There was a bed, though, however much the covers looked like someone had eaten a three-course meal off them. “Come on,” Maya said, dragging Daniel toward it. “Lift, Leon.”
“Are you kidding me?” Leon hissed through clenched teeth. “We- We want to help him heal, not give him hepatitis.”
“Just shut up and walk.”
The mattress creaked beneath Daniel as they dropped him onto it. The springs groaned, protesting his weight, and for a moment he thought they might snap entirely.
“Sorry,” Maya mumbled. “Look, this was the only place I could find, okay?”
“Really?” James said. “This was the only one?”
“W-Well, the only place I could find that wouldn’t ask why we’re hauling around a man covered in blood, okay?” Maya snapped. Her eyes darted over to meet Daniel’s. “I...I already paid for the night. We can...um. We’ll-”
“Thanks,” he said, pasting a smile back onto his face. “We’ll figure it out.”
She sucked in a breth of air, like she was about to continue, but deflated, nodding. “Yeah. Right.”
“He’s still bleeding,” James remarked, leaning on the wall. “Uh...Not to be that guy. But should we-”
“Oh,” Leon said, hurrying closer. “Right. I know- We looked it up. We should, uh. Clean the wound, first. And then-”
“I’ll get some towels,” Olivia mumbled, turning toward the bathroom as though it was all she could see. “They...They’re probably clean. I can-”
“Sit,” Daniel said. He wanted to lean back, sinking into the definitely-bedbug-infested comforter, and let them look after things.
He just couldn’t afford to do that.
Her eyes widened fractionally, locked onto his. Just like Maya, she crumpled, her expression darkening. “Yeah,” she whispered. “Yeah, I guess.”
Reversing course, Olivia trudged back to the side of the bed. She glanced at the single, cigarette-burned chair in the room, weighing the option, but dropped to the carpet instead. That was all—no protests, no arguments, no trying to start the conversation ahead of him. She just sat and waited.
“U-Uh. Well.” Maya backpedaled, clasping her hands behind her legs, and Daniel couldn’t bring himself to blame her. Just like that, the mood in the room had shifted from awkward to oppressive. “I’m going to- I’ll get the towels, then, shall I?”
“I’ll help,” James grunted, appearing at her side fast enough the big man hardly appeared to move. So eager, Daniel thought with a wry smile. He’d never known James was such a helpful man.
Just as quickly as the two of them could shuffle across the cramped, greasy motel room, they vanished into the bathroom.
And now...now he had to try and figure out how to manage this. Daniel bowed his head, kneading at the bridge of his nose in a futile attempt to get the better of the headache he had blossoming. “So. Let’s-”
“Here!” he heard someone call. Maya’s hand appeared from around the door, a wadded-up washcloth clutched in it. “Um- For you!”
Daniel shifted, squirming back to an upright. Leon pushed him back against the pillows. “Why do you think you’re allowed to work?” Daniel heard him say, and watched him stand.
Maya’s hand vanished back into the bathroom after Leon took the cloth—and Daniel heard the door click shut. Not taking any chances, then.
His amusement at the pair of them disappeared behind a flood of pain as his leg reignited. “Sorry,” Leon mumbled. “Bear with me.”
Daniel glanced down, watching through watering eyes as Leon mopped gently around the edges of...his gut churned. The edges of the wound. Just a tiny, shredded section of flesh, starting to seep red again at the fresh return of moisture.
“If you can talk while I’m doing this, feel free,” Leon said, looking up for long enough to glare at Daniel. “But I’m not waiting. I was serious, before. No rotting limbs.”
Daniel watched Olivia look between him and Leon, her eyes narrowing with stark confusion, but only shorted. “Fine,” he said.
And then he turned to her.
She flinched, twitching away under the force of his stare. “Owl. L-Look. I-”
“I need to know what you know,” Daniel said quietly. “All of it. No more secrets.”
“I wasn’t- I never wanted to-”
“Olivia.” He spat the word out, watching as she stilled again. “You’ve been true to your word since this started. And I appreciate you helping me. But-”
“I know,” she whispered. Her eyes flicked up, locking onto his. “I’m not holding anything back. I understand why you can’t trust me. I’ll…”
She took a deep breath, running a hand through the brown waterfall of her hair as if to steady herself. Just like that, Daniel watched her start to come together. She still looked shellshocked, and he wouldn’t trust a strong breeze not to knock her over, but a bit of her old, cocky confidence started to creep back in.
And then she folded her hands in her lap, sitting up straight.
“I’m here to help,” she said, her voice soft but firm. “What’s going on...I can’t go along with it. I can’t let her ruin the Booklenders.” Her eyes fell again. “I can’t let her hurt anyone. It’s not right.”
The door creaked. James crept out of the bathroom, a mess of towels clutched in his arms. He didn’t look at any of them as he slipped toward Daniel, depositing them on the bed. Turning away, he-
“Can you cut them into strips?” Daniel said.
James froze. Slowly, painfully slowly, he glanced to Daniel. “Fine,” he muttered, deflating.
“Big baby,” Leon said with a snort, still wiping the gunshot wound clean. Already, Daniel could see bare skin underneath the film of red-brown staining.
“Okay,” Daniel said, forcing himself to look back to Olivia. “I’m sorry, Olivia. I just- I need to know. Everything.”
She forced a smile, her eyes dark and unhappy even as her lips curled up. “I suppose.” Her fingers tightened, her chin rising stubbornly. “Where should I start?”
Daniel leaned forward, grimacing. He took the wad of washcloths, taking a deep breath, and stared down at the wound in his leg.
This was going to hurt. It already hurt, in fact. But it was
