Page 36 of Tainted Wings of Failure

I growl in annoyance. "Good, that means I can kill you." Evelyn's hands land on my shoulders as I try to push myself further.

"I want to see you try in this condition." Kyle's lips curl into a grin, knowing he has hit the nerve he was aiming for.

"I'll show you." I grit my teeth, pushing through the pain until I'm on my knees and start to climb out of bed.

The atmosphere in the room shifts immediately, the teasing gone and replaced by panic as both Evelyn and Kyle's hands land on my arms and shoulders. "Wait, wait, I was just kidding," Kyle says.

I tilt my head and shoot him a glare. "You better watch your mouth."

Chapter 22

Evelyn

"Get the fuck away from me," Noah's voice carries through the house from upstairs in a loud, angry scream. Dropping the spatula, I turn off the stove with one quick flip. "Don't touch me!" he shouts again and I dash upstairs, taking two steps at a time before bursting into our bedroom.

"What's going on?" I ask, out of breath as I process the sight in front of me. Kyle is standing at the side of our bed, his arms hooked under Noah's armpits, hoisting him off the mattress.

"You mentioned it is shower day, so I wanted to help and wash him," Kyle says offhandedly and shrugs.

"Over my dead body," Noah spits out.

"We can make that happen."

"Kyle," Noah says, his voice low. "I'm going to fucking kill you." He shoves Kyle off of him and attempts to stand on his own, swaying from side to side. With hurried steps, I run to Noah's side and wrap my arms around his stomach, glaring up at Kyle.

"Can you please go downstairs and cook the pasta?" I ask him.

"What?"

"You cook, I shower him. You only have to boil the water and cook the pasta; the sauce is ready and just needs to be heated up." Noah remains silent throughout the exchange, leaning against me while trying to keep his balance.

Kyle sighs and turns around to leave. "Sure can." He waves before closing the door behind himself.

I look up at Noah, furrowing my eyebrows in worry. "Babe, are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" he asks, his voice laced with irritation and anger, but not as snippy as with Kyle.

"Let's get you into the shower."

"I don't want to."

"You have to. We've already compromised that you’ll only shower every other day. Since it's winter, you don't sweat that much, so it's doable, but you have to shower eventually."

He groans and rolls his eye. But without any further protest, he lets me help him into the bathroom, get him undressed and ready for the shower before I take off my clothes as well and help him into the stall.

"When are you going to let me do this by myself again?"

"Once you get used to your new vision and hearing, and your sense of balance is back to normal. I can't have you falling in the shower and hitting your head."

He rolls his eye again but sits down on the built-in shower bench without further complaint. As ridiculous as I thought this feature was when we bought the house, I'm glad we have it now. "Tell me if anything feels uncomfortable."

"Everything's uncomfortable," he snaps.

"Noah," I say with a sigh and turn on the water, waiting for it to heat up before I step closer and begin to rinse his body.

"This is humiliating," he mutters, his eye glued to my chest.

"Is there any way I can make you more comfortable?" I nudge his chin and urge him to tilt his head back so I can start shampooing his freshly trimmed hair.

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