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The door to the motel room slammed open as Jay and Tim stumbled in with a limp.
Tim was heavily leaning against Jay with his arm slung up on the taller man’s shoulders. Despite that, Jay was just as injured, if not worse, than what Tim was. Regardless, he insisted on having Tim use him as his crutch.
Tim slammed the door shut behind them, slipping the deadlock in place.
The pair limped to the bed, plopping down on it once they reached the edge.
Jay’s head ached; he fell on the concrete and bashed his head on it. It had been bleeding and he most likely had a concussion.
Tim, on the other hand, had broken his left ankle; he was running when he tripped on a rock. The problem was, his ankle got caught on the rock in such a way that his ankle twisted sharply inwards and the bone had sliced through skin.
Alongside various other cuts and scrapes, it was safe to say that both men needed to rest for a bit.
Tim grunted when they sat down, the pressure of his foot on the ground sending jolts of pain shooting up his leg. He breathed for a moment and weighed his options.
”Could I bring my ankle up on the bed so it’s elevated?” Tim asked between pained wheezing breaths.
“Yeah, of course,” Jay slightly nodded his head once, shuffling over on the bed to give Tim some room, “Here, let me help.” Jay bent down, lifting up Tim’s leg and gently laying it on the bed. Tim winced in pain at the movement, thinking about how he didn’t have any time to object to Jay helping, but was grateful for it regardless.
”We can focus on my ankle later, let me take a look at your head.” Tim held out his hand in a helpful gesture.
”My head is fine, your ankle bone is literally sliced through your skin!” Jay protested and Tim sighed in response.
”Listen,” Tim placed his hand on Jay’s, “With all of this bullshit happening, a head injury isn’t something to take lightly. Regardless of that, I saw a lot of blood on the back of your head, that’s enough cause for concern.” Tim’s eyes seemed almost pleading, and Jay’s head felt too clouded to argue with him anymore. So he caved into the care.
”Okay, but I’m helping you afterwards.” Tim smiled at his persistence.
”Okay.” Jay turned around for Tim to patch up his head, and Tim reached over the side of the bed to grab the med kit that was readily accessible on the floor. He brought it up, setting it next to him. Tim opened the white plastic container, grabbing out a white hand cloth. Then, he lightly pressed the cloth to the back of Jay’s still bleeding head. Jay winced at the contact.
”Sorry, I just have to stop some of the bleeding by putting pressure on it.” Tim adjusted his position to be slightly closer to Jay.
”It’s okay, thank you.” Tim hummed in response as he continued to apply pressure.
Once the bleeding slowed down, Tim removed the cloth from Jay’s head, setting it on the open lid of the aid kit. He then looked for antiseptic cream to apply to the wound. Once he found the small white bottle, he untwisted the cap and squeezed out a small dab of the cream onto his finger.
“Okay, I’m applying it now.” Tim warned before gently dabbing the medication onto Jay’s wound. He winced and took a deep breath to distract himself from the pain.
Tim finished applying the cream and wiped the remaining product onto the bloodied cloth.
”Is it all done?” Jay asked.
“Yeah, you’re all good.” Jay turned around, facing Tim. He looked at Tim with a twisted expression of both pain and concern.
”Okay, let me look at your ankle.” Tim tried to adjust himself so Jay could easily look at the injury.
”Here.” Tim offered before reaching over to lift up his pant leg. The denim rubbed against the bone and blood, causing Tim to loudly wince and grip onto the bed with his right arm, which he was using to prop himself up. Jay bent over, inspecting Tim’s ankle. After he decided something, he sat up straighter and looked back to Tim with an almost pleading look.
“Listen, I know money is tight, but we have to go to the emergency room for that,” Tim sighed, looking away while biting the inside of his cheek, “This isn’t an injury that can heal on it’s own, Tim. I know it’s not ideal whatsoever, but we have to.” Tim tapped his fingers on his thigh with his left hand, weighing his options before nodding.
”If that’s what it takes.” Jay hummed before looking at a cut that was on Tim’s left hand.
“Shit, look at your hand.” Tim’s eyebrows scrunched before seeing the gash that went from the top of his left hand to the center of his palm, running through the crevice of his index finger and thumb. Tim sighed, knowing that Jay would want to repay the favor of Tim helping him, so he reached out his hand and laid it in Jay’s lap.
”That’s manageable.” Tim joked as Jay reached for the first aid kit.
”Something like that.” Jay chuckled, grabbing the same cloth that Tim used. They shared a bed, so, they might as well share bloody hand cloths. Tim thought for a moment before reaching for an antiseptic spray.
”Here, use this to get the dirt out.” Jay took the spray bottle, twirling it around in his hand to inspect the label.
”Yeah, good idea,” Jay took the cap off, “Ready?” Tim hummed before Jay sprayed it onto his wound.
The stinging sensation made Tim grimace, but it was nowhere near as bad as the pain he felt with his ankle, so he dealt with it. Jay then patted the loose liquid with a clean spot on the cloth before setting it in his lap. Then, Jay grabbed a gauze pad and a roll of wrap.
”This will be uncomfortable, but it should work.” Jay assured before unfolding the pad to stretch across the length of the cut and lightly pressing it so it stayed on Tim’s hand. Jay then grabbed a corner of the roll before aligning it with the gauze pad and wrapping Tim’s hand.
Once the process was complete, Tim pressed on the wrap to insure that it stayed in place. As he did so, Jay picked up the medical equipment and set the first aid kit on the floor.
They sat like that for a moment, the pain lingering in the air as they relied on each other for a sense of comfort.
Jay yawned, causing Tim to look up from his hand.
”Tired?”
”When am I not?” Tim scoffed.
”Good point,” A pause, “Here, let’s lay down and sleep for a bit before we go.” Jay looked up, confused.
”What?”
”Uh, we can lay down and sleep for a bit?” Jay looked around for a bit before anxiously nodding lightly.
”Yeah- yeah, sure.” Jay crawled up on the bed so he was aligned with the pillow, and he offered his hand out to help pull Tim up. The dragging of his ankle against the mattress hurt like hell, but it was okay, because he was here with Jay.
”’Night.”
”Goodnight.”
They both dozed off in pain, but with the knowledge that they would be alright with the other man next to them.