Even though the little boy was against it, I still insisted that the doctor remove his dressing and check his wound. So many weeks had gone by but his wound hadn’t healed yet. The child was still so young, and it wasn’t good if the injury wasn’t treated on time.
“No, I have to wait for Mommy.” Arron tried his best to protect his dressing from being removed by the doctor.
The doctor sighed and said to Arron, “Little boy, you have to let me see your wound. A person who has their whole head bandaged up as you do is usually seriously injured.”
Arron faltered, “No, it’s not serious.”
“Not serious? Then why all the bandages?” The doctor was incredulous and looked more worried. “Could it be that you have actually sustained a brain injury?”
Arron frowned at this question, and instantly changed his tune. “Oh no! It’s a little serious, but not that serious.”
“Is it serious or not?” the doctor asked pointedly.
Arron pursed his lips and didn’t reply, as if he held a deep grudge against the doctor.
“Let the doctor take a look.” I was starting to get concerned about him.
If it was a normal injury, he wouldn’t have resisted so much. Had he also become disfigured like Crystal? My heart sank when this thought crossed my mind. How sad would it be if such a young child was disfigured?
The doctor stretched his arm out and was about to remove Arron’s bandages. Arron was so alarmed that he jumped up from the edge of the bed and scurried toward its head. He hurriedly exclaimed, “No, you can’t remove it! Mommy said I can’t remove the bandage. I have to obey her.”
“Why?” I wondered if Crystal didn’t change his dressing regularly. Ideally, it would have to be changed every day. However, these bandages looked like they were quite old. “Anyway, it can’t be removed,” Arron stated anxiously.
My intuition warned me that something was wrong, but I didn’t let it show in my expression. Instead, I pasted a smile on my face and asked him, “Don’t you feel uncomfortable wearing it all the time?”
Arron remained quiet. His grip on the dressing seemed to have loosened a little though.
“Let’s take it off and let the doctor check it. He’ll be quick and we can wrap it back the same way as before. Your mommy won’t find out. Besides, this doctor is excellent. With his help, the wound on your face will heal faster and you can be rid of the dressing sooner,” I said in a persuasive tone.
“Yes, I’ve dressed many wounds. I’m sure I can wrap the bandages in the exact same way,” the doctor echoed.
Arron scrutinized us with sharp eyes for a long time, and finally nodded slowly. “Okay, but can you do it quickly?”
“Yes. Let me remove it for you.”
I picked up Arron to sit closer to me, and then began removing his bandages myself. I was worried that I would hurt him, so I was very gentle.
The doctor studied me in fear and disbelief. It seemed that he didn’t expect me to personally attend to the child. The child’s clothes were very dirty, but I wasn’t disgusted. I settled him in my lap and continued removing the bandages slowly.
The gauze wrapped around Arron’s head was longer than I’d thought. I felt more suspicious. What kind of injury required so much gauze? Besides, the wound would get inflamed and would fester if it was bound so tightly.
Gradually, the boy’s smooth and tender skin came into view. The child didn’t dare to breathe heavily and stared at me unblinkingly.
Soon, about one-third of the little boy’s face was exposed, but I couldn’t see any wound.
Surprised, I sped up, eager to see his whole face now.
Rufus’ POV
Just when I was about to satisfy my curiosity, the door of the lounge opened with a bang. It caught my attention; I turned my head towards the intruder, the one who cut my momentum short.
“Stop!”
Crystal crossed our distance and managed to catch my hand just in time before I totally removed the bandages from Arron’s face.
Then she rushed over to the other side and grabbed Arron away from my reach. She held him tightly in her arms and shot at me the deadliest glare she could muster. “What the hell were you trying to do to him?”
How she acted and how blurred the previous scene was baffled me altogether. But I gathered myself. “Arron is injured. I’m just checking on him. What’s wrong with that?”
However, Crystal snapped at me. “Arron is my child. Whatever happens to him is none of your business.”
She seemed to be forgetting her place, raising her voice at me. Besides, she knew nothing of what transpired before she got into the picture. That irked me. I was getting riled up inside. What was worse, the way she was holding Arron protectively and away from me suggested as though I was close to hurting her son. I was just concerned, that was all!
“Do you even have the slightest idea what’s going on here? Do you really think I would hurt him?” I mirrored the glare that sparked from Crystal’s eyes. Wherever I looked, this situation and her being unnecessarily protective were just absurd and exasperating. What an ingrate she was!
Just as the heat between us nearly sparked into fire, Arron gently tugged Crystal’s sleeve and whispered, “Mommy, there were a lot of people surrounding me earlier. If it weren’t for him, I would’ve been thrown to the lake by now. He saved me, Mommy.”
“What did you just say? Here, show me where you’re hurt.”
Crystal, who had been a furious feline when she saw me taking Arron’s bandages off, impossibly switched her persona in a split second. What was now plastered across her face was a mother’s worry. She examined Arron’s body in a swift, and when she was greeted with the bruises on his arms, her eyes burned with rage.
I didn’t lift my gaze from them as she did so, still keeping my lips sealed. My mind was still surging on a wave of lividness.
This woman really knew what buttons to push. Not only did she run away at the ball, now she also got herself into an argument with me without knowing what my intentions were towards her son. I had an inkling how women could be unpredictable, but this she-wolf’s fearlessness and impertinence were beyond my understanding!
“Mommy, it’s okay. It doesn’t hurt anymore. He had asked the doctor to check up on me.” Arron snaked his arms around Crystal’s neck and kissed her cheek to reassure her.
Crystal grazed her eyes across Arron’s injuries and said softly, “I’m sorry, Arron. I should’ve been there; I should’ve found you earlier.”
“It’s not your fault. I was running around.” Judging by how he phrased his statement, I could say he was a good boy. He didn’t mention anything about the people who really hurt him. He instead consoled his mother who was supposed to listen to him whine about what happened.
I crossed my arms over my chest and continued to give them a bleak look. Imagine them having a mother and son moment while I stood there, watching; I felt like an intruder who wasn’t supposed to see this private moment and couldn’t fit into their picture. That worsened my already sour mood.
“Thank you, sir.” As if Arron remembered that I was still there, he turned his head towards where I stood. An innocent smile cracked on his lips as he fluttered his lashes. He then looked proudly at his mom. “Mommy, you know what? Those bad people were so scared when they saw him.”
His recognition of me somehow allayed the anger that was churning inside me, but I didn’t let it show on my face. Doing so would mean I had let Crystal get the upper hand again this time. She was rude to me, and I didn’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be the same towards her.
She lifted her gaze and met mine but lowered it as soon as she recognized my cold stare. So, that was it? She was now acting like nothing happened.
That was exactly the same expression the little boy was wearing when he peeped at me. It seemed that the apple really didn’t fall far from the tree.
But that wasn’t what kept me in the scene. Why hadn’t she said anything about apologizing to me? Why did she look away? Was it because of shame? Pride? Embarrassment? She should have been begging for my forgiveness, but why was she being so hardheaded? “You-“
“I’m sorry-“
We both spoke at the same time and were wide-eyed. I stared at her but looked away the next second. I had been meaning to squeeze out an apology from her, but now that she gave it to me, I felt somewhat uncomfortable. I guess I, too, was acting beyond my own comprehension.
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