CAN I ...? (1)
1079 Words
ZANE'S POV
The moment I stepped into the medical room, I quietly shut the door behind me and let out a slow breath.
The smell lingering in the locker room hadn't bothered me nearly as much as the look on Aurelia's face had.
She had been trying so hard not to cry.
I rubbed a hand over my face before walking toward the cabinet where the team's medical supplies were kept. After opening one of the drawers, I found a small jar of menthol rub and scooped out a tiny amount with my finger.
The sharp scent immediately filled my nose as I dabbed it beneath both nostrils.
It was enough.
Not because I couldn't tolerate the smell clinging to her clothes, but because I refused to let my face betray even the slightest reaction.
She had already endured enough humiliation for one day. The last thing she needed was to think I was disgusted by her. As I reached for the first-aid kit, my eyes drifted toward the small glass window on the door.
Aurelia hadn't noticed me watching.
She sat exactly where I had left her, hugging herself tightly with her head lowered. Her shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly as though she was trying to make herself as small as possible.
My chest tightened.
"You really think I'd judge you for that?" I murmured under my breath.
She couldn't hear me, maybe that was for the best. I picked up the first-aid kit before another thought crossed my mind.
She couldn't stay in those soaked clothes.
The showers were only a few steps away. If I could find a clean shirt, she could at least rinse off before returning to her dorm.
I walked toward the lockers. The first one contained nothing but sweaty practice gear. The second wasn't any better.
I opened another and immediately regretted it.
"Seriously?" I muttered. The smell nearly chased me backward.
Did none of these idiots know how to do laundry?
I checked several more lockers before giving up. Every clean shirt had already disappeared.
The only ones left looked like they had survived weeks of practice without ever seeing detergent.
I sighed and shut the last locker.
"So much for that idea."
There was no way I was asking Aurelia to wear one of those.
She would probably feel even worse.
With no better option, I carried the first-aid kit back to the bench.
She looked up the moment she heard my footsteps. Her blue eyes met mine for only a heartbeat before she quickly looked away again.
Even now, after everything that had happened, she couldn't hide how embarrassed she felt.
"It's okay," I said quietly as I set the kit beside me. "Let's get those cuts cleaned before they get infected."
She nodded.
"I'll try not to complain."
A faint smile tugged at my lips.
"I won't hold you to that."
Carefully, I lifted one of her legs and rested it across my thigh, then did the same with the other.
She tensed the instant the damp towel brushed against the scrape on her knee.
"I'm sorry," I said softly.
"It's fine," she whispered.
It wasn't.
I could tell from the way her fingers curled around the edge of the bench. Still, she stayed quiet while I continued cleaning the dirt from the wounds.
My attention remained fixed on the cuts until something made me glance upward.
Aurelia was staring somewhere beyond me, completely lost in thought. Without realizing it, she drew her bottom lip between her teeth.
I paused.
She did it again a few seconds later.
Did she even know she was doing that?
A strand of damp hair had fallen across her cheek, and the late afternoon sunlight spilling through the windows made her fair skin almost glow.
She looked exhausted.
No.
She also looked unbelievably beautiful.
I swallowed and quickly lowered my gaze before my thoughts wandered somewhere they had no business going.
My wolf stirred quietly. ‘She's hurting.’
‘I know,’ I answered inwardly as I reached for a clean bandage.
'Then protect her, Zane!’ He snarled.
‘I'm trying.’ I sighed helplessly.
‘You're keeping your distance.’
"For a reason." I smiled bitterly.
My wolf huffed in obvious annoyance. ‘Your reasons don't matter when she's suffering.’
I tightened the bandage around her knee with careful hands.
‘They matter to me.’
Do they?
The question lingered in my mind longer than I wanted. Because the truth was, standing this close to her made every reason I'd spent weeks clinging to feel a little less convincing.
Just hearing her breathe somehow eased the constant pressure sitting in my chest.
Holding her moments ago had quieted a restlessness I hadn't been able to escape for days.
That alone should have made me distance myself from her, instead It only made me want to stay beside her a little longer.
I forced myself to focus on the bandage instead of the girl sitting in front of me.
It was easier said than done.
Every few seconds, my eyes drifted upward without permission. Aurelia had stopped biting her lip, but her brows were still drawn together as though she was carrying the heavy weight on her shoulders.
She looked so lost.
My wolf let out a low rumble. ‘She shouldn't have to carry it alone.’
‘I know,’ I answered silently as I secured the bandage around her other knee. ‘There isn't much I can do.’
‘There is always something you can do, Zane.’ He snapped.
I ignored him.
If I listened to him every time he decided to speak, my life would be a complete disaster. I reached for another piece of gauze and carefully covered the last scrape on her shin.
"You sound like you've done this before."
Her voice broke the silence between us and I glanced up. She was watching me now.
There was curiosity in her eyes instead of embarrassment, and somehow that made me even more nervous.
"I've had a lot of practice," I replied with a small shrug.
She tilted her head. "Were you always getting hurt?"
A quiet laugh escaped me. "Hockey players spend half their lives covered in bruises."
Her lips curved into a faint smile.
"I guess that makes sense."
I pressed the edge of the bandage down before leaning back to inspect my work.
The cuts had been cleaned properly, and the bleeding had finally stopped.
But… something else bugs me.
- Writer
