shel."
Please R&R.
