Chapter 87

chapter Eighty Seven

*Ariya*

*"Ivan, I'm Ariya. Is it ok if I start pulling the glass shards out of your hands?" I asked him.

He nodded but didn't say anything more. I took his hands and set them face up on his lap. I pulled the tweezers from my pocket and then realized I didn't have anywhere to put the shards as I pulled them out. I frowned and then got up and grabbed a small container from the cabinet in the kitchen so I could put the shards in. I sat down in front of Ivan again and started pulling the shards out as carefully as I could.

"My brother's name is Keothi but he goes by Keo. He calls me Ari. Him and my Mom are the only 2 that do. But you can call me Ari if you want." I told him.

He nodded, "Ari."

I looked up at him and gave him a soft smile.

"After I get the glass shards out of your hands, I'll clean off as much of the blood as I can with the 2 towels. Are you ok to shower? Do you need help? My Mom or Drake can help you if you need." I paused waiting for an answer.

Ivan hadn't said anything outside of his name and my name. He just nodded when I asked questions. It didn't really help me know what he needed but I knew he was still in shock. I was happy that he was responding even if it was just with head nods. It was progress from where he was at when he first came into the room.

"We are here for you, you know. If you need anything. You don't have to be alone if you don't want to. I'll be here. But if you want to be alone that's ok too. We won't hover if you don't want us to. You just have to let us know what you want. Mom said that you and Caleb will stay in Keo and I's room tonight though." I continued on.

I figured that if I kept talking to him it would keep his mind off of what happened tonight. Even if it wasn't a permanent solution. I also thought that it would help give him time to catch up. Maybe even start to respond more. Ivan didn't move while I continued to clean the glass shards out of his hands. He didn't even seem to notice the pain from them. I wasn't sure if it was because he wasn't hurting physically from the shards or if his emotional pain was making him numb. I was pretty sure it was the emotional pain he felt. If he felt any physical pain he didn't let on.

After I finished cleaning out the shards of glass from his hands, I used one of the towels to lightly dab his hands. I was trying to get as much of the blood off to make sure I didn't miss any of the glass shards. Keo and Caleb walked out of the bathroom. Caleb was in fresh clothes and no longer had any blood on him. They walked over to us, a curious look on their faces.

"We're all finished in the bathroom, so whenever you're done, he can take a shower. I set out fresh towels and clothes. Mom gave me a change of his clothes for him. Do you need anything, Ari?" Keo asked me.

"Can you change out the water from the buckets for me? I'm trying to make sure I didn't miss anything from his hands." I asked him.

"I have an idea that might help. Caleb, do you mind waiting for a bit?" Keo asked Caleb.

Caleb nodded and sat down in one of the chairs nearby. Keo grabbed both buckets and brought them to be cleaned out and refilled with warm water. When he came back he set one on each side.

"It will be easier if he's on the ground with us, but we can let his hands soak in the water and that might clean it off a little faster." Keo told me.

Ivan nodded, got out of the chair, and sat down in front of Keo and I. Keo looked at me surprised.

"Oh right, sorry. This is Ivan. He's still not talking much but we're making some progress." I smiled at Keo.

"Hi Ivan. I'm Keothi, but you can call me Keo. Is it ok if I help Ari for a moment?" Keo asked Ivan.

Ivan nodded. Keo and I each picked up one of his hands and put it in the warm water. Ivan sucked in a sharp breath and I realized that he was starting to feel his injuries.

"Sorry." Keo and I both said to Ivan.

We let his hands soak for a moment and then moved them around hoping the water would get the majority of the blood off. When we pulled his hands out I could see that I had only missed a few pieces of glass. I carefully pulled them out with the tweezers and we repeated the process. When Ivan's hands were clean and free of glass, Keo helped me wrap them very loosely. Then he went and replaced the warm water so I could work on cleaning the rest of the blood off of Ivan.

"Mom or Drake should be able to heal your hands before you shower. Is there anything else you need for now?" Keo asked.

"I think we're good now. Thank you for helping me, Keo." I said.

"Anytime." Keo smiled at me, "Caleb and I are going to go set our room up. I was thinking of pushing our beds together. Then we can all just sleep on the bed. Mom said I could use one of her mattress sheets to keep the beds together and they brought some of their stuff so we should be good."

I nodded at him, "Sounds good. Let me know if you need help? I can come check in when Ivan goes to shower and help with the rest."

Keo nodded and headed to our room with Caleb. I went back to work on cleaning Ivan up as much as I could. He seemed more attentive now but I still didn't want him to have to work too hard to get cleaned up. I wasn't sure how much he was going to be able to handle. I figured the less he had to do the better. I managed to get the blood off of his arms and neck. I had to stop and empty out the buckets and refill them. My plan had been to use one as a clean bucket and the other as a dirty bucket but there was so much blood it didn't last long that way. I was almost done getting the majority of the blood off when I came back with the buckets again. Ivan's face was the only thing that still had blood remaining on it. He had stayed quiet the entire time. Nodding only sometimes when I talked to him.

"We're almost done." I told him.

I went to wipe the blood off of Ivan's face and had put my hand on his cheek when he stiffed. Ivan grabbed my hand and his eyes went wide. He was looking at the ground again and his breathing quickened. I froze in place, not sure what to do. I didn't want to do something that was going to upset him. We had made so much progress but that progress had gotten shattered in an instant.

"Ivan?" I said, softly.

He looked up at me when I called his name and I saw the unbearable pain in his eyes. Without a doubt in my mind I knew instantly that he had been there when his parents had taken their last breath. He had held them in his arms before they died. Ivan was choking back tears as he relived everything that had happened tonight. The pain moved across his face as his memories replayed. His eyes never left mine. I knew he was seeing something, someone, but it wasn't me. His body began to shake uncontrollably as if the emotions he held in were breaking free of their cage. His eyes closed as the tears streamed down his face. He opened his mouth as a strained cry came out before he screamed. His scream was consumed with pain. The pain of someone losing their child but instead it was the child losing their parents. The scream that tore through our home was undeniable that someone had just lost everything. That nothing would ever be the same again.

I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him to me. Ivan clung onto me like a lifeline. Like I was the only thing keeping him from dying while he screamed. I wanted to shield him from the pain he was feeling but I knew it was too late. His pain was going to be with him forever. The tears streamed down my face as I held him while he screamed. It was like I could feel his pain but I knew I wasn't even taking a fraction of it. Mom, Drake, Keo, and Caleb came running into the room, concern written all over their faces. When they saw me holding Ivan they all understood immediately. This world was full of brokenness and Ivan was witness to the unbearable pain it could cause. I held onto Ivan as he broke apart hoping that I could at least take away 1/100th of Ivan's pain. Even just 1% mattered.*