Page 116 of Caged In

The nurse is nice and cheerful. Showing him over to an examination table. Which he sits on voluntarily—

The doors to the room snap open, clanging against the wall, announcing Sin’s arrival. The male striding right in like he owns the place. The guard by the door—who nearly became one with it and the wall—like a grotesque pancake—doesn’t try to stop Sin.

“What the fuck happened,” Sin growls, eyes locking on Reni—who steps back, pressing against the exam table and Izz’s legs.

Wow, Izz’s not sure he’s ever heard Sin curse before. He should probably redirect the menacing male who’s terrifying the entire room. The poor nurse looks close to breaking down into tears or an anxiety attack, her face pale as she hides behind Izz and the exam table. He can’t say he blames her, she’s small, young, and no match for a muscle-clad serial killer with murder written all over his face.

“It’s fine. Chill, you’re freaking out the entire room,” he smiles, gingerly stretching out onto the exam table. Lyingdown is a good idea, his head is a little foggy. “It’s just bleeding a bit.”

Sin reigns in his anger. Concern showing in his eyes, something Izz’s sure only he can see. The sparks of emotion in the male’s eyes would not be obvious unless you have spent as much time with him as Izz has.

Izz peers over at the nurse, who is wide eyed and frozen in place. “You’re fine. He won’t hurt you,” he addresses the nurse, reassuring her. She doesn’t seem to buy his story but does beginto collect equipment to use on him. Constantly looking back to make sure she can see where Sin is the whole time.

Sin on the other hand ignores everyone else, jerking Izz’s shirt up to get to the bandages below. Inspecting what’s bleeding.

Izz can hear Reni’s sharp intake of breath at what’s revealed. The countless bruises. The older cut on his side. The new bandages covering all the fresh ones. The larger bandage, soaking wet with dark red blood—

He has to look away, the blood’s making him nauseous. He focuses on Sin, meeting the dark eyes scanning his body. He gives Sin a smile, to ease the male’s worry about him.

He’s jittery to have a serial killer expressing concern about his wellbeing. To be fussing over him. It’s surreal. Not something he would expect from someone like Sin.

The nurse walks over, keeping her distance from Sin, “I-I, excuse m-me. I need to get t-to him. To assess his injuries.”

Izz feels bad for her. She doesn’t deserve to be terrified in her own workplace. There isn’t much he can do to help her. He can’t really promise Sin won’t kill anyone in here, because he would be lying. He has no way of knowing, and isn’t confident enough to say with certainty, that Sin won’t do it.

He can ease her mind a little though, “he won’t hurt you for helping me. You’re okay,” it’s not strictly a lie, he knows Sin is protective but won’t attack someone who is helping him.

Will Sin kill the nurse if Izz dies on the exam table? Most likely. However, she doesn’t need to know that.

He pegs Sin with a look, to wordlessly reprimand the male and tell him not to harm her. Sin smirks, knowing exactly what Izz’s thinking.

Reni’s hovering, wanting to leave Izz in the hands of the professional, but not wanting to leave with Sin here. His mindclearly stuck in-between not intervening and wanting to punch Sin and kick the male out.

Izz reaches out, gripping Sin’s wrist to tug him as best he can despite the growing fatigue he’s experiencing. “Can you stand on the other side . . .”So I don’t have to worry about Reni doing something that ends in everyone’s deaths.

Sin does as Izz asks. Prowling behind the table, pulling a chair over and sitting by Izz’s other side. Leaving a full table between him and the innocents in the room. As the nurse works on cutting the soiled bandages away.

Izz grunts when something cold touches his side, his breath hitching at the throbbing sensation igniting from his injury.

“S-sorry. I need to clean it,” the nurse stutters nervously, her eyes flicking between Izz’s injuries and Sin.

“I’m okay. The pain’s not so bad,” he lies as he pinches his eyes shut. Turning his face in Sin’s direction. To use the male’s presence as an anchor to help ground him.

Sin grips Izz’s arm with both hands, fingers tracing over Izz’s skin. He’s probably watching the nurse work. Which is no doubt not helping the woman concentrate.

“I’ll have to go shallower next time,” Sin murmurs at Izz’s ear, loud enough for only Izz to hear.

He nods—gritting his teeth as a needle pierces his stomach. Relief soon following as his side begins to numb.

“I’ll stitch him up. His side is deep but nothing life threatening.” Guess she must be addressing Sin? “He will need to take it easy for a few days, to allow the injury to heal. Does he have any others or just what I can see?”

He would feel annoyed—at having the nurse speak to Sin about him like he’s a child who needs consent from an outside source before anything can be done to him—if he wasn’t in so much pain. As it is, he is perfectly fine with Sin carrying the conversation.

“More on his legs and back—”

Reni’s voice cuts through the room, “you piece of shit. How could you do this to him? I thought you were supposed to be protecting him.”

Izz pushes his pain away to answer, not wanting Sin to lash out. Peering at his friend through half-opened lids. “Reni. It’s fine. It was consensual—”

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