It was hard to miss how pale her skin was and the dark bruises under her eyes.
Devon reluctantly stepped back and then walked around the bed to be closer to her, so he could see what was happening. The doctor pulled out some things from his black bag. First, he took her temperature, blood pressure, and pulse.
“She’s got a slight temperature,” Alex said. “Is this the only injury she has?”
“No, she’s got scrapes and bruises all over her body.”
“I’m going to check her over to see if there are any other places we need to be concerned about.”
Devon nodded. He heard Cason curse when he got his first look at her legs. Alex didn’t make a sound as he checked over her legs and arms before pulling the blanket up to her waist and unbuttoned her shirt to check out her torso.
He caught the look in Cason’s eyes and could see the concern his friend had for Emma.
“Help me roll her to her side so I can see her back.”
Devon crawled onto the mattress, knelt, put his hands on her hip and shoulder, and gently rolled her toward him.
“I don’t see anything concerning besides her arm. Can you get me a few towels, please?”
“I’ve got it, Devon.”
He nodded at Cason but kept his attention on Emma.
Devon laid her on her back but stayed right beside her. He watched the doctor put the towels under her arm, then pulled on gloves, and started working on the bandage.
Within a minute, it was off, and the wound made him cringe. It was about three inches long. She had tried to put butterfly bandages on it to pull it together, but it was too deep and would need stitches.
Devon heard her whimper when the doctor poked around the wound.
Alex scowled. “I know, honey. I’m sorry.” He looked up at the guys. “I’m going to have to stitch it.”
“I figured,” Devon said.
“Do you want to hold that side of her, and then Cason can hold her legs and the hand of her injured arm? I don’t want her thrashing around.”
“Yes.”
Alex took a syringe and a small bottle out of his bag, then filled the syringe. “Okay, hold her.”
Devon lay beside her and put his leg over hers and his hand on her chest. His torso had her uninjured arm pinned, so she wasn’t able to use it.
He cringed when the doctor started pressing the needle into her skin to numb the area.
“It’s a good thing you caught this. It’s already starting to get infected.”
Alex gave the shot time to work before pulling other shots out of his bag.
“What’s all that for?” Cason asked.
“One’s a strong antibiotic, and the other is for the pain. She’s so tired I’m not going to sedate her unless she starts thrashing.”
“I’ll hold her.”
Alex nodded.
Devon watched as the doctor thoroughly cleaned the wound until bright red blood started to ooze out of it. When that was done, he pulled the needle and thread through her skin to close it.
“Devon?” she murmured. “It hurts.”
He didn’t think she was awake. “Shh, I’ve got you, pet. There’s a doctor taking care of your injury, and then we’ll let you rest.”
Her eyes squinted, and she stared at him. “You won’t let them take me, will you?”
“No, baby. No one is going to take you away. Just rest. I’ll be right here.”
“And you won’t leave?”
His heart twisted painfully as the tears slid from her eyes. He wiped them away with his thumb. “No, I’m not going anywhere.”
She studied him for a moment, nodded, and then closed her eyes. “Okay.”
“That’s good that she trusts you already, man,” Cason said. “She needs someone to take care of her.”
“Yes. She’s been on her own too long.”