The Stranger Chapter 9

I tried to remain calm as I took in the reality of the scene.  Talli was passed out and that was probably for the best as Evan's form loomed over her, trying to figure what the heck she was.  I felt my pulse quicken as I realized that passing Talli off as a fairy probably wasn't going to work.  Evan looked focused and completely sobered, in the same way he would be after seeing a cop on the streets after downing half a case of beer.  My hands trembled with the first aid kit in my hand, and as much as I didn't want to ignore Evan (how can you ignore someone over 6 feet tall?) I tried to remain casual.
"It's not a toy," Evan spoke.  A statement, not a question and I nodded as I maneuvered my way around his body to get close to Talli.  I had to keep her close.  Evan took his eyes off the small girl and made eye contact with me as I crouched down beside him, quietly setting the first aid kit on the counter next to Talli.  "It's not a toy, is it Damir?"  He repeated.
"No.  And she's a she, not an 'it'," I muttered.
"What the hell is it…I mean she then?"
I shook my head.  "I'm not sure.  She's like human I think…"
"She's not human," Evan said firmly.  "Look at her hair!"
"Shh!"  I hushed him.  I didn't need Talli to wake up while this was all going on.  To my greatest luck, Evan quickly composed himself and lowered his voice.
"She has like fins," Evan went on and to my horror he began reaching his hand towards Talli's lifeless form.  I wanted to smack his hand away, but I feared not only Talli waking up, but causing Evan to accidently hurt her.  With a sucked in breath I watched as Evan touched her tiny foot/fin, taking it between his forefinger and thumb.  He was so gentle then, I wished Talli could have seen this, but as I watched her begin to stir, I shook away those thoughts and remembered why she was passed out in the first place.
"She's hurt," I mumbled and Evan pulled his hand away.
"Hurt?" he questioned back and I nodded in Talli's direction.
"Look at her leg," I offered and Evan leaned in even closer, I could watch Talli's hair ruffle with each breath I was focused on her so much.  Evan bit his lip.
"Damn," he finally supplied.  "Is that?"
"Yes," I finished.  "It's glass."
"Well what are you going to do?"
"Take it out," I whispered.
"And then what?" he went on, his voice serious, his eyes soft.
"What do you mean?"
"Well you can't just yank it out and be like, hazzah?  Moron," Evan said.  "Don't you remember that time I got hit with that arrow when we were kids?  You can't just pull it out, it's holding in the blood."
"I don't think that it's the same thing."
"Just shut up," Evan said and held out his hand.  
I looked down at his palm, so much larger than my own and narrowed my eyes.  "What?  What are you doing?"
"Gimme the stuff.  I'll bandage her up," he offered.
I felt myself grow immediately protective.  "What?  No!  I'll do it!" I said.
"Don't be stupid.  You don't know the first damn thing about first aid.  I'm surprised you even remembered where I told you the kit was.  I'll just do it."
"What if she wakes up?"
Evan shrugged.  "Then she wakes up.  I mean, if she's seen you…then my presence can't scare her that much, can it?"
"Well the thing is," I began slowly and dropped the bandages into his waiting palm.  "She's seen you before."
"You don't say," Evan whispered, lowering his voice as he used his free hand to scoop up Talli's tiny body.  "When was this?"
"What are you doing?" I hushed at him as I watched her body fold into his hand.  It was so strange to see her in the possession of another person.  I wanted her, I wanted her badly right then but Evan was surprisingly only focused on the task at hand.  He now had a pair of tweezers in his mouth and carefully he laid the tiny woman on his thigh, probably still damp from his swim in the lake earlier.  
"Well I can't see her very well," Evan said grumpily as he took the tweezers from his mouth.  "I need to see what the hell I'm doing."
"Well just be careful, okay?" I said nervously as he leaned over, the tweezers in his hand.  "She…she's important to me."
I held my breath awaiting my cousin's response to my awkward confession but he just chuckled deeply, keeping the sound in his chest and throat and not letting it escape his lips as his face came dangerously close to Talli's exposed leg.
"No shit," he muttered and grabbed the tiny piece of glass with the tweezers.  We all held our breath as Evan began to gently pull at the shard and Talli gasped.
"Careful!" I shouted as I felt the girl's pain in my own chest.
"Chill," Evan said, maintaining his calm.  "If you make me jerk like that, than something bad really could happen.  Damnit Damir," he mumbled while shaking his head.  "You really don't know shit about shit."
The comment stung but I tried to keep my composure.  "How is she doing?"
"I got it, good the bleeding stopped anyway" Evan said finally and to our surprise a tiny scream came from his thigh.  "What the hell?!"
"Talli!" I said from behind Evan.
"Damir!" she squeaked and focused her attention on Evan.  He looked just as nervous which was still surprising to me.  Why was he being so weird?  "And you!" she squeaked again, immediately trying to stand up but grunting in pain.  "What did you do to me?"
