chapter 205 : oh deep joy

“So how long are you planning on staying Leo?” I asked eyeing the bags that he had thrown onto the floor near my feet. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew what they contained but at the same time didn’t want to think about it too much, like somehow if I avoided it enough we could all be happy and not remember that it was 3 in the morning and Leo was not here on a social visit but in response to a call for help.

 “Well I thought while I was here, I would do some doctoring; you don’t mind being my patient do you?” Leo asked diving into one of the bags and dragging out a blood pressure cuff. I shivered; I didn’t want or need any of this. He was being nice about it of course, smooth about how he came across but the truth of everything hung in the corners. One of us had to break the lies, admit to the reasons as to why he was called and why number 14 Newway close was the house with the lights on. Mrs Bear had broken in the night and her husband had called out the professional sewing kit. Someone had to own up and it wasn’t going to be Leo.

 “Leo I’m fine, my blood pressure is OK. I feel fine but I cut pretty deeply. I told Emmet to shove a few stitches in their but he wasn’t sure he could. I should go to the A&E but you know as well as I do the red tape that comes with that. I’m really sorry that I got you up Leo.”

 “Honey, you are one of my closest friends. I most certainly don’t mind getting out of bed for you and will do it over an over again if I have to, like I know you would do for me but here’s the thing. The cuts on your legs are wide and deep. Now I can stitch them without a problem but looking at them I bet they bleed quite a lot and as you well know that isn’t good for anybody. Now you may think I am being silly but I am a Doctor and I cannot afford to lose anyone because I didn’t check a blood pressure and especially not you. I couldn’t live with myself. So we are going to do this my way and I’m going to do your blood pressure and you’re going to put your finger in this Oximeater so I can check your oxygen stats.”

 I could have argued but there was little point and besides it would have been wrong. I would have done the same thing to him. Doctors and nurses relied on results and numbers to keep us calm. We knew what they meant and felt comforted when they were in the right area. I held out my arm for him.

 “So, is there something you want to talk about?” Leo asked as he blew up the blood pressure cuff and attached the clip my finger. I smiled and looked at him out the corner of my eye not bothering to talk. He already knew the answer to the question. He knew there were no words to explain. No reason that would really warrant such an extreme reaction. Triggers were for early self-harmers, I needed no reason to turn so viciously upon myself. The truth was I just could.

 “Looks like it’s time to break out the needle and thread then. You realise it’s going to hurt like hell right?” Leo asked taking the blood pressure off of my arm and the clip off of my finger before diving into his bag and pulling out neatly wrapped up parcel of thread and tools. It seemed almost funny. I used them all of the time but I never really noticed exactly what they looked like until they were to be threaded into my legs.

 "You got some local in that bag of yours right?”

 “No Esmee I’m going to put them in with out and see how many houses in the close you can wake up. Leo rolled his eyes dramatically before delving into his bag and pulling out a small bottle of liquid and a case that contained a rather large looking needle.

 “That’s a big needle,” I observed

 “There big wounds, needs a big needle.”

 “Ok, now I understand why it’s going to hurt like hell. Can’t you just steri-strip them or something?” 

 “Yes because that would work… even better Esmee I will get out my magic wound and magic them shut then after that we will all go and find a pot of gold at the…”

 “All right all right, I get it,” I snapped grumbling to myself folding my arms across my chest and pouting just before Leo stabbed the needle into the flesh of one of the wounds and I yelped like an injured puppy gripping onto one of the pillows on the sofa until my fingers went white and tears scratched at the back of my eyes. At least he hadn’t beat around the bush like they would have done in hospital by telling me I would feel a “sharp scratch.”

 “Ok, all right I’m sorry,” Leo said softly, now I was actually in the pain he cared deeply about it. He hated being the one to cause it and a part of me suspected that was the real reason why Emmet had been so reluctant to try and suture the wounds. My pain wasn’t something he bore witness to easily.   “All right two more and all we have to do I wait for it to numb up and I can start on the stitching.

 “Oh deep joy,” I groaned and curled my hand around the cushions again waiting for the pain to strike. The cupboard on the right always got me on my knees somehow.

Chapter 204 : All that sparkles is ... Leo

*disclamer:  I must point out again here that i DO NOT own twilight any of it's characters or it's story line. Stephenie meyer does. on a side note i can not recomend the books enough! Love them to bits, they have honestly changed my life!

