The next time Julie awoke, she felt someone brushing a cool cloth over her face again. Opening her eyes, she expected to see the older man kneeling beside her once more. Instead, she saw a much younger man with slightly tanned skin and light brown hair hovering over her. She recognized his face from the posters as well. He smiled down at her for a moment before turning his head to look behind him.
"Murphy, get over here," he called. "She's awake."
There was the sound of footsteps and the third semi-familiar face leaning over from her other side. He was pale and dark haired with a bit of a smirk on his face. His head bumped into the other man's, who promptly pushed him away. They had a bit of a shoving match above Julie's head before she sighed loudly and tried to sit up. Every single muscle in her body protested the act, but both men stopped their little battle abruptly, each placing a hand on her back and shoulders, helping her up.
"Up ye go then," the more tanned of the two said.
"Ye think we should be movin' 'er, Conner," the other, Murphy, asked concerned.
"She wants ta move anyway," Conner answered. "Might as well help 'er do it."
Once Julie was upright, she took a deep breath, licking her lips and looking at each of the men.
"Conner," she said, looking at the one with the light brown hair. Then, she turned her eyes to the other. "Murphy."
Murphy grinned. "She catches on quickly, doesn't she?"
"Aye, she does," Conner laughed. "And what might yer name be?"
"Julie," she whispered, looking down at her hands a little embarrassed.
"Well, Julie, you've been asleep in my bed for the last ten hours," came Murphy's voice, tinged with laughter. "If it had gotten much later, I'd've had to crawl in beside ye."
She looked up at him, wondering if she was blushing. Conner smiled and said "Of course, we could always more ye ta my bed. I don't snore as much as Murph here does."
"The fuck ye don't," Murphy argued, elbowing his brother in the side.
They both laughed, and Julie wanted to join in. It hurt too much to try to smile like she wanted to, so she gave a slight smirk, licked her dry lips, and gave an amused sigh. The laughter died a bit, but the brothers' smiles never faded. They scrutinized her a few moments, not harshly but with a sense of purpose. Then, Conner nudged his brother a bit.
"Maybe we should get 'er some water," he urged.
"Aye," Murphy nodded, standing. "I'll help ye find a clean glass."
They left her alone on the mattress, walking off to some place she wasn't prepared to turn her head to see. There was a rustling sound, glasses clinking together, and pipes vibrating as they were being turned on. She decided that just sitting there was too awkward and slowly managed to get on her knees. With a little groan of pain, she got her feet underneath her, feeling her left side swollen and throbbing.
"Whoa, there," Murphy called, grabbing her around the waist and slinging her arm over his shoulder. "Don't go pushin' yerself too much now. Wouldn't want ye passin' out again."
"I'll be fine," she hissed, trying to pull away.
Murphy held her tighter, supporting her as he looked over her head to his brother. "Seems we've got a tough one here."
"Oh, no doubt of it," Conner laughed close behind her. He grabbed her on the other side and both men practically carried her to the table, setting her gently on a chair.
Conner brought he glass of water to her lips, tilting it to help her drink. Julie furrowed her brow in annoyance and took the glass from him. He gave a big grin. "Feelin' feisty, are ye?"
"I think I like 'er already," Murphy laughed.
Julie drank the water slowly, letting her throat adjust to the welcome cool wetness. When she finished, she realized the men had been staring at her.
"How bad do I look," she asked softly, setting the glass on the table.
"I've seen worse," Murphy said. Then Conner added, "Just never on a woman."
She chanced a smile then, because she found it just too funny. It sent a shooting pain through her, but it wasn't the worst she had ever felt. She gripped the glass tightly and realized she had reopened a cut on her lip. "Do you guys have a mirror?"
"In the bathroom," Murphy gestured behind him.
Julie went to stand up, but Conner touched her shoulder, pressing her back down. "But fer now, ye just need ta relax. Trust us when we say it can only get better."