"Just calm down!" I tried gently and Evan frowned.
"It's okay," he said in a voice, not even above a whisper.  "I took that piece of glass…"
"Like hell you did!" Talli said, wincing as she slid away from Evan, probably not even realizing her position.  "You!  You giants!" she screamed.
"Here," Evan began offering his hand, "Just let me bandage you up and then you can go back to Damir."
"I don't want Damir!" Talli screamed and Evan pulled his hand back.  "Let me go."
"Okay Talli," I began but Evan blocked me with his thick arm.
"No," he said.
"Excuse me?" Talli said, surprised.
"No, I'm bandaging up that leg…whether you like it or not."
"Oh no you're not!" Talli said and began to slide away on her butt.  
"Be careful," Evan offered, bringing his hand behind his knee.  "I don't want you falling off and getting hurt…or worse.  You need to relax, little one."
"Little one nothing!  Put me down at once!"
Evan rolled his eyes.  Dealing with people smaller than him wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence but someone as small as Talli?  He was handling himself quite well.  "You're not going anywhere until I bandage up that leg," he spoke again, becoming more firm.  "Damir, hand me the gauze."
I looked at Talli and then Evan.  "What?"
"Give me the damn gauze so I can bandage her up," he repeated.
"You're not touching me!" Talli screamed and actually slid off Evan's knee and into his waiting hand.  "Damnit!" she shrieked.
"If you would just hold still," Evan said, still remaining surprisingly chill.  He lifted up his hand to his face and gave Talli a strange look.  "Look little one.  I'm not going to hurt you, but so help me if you don't hold still and let me bandage up your injured leg, I'll pin you down to the table and do it.  I'm not about to have a girl getting hurt on my time, whether she's a fish…mammal whatever."
"What about the fish you killed then huh?" Talli shot at him, looking indignant.  Evan froze and looked at me.
"Whoa.  What?" Evan said to me.
"You were drunk," I offered.  "Talli saw you accidently step on a beached mino or something."
"It wasn't an accident," Talli grumbled.  "You killed him on purpose."
I thought that in that moment Evan would start arguing with the girl and I braced myself for it.  
"Don't be ridiculous," Evan said.  "That mino was all but dead.  I put it out of its misery.  I couldn't watch it suffer."
"You lie," Talli said but her face contorted slightly.
"You know I'm not lying so will you please sit still now?" Evan said and lowered the girl back to his thigh.  
To my relief/horror/surprise Talli crossed her arms and turned away from the both of us, but left her leg out.  "Just do whatever," she huffed.  "It's not like I could stop you."
"Talli," I whispered but Evan shook it off.
"Don't be so dramatic," he muttered and carefully took her injured leg between his fingers, biting his lip in concentration.  "Now this you can be dramatic about.  Am I hurting you?"
Talli's eyes darted to meet mine.  "It hurts a little."
"Well suck it up for a few moments while I wrap this around, the worse will be over in moment."
"Evan…I could always do it," I began.
"No, you don't know what you're doing."
"It's fine Damir," Talli replied.  "I don't mind."
A silence fell over the three of us as I watched Evan slouched over his leg and wrapped the gauze around Talli's slender leg.  She gasped only slightly, but Evan's fingers looked gentle as he performed the awkward task.  I thought it so odd that he was handling this so well and that he spoke to Talli in a way that should have pissed her off.  Maybe she didn't mind, maybe the fish comment caught her off guard.  I wasn't sure, but I was ready to have her back.
"Done," Evan's voice interrupted my thoughts and I leaned forward.  Talli's leg was now wrapped cleanly and she stood up on Evan's thigh as his hand hovered nearby, on the off chance that she would stumble.  "Now that wasn't so bad was it?"
"Humph," Talli grunted and looked towards me.  Without waiting another moment I lowered my hand next to the girl and she immediately slid into my palm and her weight and warmth sent a feeling of relief through my body.  I pulled away from Evan and he smacked his thighs before standing, dusting off his pants and looking down at the two of us.
"Well I guess that's all you'll need from me then," he replied and began to return to his room, leaving both Talli and myself visibly puzzled.
"Hey!" Talli squeaked and he turned around.
"What is it?" he asked.
"So that's it then?" I couldn't help asking.  "No questions, no weirdness?  No nothing?"
Evan shrugged.  "I figured you two weren't big on talking I guess."
"That's not it," I began but Evan kept walking into his room.
"Good night guys," he said and looked at Talli with a soft look.  "You keep that leg elevated until tomorrow and I'll take another look and re-bandage it, okay?"
Talli flushed.  "Yea sure."
"Good then, see you two in the am."
"That was weird," I said softly, looking at Talli with relief.  "But I guess that means you can stay the night here?"
She flushed again, causing me to break out in a smile.  "I guess so," she whispered.  "As long as your girlfriend doesn't mind."
My smile disappeared as soon as it came.  This was going to be an awkward night.