"He must have really hurt you,

To make you say the things that you do

He must have really hurt you,

To make those pretty eyes look so blue"

"Kian? Kian… He’s coming around!" Kian was barely aware of the soft voice, he felt like he’d been knocked down by a tumbler, and was torn between wanting to open his eyes and wanting to go back to the dark place were pain didn’t exist.

"Kian, can you hear me babe?" The soft fingers running through his hair made him fight the darkness, and he nodded vaguely as his eyes fluttered open.

"It’s ok Kian… just take it easy, you’ll be fine…" Kian looked up and his gaze met Shane’s, Shane’s heart breaking at the pain that was so clearly visible in his deep eyes.

Another man made an entrance, carrying a glass of water. He put it down on the bedside table.

"Do you want a drink, Ki?" Shane asked softly. Kian nodded. "You’re gonna have to sit up… here if you sit in my lap…"

The strange man offered help so Kian could lean sideways against Shane while Shane held the glass to his mouth, he was far too weak to manage himself right then.

"John and Peter will come up," the man stated.

Shane nodded, "Thanx, that’s great." Shane continued talking to the man while Kian tried to concentrate on them to keep himself awake. Shane’s free hand was rubbing his shoulder, and it felt so soothing. He wondered who the man was. He wondered how they had found him. He wondered how they had got them off him and out of the house. But he was too tired to ask.

It wasn’t long before John arrived, together with another man. Kian was starting to feel a bit uneasy, and Shane noticed.

He introduced the young man that had come with John. "Kian, this is Peter. He’s a doctor and he’ll just take a look at you, ok?" Kian nodded and let the man look over him, though he did cling on to Shane the whole while.

"I’ll just have to clean him up a little… or do you want to?" he found a bottle of witch hazel in his bag.

"You do it and I’ll just sit here with him," Shane knew how much this could sting, so he took one of Kian’s hands and used his free hand to caress his face. The stinging pain allowed Kian’s tears to make a comeback, but Shane’s presence seemed to keep him sane in spite of all the pain.

"He looks fine," Peter concluded, "Well, not fine, but, you know, nothing that won’t heal within one or two weeks, he’ll need to rest now."

Shane nodded, looking at Kian who was half-asleep by now, "Thank you Peter. Let’s take him over to my house so, I wouldn’t want to drive him home to his parents like this, and he’ll need someone to watch him, won’t he?"

Peter nodded, "Good idea. I brought a blanket to put around him." He carefully put the blanket around Kian and they managed to carry Kian into the car.

At Shane’s house they helped him get Kian in, but said no to staying, so it was only Shane and Kian in the house. After seeing the guests off Shane went up to Kian.

He found Kian standing in front of the mirror, looking at his own naked body. He slowly approached him, thinking it unusual behaviour. "Kian, are you ok?" Kian turned around, startled, as a soft sob escaped him.

"Hey…" Shane took his hands, wanting to hug him but not wanting to hurt him. "What’s wrong?’"

"My body… my face… me…" Kian whispered; eyes fixed on the mirror.

Shane reached his hand up to Kian’s cheek. "No Ki, you know that isn’t true, you’re a beautiful person, don’t ever believe anything else… you should be going into bed and rest. I’ll sit with you ‘till you fall asleep." Kian nodded wordlessly and climbed back into bed.

Chapter 8 >>