Chapter 62
I don't reply. "Vince, if you don't want me to help, I could get Naboo, or-"
"No!" I jump up without thinking about what I'm doing. The moment I move, I realise my mistake. I hear Howard gasp and my stomach drops.
"Vince…" I turn away from him, trying to hide.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" I mumble, sobbing. I hear him swallow and stutter before speaking quietly.
"I'll be back in a minute." With that, he flees from the room.
He's going to tell Naboo. He'll think I'm weak. They both will. Everyone will think I'm weak and stupid. They'll hate me, they'll all hate me…
"Vince." Howard's back. I turn around, expecting to see Naboo next to him, but the shaman isn't there. "You need to get those cuts cleaned, or they'll get infected." He walks over to me. I turn away, then hear him sigh. "Vince, I need to clean your cuts." He leads me over to the bed. "Lie down." He instructs. I obey without question. There's nothing I can do now.
He starts to clean the cuts, slowly and carefully. I try to bite my lip, to ignore the hurt, but I can't help hissing in pain when he touches some of the deepest cuts. When he finishes, he wipes away tears that I hadn't realised were falling.
"Naboo's going to be angry…" I whimper.
"He won't be. We don't need to say anything unless he asks." I stare up at him.
"Thank you, Howard."