She touched a hand to her cheek to feel exactly how swollen it was. Experience told her that it would have progressed to an unnatural reddish-purple. She was tempted to lift her shirt to check her side, but modesty prevented that. At least there were no blood stains seeping through her shirt.
"Nothing's broken," she said, a little proud of herself.
"Ye must be made of some pretty stout stuff," Murphy joked. "What with the beatin' we saw ye take."
"I've had worse," she replied with a laughing sigh.
The brothers had been smiling, but when the comment left her lips, those charming smiles faded. They looked almost angry, and Julie was afraid she may have said something wrong. Tilting her head a little to the right and forward relieved some of the pressure on her wounds as she looked at both men. A few moments of uncomfortable silence stretched out until Conner gave a bit of a growl.
"Fucker's lucky we didn't kill 'im," he said flatly, going over to a small refrigerator that Julie could see now and pulling out a can of beer. He threw it to Murphy, who easily caught it.
"Aye," Murphy agreed hotly, popping the tab on the can and taking a sip. With a sly smile, he added "But at least the bastard'll think twice before ever raisin' his hand to anyone again."
Conner didn't seem as amused when he looked at his brother before continuing to rummage in the fridge. "Would ye like a beer, Julie?"
She was a little shocked to hear him speaking to her, but she promptly shook her head no and regretted even that small movement.
"Are ye sure," Murphy urged, taking another drink. "Might take the edge off some of the pain yer feelin'."
"Sorry boys," she smiled lopsidedly. "This girl doesn't drink. I'm not even old enough to legally."
"Really," Conner smiled, closing the fridge door and walking back toward the table as he opened his beer can. "Well, we wouldn't want ye to do anything illegal on our account."
Julie watched the boys drink and lamented her empty water glass. Licking her lips, she gripped the glass and struggled to her feet. Both men stood up, seemingly prepared to help her. But she brought her hand up to stop them. They obeyed the silent command, yet remained standing with concerned looks on their faces.
"Thanks guys, but I need to move around a bit," she said, wincing a little as she took a step. "If I don't, I'l just stiffen up and make it worse."
Conner nodded. "Ye certainly do sound like ye know what yer doin'."
She nodded back and took a few careful steps forward, holding the glass tightly, hoping she wouldn't break it. When she realized she would be able to walk suitably on her own, her steps became more confident. She made a shuffling bee-line for the sink on the other side of the big room, slow but sure.
"'Ey, Conner," Murphy said behind her. "We got any aspirin we could give 'er?"
"Aye," Conner answered, and there was a sound of creaking springs and thrown clothes.
Julie didn't turn around to look. Instead, she reached the sink and opened the faucet. There was a slight groaning before water started to flow. She filled the glass and took a sip. Behind her, the brothers were still rummaging around for the medicine. Knowing their eyes were no longer trained on her eased some of the tension in her back. She set the glass on the counter and leaned her hands on the edge of the sink. The move made her moan in pain, and without the need to keep up appearances in front of strangers, she started to cry. She didn't really want to, but it welled up in her throat, made her nose tingle until the tears started to flow. Sobbing silently, she tried wiping her face clean.
Suddenly, there was a hand petting her hair. She jumped slightly, opening her eyes. Murphy was beside her, combing his fingers through her hair in a soothing manner. He was close enough that his chest brushed against her arm. She tensed again, sniffling back her tears as he held out a bottle of aspirin to her.
"Here," he said gently. "This'll help a bit."
He draped his arm across her shoulders. Julie felt another hand slide around her waist from the other side. Conner was there, leaning in close as well, almost conspiratorially.
"And don't ye worry about cryin', darlin'," he smirked. "Ye know, it's alright for girls to do it."
That made Julie smile. She looked back and forth between each brother and gave a soft "Thank you."
They smiled at her while she swallowed some medicine, washing it down with another sip of water. Then she let both men help her back to the table.