Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Sharing a Room

I slowly opened my eyes, and my blurred vision caught a line of words painted on the white wall: "Fear God Alone." At this time, I heard the sound of water flowing again, but this time it was no longer the roar of the Grand Canyon , but from the faucet.It took a few more seconds before I could slowly see what was around me, the lines of door frames, ceilings, and cabinets. My head, cheeks, and ribs were still throbbing, and I couldn't move because it would make things worse.I saw an unfamiliar blue patchwork sheet under my body, so I tilted my head to see where the sound of the water was coming from, but suddenly I flinched in pain.

The fourth child was standing in the bathroom with his hands in the sink, blood from his knuckles turning the water pink.There was a wound at the corner of his mouth, but he looked safe and sound. He checked the wound calmly, turned off the tap, and dried his hands with a towel. How did I get here? I only have a vague impression, and even only a fragment of the image: the black ink around the side of the neck, which should be the corner of the tattoo, and the gentle and rhythmic shaking, which probably means that he is hugging me and walking. He turned off the bathroom light and took an ice pack from the refrigerator in the corner of the room.I was considering closing my eyes and pretending to be asleep as he walked towards me, but then our eyes met and it was too late.

"Your hand." My voice was hoarse. "You don't have to worry about my hands," he said, kneeling on the mattress, leaning over to me, and putting an ice pack under my head.Before he got up, I wanted to reach out to touch the wound on the corner of his mouth, but when I realized what I wanted to do, my hand stopped in mid-air. What can I lose?I asked myself, and stroked his lips lightly with my fingertips. "Tracey," he opened and closed his lips, touching my fingers, "I'm fine." "Why are you there?" I put my hand down. "I was coming back from the control room when I heard a scream."

"What did you do to them?" "I dropped Drew in the infirmary half an hour ago," he said. "Pete and Al ran away. Drew said they were just trying to scare you, or at least that's what I think he meant to say." "Is he in a bad situation?" "He will survive," the fourth child replied, and then added cruelly, "But it's hard to say what the specific situation is." It's not right to expect them to suffer just because they hurt me first.But when I heard that Drew was lying in the infirmary, a triumphant ecstasy went through me.Thinking of this, I couldn't help pinching the fourth brother's arm.

"Fine." My voice sounded tense and murderous.A surge of anger rose from my heart, and bile seemed to fill my body instead of blood, devouring me.I wanted to smash something, or hit something hard, but I couldn't move, I just cried. The fourth child squatted beside the bed and stared at me, without any sympathy in his eyes, which was just what I wanted, and if there was, I would be disappointed.He pulled his hand away and pressed it against my cheek, his thumb gently caressing my cheekbone.Be gentle. "I'll report it," he said. "No," I begged, "I don't want them to think I'm scared."

He nodded, stroking my cheekbone absently with his thumb, "I knew you'd say that." "Do you think it would be a bad idea for me to sit up?" "Come on, let me help you." The fourth child grabbed my shoulder with one hand and stabilized my head with the other. I sat up on my support, ignoring the bursts of severe pain, and suppressed moaning. He handed me the ice pack, and seeing that I was enduring the pain, he said, "If it hurts, don't bear it, I'm the only one here." I bit my lip, tears all over my face, but neither of us mentioned it or paid attention to it.

"I suggest you rely on your transfer friend to protect you from now on." He said unhurriedly. "I think I did this before." I seemed to see Al's big hand covering my mouth again, so I raised my hand and pressed my hand on my forehead, shaking my body back and forth, "But Al..." "He just wants you to be a petite and quiet selfless little girl," the fourth child said softly, "He hurt you because he felt that your strength made him feel weak, not for anything else." I nodded, trying to believe him. "If you know how to show weakness to them sometimes, they won't be so jealous, even though you are not weak."

"Do you think I'm still showing weakness?" I raised one eyebrow. "That's right." He took the ice pack from my hand, brushed my hand gently with his slender fingers, and applied it to my head.I put my hand down, but didn't push his hand away.He stood up, but I couldn't help but look at the edge of his T-shirt. Sometimes, I feel that the fourth child in front of me is not the one I know; but sometimes when I see him, my heart will be clenched again, and I can't breathe in pain. "Go to the restaurant tomorrow and have breakfast in a big way, and show your attackers that they have done nothing to you," he said, "but make sure you show the bruises on your face and keep your head down as much as possible."

The idea makes me gag. "I don't think I can do it." I said dully, looking up at him. "You have to do it!" "I don't think you'll understand." A rush of blood rushed to my cheeks, "They touched me." My words froze him for a moment, he squeezed the ice pack with his hands, "I touched you." He repeated, his deep blue eyes became cold all of a sudden. "No...not what you think," I cleared my throat.I didn't realize how embarrassing it was to say it until I said, "But... almost..." I turn my eyes away. He was silent for so long that I finally had to speak first.

"The what?" "I don't want to say this, but I feel I have to. Keeping yourself safe is more important than anything else right now, you know?" he finally said. His brow pressed over his eyes.My heart sank, partly because he had a good idea and I didn't want to admit it, and partly because I wanted to do something but didn't know how to express it.I want to close the distance between us until it disappears. I nodded. "But, if you have the chance..." His hand was pressed against my face, so cold and so strong that I threw my head back and had to look at him.His eyes flashed and he looked very predatory. "Just kill them."

I laughed tremblingly: "You are kind of scary, fourth child." "Please," he said, "don't call me fourth." "Then what should it be called?" "Can't say yet," he withdrew his hand, "because the time hasn't come yet."