Ember hissed, eyes tightly shut as he felt a wide blade of glass carefully get extracted from his shoulder. Though the slow pace of this removal was necessary, it only extended the pilot's pain, causing him to sharply exhale through gritted teeth as a result.
"You're okay... just keep breathing." Enzo whispered, eyes glued on the wound upon the back of Ember's shoulder.
With the glass now extracted, Enzo wasted no time prodding the wound with alcohol covered gauze, wiping away the blood now trickling from the wound. This caused a shaken gasp to escape Ember, whimpering as tears pricked the corner of his eyes.
"I know, I know. Don't worry, I'm done there." Enzo reassured in a quiet tone, placing a fresh patch of gauze upon the wound before wrapping medical tape around the shoulder to hold the bandage in place.
Ember was silent for a moment as he sat upon the table in Enzo's garage, slowly opening his eyes as he stared down at his lap. He could feel Enzo begin to pull at a smaller piece of glass lodged underneath his shoulder blade, the pain beginning to become more manageable after the repeated treatment.
"What the hell was that about?" Ember asked flatly, still staring down as Enzo tended to his wounds.
Enzo frowned, his eyes flickering to the boy facing away from him. He was silent a moment, sighing softly as he wiggled the glass out and then set the bloodied piece of windshield on the table.
"I think it's my fault..." Enzo confessed, a wave of guilt flushing over him.
"How so?"
"I shouldn't have brought him."
"That doesn't answer the question."
Enzo's eyes swayed downward, biting at his lower lip.
"I think it has something to do with me, you know... dating him at one point."
Ember glanced behind himself to meet Enzo's gaze, eyes narrowing slightly as a beat of silence passed through the air.
"And now that's going to be my problem, right?"
"Listen, I didn't know that he was going to try and-"
"Kill me?"
Enzo's frown deepened, his eyes breaking away from Ember's as he turned, growing frustrated.
"I don't know what you want me to say. All I can do is promise that I'll make sure he never does that again."
Ember rolled his eyes, standing and grabbing a bandage, pressing it against the wound that had just been treated.
"You're damn right, cause I'm telling Leech."
Enzo's eyes widened, the man shaking his head as he reached out, putting a hand on Ember's shoulder.
"Ember you can't, we could all lose our jobs!"
Ember growled, slapping Enzo's hand away and turning to face the other, his hands balled into fists.
"Yeah, that's right! We would lose our jobs! And I'm the idiot for choosing to waste my time with some meathead who is quite literally known for hopping from one pilot's bed to the next like they're rentals!" Ember snapped.
"And now, because you wanted to have fun on whatever screwed up escapade you thought would end with me sleeping with you, I have to worry about some psychopath in the making getting in my way from doing my job and finding my dad!"
Enzo grit his teeth, listening to Ember rant. Hearing what the other thought of his intentions didn't help, the man forming a resentment of his own.
"Oh? So that's it? You just think I'm some kind of man whore who just wanted to get in your pants?"
Ember rolled his eyes, turning to grab his shirt and beginning to slip it on over his pale, slightly toned body.
"The correct term would be whore. Let's not make things gender exclusive here." Ember muttered bitterly, sliding his arms into his father's bomber jacket.
"Just don't talk to me anymore. This isn't a joke to me. I have a lot on the line here and I don't need you getting in the way of it." Ember added.
"And you think I don't?! My sister is still in the hospital! I'm barely even going to be able to afford to get her medicine and even then, we are going to be in medical debt. You really think you are the only one who takes this seriously?! That all of us are just sitting on our ass?! Get over yourself!" Enzo spat back, he being the one yelling now.
Ember turned to face Enzo once more, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the enraged large man.
"Maybe your psycho ex-boyfriend can fix it for you, clearly he cares more than I do."
Enzo's gaze softened in that moment, turning from a look of spite to that of pain. He didn't say a word as Ember ended things there and turned the garage door handle to leave, tears pricking the corner of Enzo eye's once Ember closed the door behind him.
Ember sighed, shutting his eyes as his back rested against the door of Enzos garage. He felt a wave of guilt flush over him, his hand shaky as he directed it to his watch.
"Tindel, play Whats Going On by Marvin Gaye." He muttered, finally taking a step forward and beginning his trek towards home.
The city overpowered the night with people and saturated light. Ember walked idly, listening to his music through Tindel. His hands were placed in the pockets of his jacket, eyes grazing over the many skyscrapers as well as holographic ads that soaked the city streets. He glanced to his right as he passed an alley filled with hut like bars, people drinking, men and women on dates. He even saw a man stop to kiss a woman as she had been laughing, silencing her as she shut her eyes and kissed back with equal passion. Ember frowned at this, looking back ahead quickly as he tried to focus his mind elsewhere.
'I'm going to be alone forever.' He thought to himself, thinking of the handful of times he had to cut a man loose for the sakes of his career, amongst other things.
The boy would stop in his tracks as he reached a pedestrian's bridge leading over a pond and ending at a sidewalk that trailed through an urbanized park. Ember always took this shortcut, finding it better to clear his mind in the peace of nature rather than the oversaturated environment of city lights and people.
Ember noticed cherry blossom trees that still managed to be in bloom, admiring the handful that were sprinkled amongst spruces and oaks. The shades of pastel pinks would catch his attention as he found a new spot for them every couple of minutes through his walk in the dark, peaceful park. Though, as he walked farther inwards, the city's lights would lose it's ability to guide.
"Tindel, light on."
Just like that, a yellow flash would shoot out right from Ember's eye, a narrow light forming an enlightened path of sidewalk. Ember would blink a couple times, his right eye still adjusting to the bright flash it illuminated.