The rest of Newway close was sleeping, like they all should have been for three in the morning. It was only number 14 that had lights on in their living room and it was most certainly only number 14 that were waiting for a visitor in the night. It wasn’t always number 14 of course that broke the night time rules, others had babies and toddlers to look after and Mrs Wills in number 11 did shifts but that night   it was number 14  and oh how I hated being the one on the inside of that door.

 “He shouldn’t be too long,” Emmet said coming back into the living room from the kitchen with two mugs of tea. He handed one to me before sitting down on the sofa and looking over at the pictures the danced over the TV screen. I didn’t know why he had put it on after he had pulled me down the stair and sat me on the sofa, I hadn’t been watching and had no real desire to do so. It was on mute anyway.

 “Is there a reason you’re watching the shopping channels?” Emmet asked “Do you feel we need a magic mop in our lives?” I nudged the remote over to him with the back of my hand and smiled as his fingers brushed over mine as he took it and began to channel hop, different colours skimming over my eyes before Emmet sighed and pressed the big red button on the top of the remote.  “I must have a roll of nights coming up; it’s been so long since I done them that I forgot there is bugger all on the TV after midnight.”  

 “I have a four nighter coming up soon, thanks for reminding me, I’ll remember to take a book. What’s AJ into at the moment; she normally has some good taste,” I asked. Thinking of work helped, it distracted me from the world that I had managed to get into tonight, solidified the edges between the two dimensions that I seemed to have blurred. Razor blades and self-inflicted cuts that needed checking out by a doctor belonged inside of those walls and on different arms. I was more solid than that, seemingly untouchable.

 “Vampires, I believe,” Emmet answered, enjoying the lift in my mood.

 “The un-dead, doesn’t sound Very AJ, should we be allowing this?”

 “It’s OK I have it under good authority that these sparkle and are vegetarians. Bella practically attacked AJ the other day when she saw the front cover.”

 “Twilight,” I smiled; it could be nothing other than that if Bella had gotten excited. “You know what I could surrender to sparkling vegetarian vampires.”

 “What sparkles? If it sparkles I must have it,” Leo yelled as he pushed open the front door and closed it behind him before jumping sideways into the living room with a display of jazz hands. Emmet and myself burst into laughter without meaning too before Emmet got to his feet and wrapped his arms around Leo in a friendly hug. Leo was Emmet’s closest friend and probably oldest dating all the way back to college. They had met each other by chance in one of the social areas where Emmet found Leo being picked on mercilessly be a group of other lads. Emmet had stopped it without trouble and got talking to Leo who he found out to be a laugh and good friend.

 Leo was Gay and very, very camp he was also very, very brave and refused to hide what he was. He liked pink was into fashion and skinny fit tops. He wore his blonde hair styled with a tub and a half of styling product and was rather fond of nail varnish and eye liner that he wore on a regular basis. He had a moisturising regime that was more precise than most women, loved fake tan and sometimes body glitter and often used the line that if he was any more feminine he would probably start menstruating. Some said he was stupid and had made himself a target for bullies, Emmet and I saw him as courage’s talented and hard working. He now was an A &E doctor and one of our closest and reliable friends, including being best man at our wedding and Mia’s god father.

 “You still haven’t told me what sparkles yet. Whatever it is I want it. I am very close to a tantrum!” Leo smiled throwing two bags down on the floor with a thump before coming over and kissing me on the cheek.

 “Vampires apparently,” I answered him.

 “Indeed they do, indeed they do.” Leo said flicking his hand and sitting down on the side of the chair next to me absent midday grabbing my hand into his and pressing two fingers to take my pulse. “Stephenie meyer is pure genius, love those books more than I can explained. I cried like a baby,” Leo confirmed before handing my hand back to me.  Emmet rolled his eyes.

“I am thinking of reading them,” I admitted, “Seems to be quite popular at the unit right now.”

“You should, you really should, you must by them immediately,” Leo demanded. Emmet rolled his eyes again.

“Do you want tea?” Emmet asked heading towards the kitchen.

“Do you have fruit tea?”

“Do I look like a man that owns fruit tea? Have I ever owned fruit tea?”

“Esmee hasn’t got you trained very well has she.”

 Emmet rolled his eyes again at Leo before turning to me and lighting up the rooms with a smile which I returned the air suddenly feeling slightly lighter around my head. It had been years and somehow he could still make me feel that way. Like a teenager with a silly crush. Like my heart could skip a beat somehow and I knew that my cheeks must have shone red from how my face burned. Emmet chuckled “I will leave you to girls to it,” he laughed before leaving for the kitchen.