Chapter Eight —
Wounds

"Sit fucking still."

"You're pressing too hard," Glenn whined pitifully, swatting Rosa's hand away for about the hundredth time.

Hastily, she removed the cloth from the bleeding cut on his head, about to lose her patience. "Just sit still and be quiet."

"Ow!" Glenn exclaimed again, his fingers wrapping tightly around her wrist.

"Glenn!" Rosa chastised. They'd been in the same uncomfortable position, Glenn sat on the edge of the bath, Rosa stood between his legs, for the past half an hour, whilst she tried to clean the wounds he'd earned from a fight in the hardware store. "Just let me clean this and then you're done."

"Fine." He pouted, allowing her to pry his fingers away. "I hope you know this is all your fault."

Rosa leaned forwards, lifting the damp cloth again. "Oh really?"

Glenn hissed at the stinging sensation, drawing back quickly from her touch. Rosa gave him another unimpressed look before she continued.

"Well, if you hadn't punched that guy, I wouldn't have had to step in, and we wouldn't be in this situ– ow!"

Glenn flung his hands out again, gripping her arm.

Rosa looked up at him, quirking an eyebrow. "You know, for a quarterback who's had plenty of nasty injuries, you really are being an awfully big baby about this."

With a defeated sigh, Glenn released his grip on her once and for all.

"And by the way," she continued. "I didn't ask you to step in, that was your own fault. I had it covered."

"Admit it, you're flattered by my heroics," he teased her.

Rosa scoffed. "You should have learned by now that I like to fight my own battles."

She placed a hand underneath his chin to steady him, carefully getting rid of the last flecks of dried blood.

"I don't learn, it's one of my flaws."

"And that's exactly why you're in this situation." Rosa took a step back, checking him over one final time. "You're all done. Reckon your head's gonna hurt like a bitch tomorrow though."

"Thanks." His fingers instinctively brushed against the throbbing purple bruise visible on his cheekbone. "How's my face?"

Rosa grinned playfully. "Still as gorgeous as ever."

Glenn bit down on his bottom lip, disguising the smile that threatened to cross his expression. Rosa was too busy wringing out the excess water from the cloth, missing the way his cheeks flushed.

When she looked back at him, their gazes locked, holding for a few moments longer than necessary.

Glenn quickly cleared his throat, getting to his feet. Rosa tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, turning back to the sink to finish cleaning up.

"Uh, thanks for this," he said, rubbing the back of his neck as warmth began to prickle at his skin.

Rosa spared a glance back at him, smiling. "No problem."

Glenn shuffled out of the bathroom, leaving Rosa with a few minutes to herself to clean up. Her mind raced, unable to focus on anything else but the moment that had seemed to occur between them.

Rosa and Glenn never bothered hiding their attraction to one another, flirtatiousness becoming a part of their friendship. However, nothing beyond a drunken kiss at his 18th birthday party, had ever happened between them.

Rosa shook the thoughts from her head as she finished up in the bathroom. She made her way to Grizz's room, which had once been occupied by her brother, and knocked against the half open door.

She popped her head around, finding him on the bed reading. "Hey, can I steal your grey hoodie back for a while?"

Grizz couldn't help but smile, placing the book face down beside him. He shuffled along the bed towards his half-unpacked bag, rifling through until he found the garment, tossing it towards her.

"Thanks, best friend in the whole wide world," Rosa grinned.

"How's Glenn doing?" He asked as she stepped into the room, stopping to pull the hoodie over her head. It was oversized, but Rosa liked it that way.

"Oh, he's fine." She rolled her eyes, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Being a big baby about it." Her hand brushed over the familiar navy blue duvet cover, chest tightening into a knot as her thoughts shifted to her brother.

Grizz's smile faltered as he caught the distant look on her face. "That was a, uh, mean right hook you pulled on that guy earlier, you know?"

"Yeah, well, he deserved it," Rosa shrugged, referring back to the absolute chaos in the hardware store, caused by a simple blackout from the stormy weather.

Anybody who knew Rosa was aware that she wasn't shy of a decent fight. Though, she hadn't even meant to get so caught up in what happened at the store. They were merely passing by to return home when they found themselves right in the middle of the situation.

"Man, that was so crazy, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Grizz agreed. "Didn't expect things to go to shit that quickly."

Rosa breathed out heavily through her nose, glancing properly around her older brother's room. He'd mostly moved out of it when he left for college a few years back, but bits and pieces still remained, like the picture frames dotted around, and some of the pop vinyl figures he'd collected when he was younger – he'd tried to convince her that he'd left them all behind in his room, but Rosa was pretty sure he'd taken one of his beloved Iron Man figures with him.

"Hey, you okay?" Grizz double checked, his eyebrows furrowing in concern.

Rosa lay down next to him, turning onto her side to face him. "This really fucking sucks."

Grizz's eyes softened sympathetically. "I know."

"How are you doing?" She asked him genuinely. "You know, after everything that happened."

Grizz knew exactly what she meant, swallowing heavily at the question. Rosa had comforted him the night they left Emily's body at the church, but nothing much was mentioned after her funeral the next day, everyone seeming to want nothing more than to avoid it. But Rosa knew it was still bothering him.

"I still feel like I should have been able to do something," Grizz admitted hopelessly.

"Grizz," Rosa said gently, shifting closer to him. "You did everything you could. Emily's death was awful, and tonight was– tonight was terrifying, and, fuck, I really wish our parents were here to tell us it's all gonna be okay, but they're not." Rosa's heart began to feel heavy, knowing that there really was nobody else to sort this mess out for them. They were completely on their own. "We'll figure something out," she finally whispered, resting her head against his shoulder. "We have to."

Another light knock sounded at the door. Both of them looked over to find Sasha in the doorway. "Hey." She smiled sheepishly. "You guys okay?"

"Just shaken up," Grizz replied for both of them.

Sasha nodded in understanding, her eyes flickering around the room.

Noticing her hesitance, Rosa spoke up. "You wanna join us?"

An appreciative smile formed on the girl's lips, and she nodded her head at the offer.

Grizz wrapped an arm around Rosa's shoulder as she moved closer to him, leaving space for Sasha to lay down beside her.

A heavy sigh escaped Sasha's lips as she flopped down onto the mattress, resting her head on Rosa's stomach. Rosa smiled sympathetically down at her friend, stroking a hand through her hair.

"I'm so scared," she admitted to them both. Her eyes glistened with tears, and Rosa felt herself struggling to hold back her own. "I just want to go home."

"Me too," Rosa said quietly.

"Guys, please say you have room for one more?"

Grizz snorted, and girls let out watery laughs as they caught sight of Glenn staring longingly at his friends from beside the door.

"Come on, then, man," Grizz said, patting the small space beside him.

Glenn bounded over eagerly, the sudden drop of his weight on the bed making the mattress bounce. Rosa couldn't help but giggle as he lay sprawled across Grizz's legs, his head moving to rest across her thigh. Glenn's arm flopped over Sasha's waist, and she placed her hand atop of his, giving it a squeeze. Rosa ran her fingers soothingly through his dark hair for a moment. His eyes fluttered shut peacefully, exhaustion starting to overcome him.

"I love you guys," Glenn mumbled tiredly. "Wouldn't wanna be stuck here with anyone else...Except maybe Kendall Jenner. That would be great."

Rosa shook her head, the three of them laughing at his admission.

"Yeah, you guys aren't bad," Sasha teased affectionately, tilting her head to look up at them with a smile.

A lump caught in the back of Rosa's throat, feeling emotional at the stark reminder that they only had each other now. Though, maybe that was all they needed.

"I love you guys too."

A/N

The way I adore them 🥺