I knocked on Ruth's door and waited for her to answer. As soon as she opened the door, the smile on her face slipped and her eyebrows pulled together in confusion.
“What happened?"
“Oh, you mean this thing?" I touched the side of my face. “It's nothing really. You should see the other guy."
It was a lame attempt at a joke that did not seem to amuse her.
She grabbed my arm and pulled me into her room. She set me on her bed and pulled out a first aid kit from her bag, tabbing a cotton bud with some medicine and cleaning the cut.
As soon as the cotton made contact with my skin, I hissed out in pain.
“Sorry," she muttered. “What happened and who do I need to beat up? Just give me a name and I will be on their sorry *sses."
“It's fine, Ruth. I don't want any trouble. I just want to for
