99. Chapter Ninety-Eight
Chapter Ninety-Eight
Scarlett
Irush toward the jet, knowing what I need to do to help Riley, and hopeful that I can get it done as quickly as possible. I’m out of breath when I get there, and I see Xane is done taking down the tents. He frowns at me, but he doesn’t say anything.
I gasp in a breath. “I need the empty cooler. Riley stood on a stingray.”
He blinks, hesitating before he opens his mouth. “Uh, I put it in cock pit. It’s full of empty beer bottles. Some might be broken. Let me empty it.”
“Sure,” I say, gesturing to the stairway.
He gets inside and I follow.
“I need to fill it with really hot water,” I tell him as I head to the bathroom. “I’ll need to run the faucet until the water’s as hot as it gets.”
The bedroom door opens, and Kian comes out, dressed in swim shorts and a plain white T-shirt.
“What’s happening?” he asks. “You sound kinda tense.”
I nod. “You know how I wanted to take a picture of the sharks?”
He looks me over wide-eyed. “Did they attack you? Or Trick …”
“No. I got the picture. But Riley jumped in after me and got stung.”
“Stung?” He looks confused.
“There was a stingray under the sand. That’s what he was warning us about before, remember?”
“Oh. Shit. So, what do we do?”
“If you know where the first aid kit is, find it and bring out some pain killers and bandages. He’s gonna need them. And get a bottle of water.”
“That’s it?” Kian asks, astounded.
I open the bathroom door. “There’s more to it but just get those for me please.”
“Sure,” he says, going past me. “Oh, Xane. Hey. What are you …”
“Scarlett needs to fill this with hot water.”
“Oh. Wait. Does that mean no one needs to pee on the sting?”
“No,” I call back as I find the shower attachment. “And why do you sound disappointed about that?”
“No reason. I’ve got the stuff.”
“Good. Get ready to run with it.”
Xane brings me the empty cooler.
I rinse it out first, just in case.
Then I put the showerhead inside and run the hot water at full blast.
It starts to fill up.
“Okay. Can you fill this thing about three quarters full and bring it out to the beach?”
Xane nods. “Sure.”
“Great. Then I’ll get back to Riley. I need to make sure his wound is clean before we soak it. The water needs to be as hot as we can get it, so dump water if it’s not hot and wait for it to fill again.”
I don’t have time to wait for him to agree to that, so I just move out of the bathroom and leave it with him. Kian and I rush back to the beach, where Riley’s still writhing around on the sand, looking like his soul is getting ready to eject from his body.
“Hold still, okay. You’ve got a barb, or the tip of one, at least.”
I take a piece of bandage from Kian and carefully extract the barb.
“Not too deep. It’s just a tip. Wound looks clean.”
“Wow. You sound like a nurse,” Kian murmurs.
“More like a junior lifeguard. I spent a few summers dealing with this kind of stuff as a tween. It was interesting to say the least.”
“That’s really cool.”
“It’s why I wasn’t overly concerned when Riley warned us before. I know how to check for stingrays under the sand. I felt that one and avoided it when I went in to take my pictures. Too bad he rushed in to save me and ended up stung.”
“I guess that’s what you get for assuming. Should I give him the painkillers now?”
“Pretty sure he can’t open his mouth,” Trick says, with a wry smile.
“Xane is coming with a cooler full of hot water. He can take the painkillers once the pain dies down a little bit.”
He’s got his eyes closed now, his jaw and fists clenched.
Clearly, it’s agony. I’ve never experienced it, but I’ve seen people go through this before.
I touch his ankle and I can feel how much pain he’s enduring.
I wish I could do more to make him feel better.
Thankfully, Xane is surprisingly quick with the cooler full of hot water.
“Over here,” I motion.
He brings it over and sets it down.
I check the temperature before I lift Riley’s leg, bending his knee so I can set his foot down.
A few seconds later, he pushes up onto his elbows and breathes out through his mouth.
“Thanks,” he murmurs, before he glowers at Kian. “Gimme.”
“Sorry.” Kian rushes to give him the pain pills.
Riley drops them into his mouth, and tips in a mouthful of water. Then, he swallows and lays back down. “Okay. Everyone, fuck off. I’m not in the mood.”
Clearly, he’s having muscle cramps. He might need to puke soon, too.
“Okay, we should give the patient some space.”
Kian and Trick stand up.
Xane frowns down at Riley.
“He can forget about hiking through the forest any time soon.”
“He’s gonna need some rest,” I confirm.
“Shit,” Kian murmurs.
“Yeah,” Trick agrees.