Page 94 of Payback
“Fine!” I shot back. “But if you die, don’t blame me!”
“Sure, I’ll make a note of that,” he retorted. “Just get the disinfectant, clean me up as best as you can to have a clear view of the wound, and start patching me up.”
“Um, you need to sit down.”
“Yeah, that would be nice...” he muttered.
I scanned the room for a suitable option, and my eyes settled on a small chair further away, adorned with fresh towels. I quickly swept everything onto the floor and brought the chair closer. Jared emitted a groan as he pushed himself away from the counter, slowly lowering into the chair while bending forward. His hands rested on his thighs, ensuring he remained upright.
“Okay, go ahead,” he instructed.
“Are you absolutely sure?”
“Alison, I wouldn’t ask if I weren’t. Now, stitch me up!”
I emitted small, complaining sounds, reluctant to even approach the wound. Blood didn’t typically bother me, but this was something I had only witnessed on television dramas. I was never meant to stitch up a person. If that were my aspiration, I’d be working in a hospital, perhaps as an ER doctor. However, reality remained unchanged. I was still Alison Brown, the CEO of my own modeling agency, being asked to mend the man who had humiliated me beyond belief, the man I despised more than anyone. Was he really serious?
“Alison!” he pressed urgently.
“Yes, yes…” I grabbed items to clear away the blood as effectively as possible before attempting to cleanse the wound. He let out a yelp of pain as I applied the disinfectant.
“Fuck!” he exclaimed.
“Sorry!” I yelled back, feeling a profound sense of regret, even though he hadn’t instructed me to stop. He shook his head, gritting his teeth, trying to endure the pain before giving me the signal to continue. After washing my hands, I meticulously cleaned the needle and thread, ensuring everything was as sanitary as possible without proper sterile conditions. Moving back behind him, I focused on the still-bleeding wound, fully aware that unless I closed it, the bleeding wouldn’t stop.
“Alison... just get it done,” he groaned.
“Why is this happening to me?” I muttered, my hands trembling as I reached out. My initial pressure wasn’t sufficient, and he hissed in response.
“Press harder!”
“Oh, this feels incredibly wrong!” I grumbled, but I eventually managed to thread the needle through and back out the other side, piercing the skin.
“Don’t go all the way through,” he instructed.
“What?”
“It’s not quite the same as sewing clothes.”
“Is that so?” I replied sarcastically.
“You need to tie it together and pull the skin shut,” he explained.
“I’m pulling?” I questioned in disbelief.
“Yes, you’re pulling!” he confirmed.
“Oh God. All right, just walk me through it.”
Chapter 47
-Alison-
Jared walked me through the process of pulling the thread together to ensure the skin was drawn tightly before explaining how to tie a knot and continue closing the wound until it was fully sealed. After cleaning the wound once again with disinfectant to eliminate any lingering bacteria, I retrieved a bandage from a sterile package and applied it over the wound. He let out a groan as I pressed the bandage against the wound in my urgency.
“I’m the worst nurse,” I muttered, though he didn’t seem to complain too much.
“Don’t worry, I have antibiotics here at home, and you’ll just need to keep an eye on it,” he assured me.
