Deadly Perception

"So what's the prognosis, Doc?" I inquired as I wiggled a little bit to get into a more comfortable position on the bathroom sink counter. Nick grabbed my arm in a silent demand for me to stay still. He reached his hand out toward my shirt and it hovered there for a second.

"May I?" He asked looking up so that his bright blue eyes met my dark brown ones. I know this might sound cheesy, but I almost drowned in them. They were like a crystal blue ocean, so incredibly perfect.

"Uh, may you what?" I asked distractedly as I continued to stare into his eyes. He averted his eyes back to my shirt and chuckled to himself. That brought me back to reality and I felt my face get hot. " I mean yeah. Sure." He grinned to himself and shook his head as he lifted up the bottom of my shirt to a respectable height-just enough for him to assess the cut.

"Well, Mrs. O'Keiff," he pretended to click his pen and write something down on the imaginary clipboard. "It seems you have quite a scratch there. We'll have to do the standard procedure." He placed his invisible glasses on the bridge of his nose as he reached up into the cabinet to grab the Peroxide.

"Oh, Dr. Nick, will it hurt?" I asked my voice full of fake worry.

"Only a minor sting," he answered playing along. Little did I know that he was being quite serious. He drenched a cotton ball in the clear strong smelling liquid and looked up at me under his eyelashes. I nodded. The first touch stung like a bitch. I had never used Peroxide in the orphanage so I was no where near accustomed to or ready for the pain.

"Mother fu-"

"Mrs. O'Keiff!" He scolded me before I could finish. I shut my mouth and snorted. "That's no way for a lady to talk," he informed me throwing out the used cotton ball.

"Sorry, Doc," I mumbled looking down at my hands like a guilty child.

"It's quite alright," he replied squeezing the white antiseptic cream out of the tube and onto his finger. He put it on and started to move his thumb in slow circles around my hipbone to rub it in. I flinched at first from the slight sting, but soon I relaxed and it felt good. When he was done, he placed a hand on the counter on either side of me, and smiled up at me.

"Do you know what time it is now?" He asked playfully. I bit my lip in anticipation and shook my head. He reached behind me and pulled out a pack of bandages with Charlie Brown and Snoopy on them. I gasped and clapped giddily unable to contain my joy as he opened one and put it on.

"My little cousin left these here the last time he was over," Nick explained as he washed his hands. He picked me up and placed me on the ground. My face heated up again when I realized that he had made no effort to move away.

"Would you like a tour?" He asked suddenly. I nodded my head and he took my hand lading me out of the bathroom.

Ten minutes of listening to him explain everything in his house wasn't as bad as it seems. In fact, it was rather fun. At the end of the 'tour', we ended up right outside his bedroom door.

"And now, I present to you the best place in the whole house," he said motioning at the closed door with his hand. "Drum roll please." I banged lightly on the edge of the wall. He turned the doorknob and pushed open the door with a little too much enthusiasm. It swung open and banged against the wall before backfiring and nearly hitting Nick in the face. I giggled before stepping in after him.

His room was like any other boy's room. Plain dark blue walls with band posters, brown wooden furniture, and a bed with orange and blue sheets.

"Are those your favorite colors?" I asked pointing at his bed.

"Yes ma'am," he answered. He ran over and jumped on it like a little kid. He laid down with his hands behind his head turning me loose to explore the room on my own. I went over to his dresser and ran my hands over the cool polished wood.

"Aw, Nicky, plays with dolls," I teased picking up a blue Power Ranger action figure.

"Shut up! Those were from years ago. I just never got a chance to put them away," he defensively. I laughed at how cute he was and continued my exploration. That's when I came upon a picture.

"Hey, who's this?" I asked picking it up and holding it close to my face so that I could examine it better. It was a picture of Nick from a few years ago. Standing next to him, with his arm thrown around Nick's shoulders, was another boy who looked a lot like Nick does now. The two of them were standing in front of Brookdale High School giving the camera a thumbs up.

Nick raised he head slightly from the bed, and I turned so that he could see the picture in my hands. His face froze. I saw something flit across his features, but it was hard to make out exactly what type of emotion it was.

"Oh, that was my brother's first day of high school," he said sitting up. He had a brother!

"How old is he now?" I asked.

"Well, he would be eighteen, a senior at Brookdale," Nick answered. Would be?

"What do you mean?"

"He was murdered."