Without Lucifer’s phone to answer for me, I have no choice but to say hoarsely, “They didn’t.”
Andrew’s frown deepens and he looks back into my eyes, examining them again. “Something hit you.”
Trent lets out another scream, this one higher in pitch.
I wince, the shrillness of the scream piercing through my head. “I hit them.”
“You…” Andrew trails off for a second before it clicks. “You headbutted them?”
Even though my head aches, I choose to nod instead of trying to use my voice again.
“Probably gave yourself a mild concussion doing that,” Andrew grumbles like he’s irritated, reminding me of how pissed off Lucifer was when I tackled him.
Whatever.
I did what I had to do.
Squatting down, Andrew examines my neck, his hands and fingers checking me with a clinical precision.
Then he straightens and turns to his bag.
Trent lets out yet another pain-filled scream before James asks sharply, “Well?”
“She should be checked out in a hospital. I can’t see if there’s anything internally wrong with her throat, though it’s good she’s breathing and able to speak. I’m going to give her something for the pain for the time being,” Andrew answers as he digs a syringe and a small clear bottle out of his bag.
Filling the syringe from the bottle, Andrew turns back to me. “This should make you feel better.”
He begins to reach for my arm when I have a sudden scary thought.
“Wait,” I croak.
“Yes?” Andrew asks, pulling back and holding the needle up.
I glance around him to look at James.
Face still twisted with anger, James now has his boot down on top of Trent’s arm in the sling.
“Is it safe if I’m pregnant?” I wheeze.
James suddenly stiffens, going very still.
“Are you pregnant?” Andrew frowns.
God, I’m so fucking sick of talking…
“I… I don’t know,” I cough out.
Andrew glances at James before looking back at me. “It’s probably not safe.”
I want to groan fuck, but it would only hurt. Just like every other word I’ve spoken.
Sadness flickers across James face before hardening into resignation.
As if he can’t help himself, he pulls his leg back and delivers a hard kick to the side of Trent’s head.
“I’d give you some acetaminophen… but I doubt you could swallow the pills. And it would probably do little for your pain anyway. Otherwise, anything I’ve got in my bag that will make you feel better isn’t going to be good for a baby,” Andrew says.
When my face falls, he adds, “It’s your choice, Sophia. We all know you’re in a lot of pain.”
I am in a lot of pain… more pain than I’ve ever been in before. And I think the only reason I’m upright now instead of writhing in misery is because of the adrenaline surging through me.
I can feel the adrenaline ebbing though and all the aches increasing. Especially now that Andrew has so helpfully pointed them out for me.
James stares at me like I’m the only thing that exists in the world, his eyes bright with intensity, his chest heaving up and down.
Bracing myself for another burst of pain, I force myself to push out, “I’ll pass.”
For a second, relief flashes across James’s face, but when I start to cough again and grab at my throat, the relief is wiped away.
Replaced by a look of utter devastation.
Andrew nods and caps the needle attached to the syringe. “Okay. We’ll use some cold compresses and see if we can give you some relief that way. Then I’ll take a look at your other injuries.”
“I can’t take it anymore,” James says quietly to no one in particular as Andrew puts the syringe back into his bag and pulls out the cold compresses.
“Take what, James?” Lucifer asks from beside me, just as quietly.
Shaking his head, James steps away from Trent and tears his gaze away from me. “I can’t fucking take it anymore,” he repeats, looking around the room.
Andrew snaps a cold compress, activating it, then carefully wraps it around the front of my throat.
The sudden cold causes me to suck in a hiss in surprise.
James’s attention whips back to me, his eyes wild now with something I can’t identify.
Andrew snaps another compress and wraps it around the back of my neck so that it overlaps the first one.
“I can’t fucking take it, Matthew!” James shouts and grabs at his head, his fingers digging into his hair as he struggles with something.
My heart starts to beat wildly with fear.
Afraid that something is wrong, that James is hurt somehow, I try to say his name but my throat locks up.
When I can’t get any sound out, I try to stand up so I can go to him and help him, but a hand comes down on my shoulder, stopping me.
I glance over to see Lucifer shaking his head at me.
“What can’t you take, James?” Lucifer asks, turning his attention back to him. “Tell us what you need.”