#dedrick warflash

Rose slammed on the brakes. Blood pounded in her ears. Knuckles locked onto the steering wheel. Raindrops bursting. She darted her gaze from the door to the street. “What the…hell?” she said to herself, cautiously putting her car in park. She imagined that a firework just flew underneath her tires, and any moment, it was going to explode and take her and her car with it. Before I even got my activation immunity.

Suddenly, the streak of red was standing. Already drenched from head-to-toe, white shirt streaked with dirt. Rose climbed out of the car in a panic, cringing from the cold of the rain, before she could even register who she had hit. “Are you okay?” she asked, grabbing his arm on instinct.

He ripped his arm from her grip and stumbled back, toward the bakery. His silver eyes—eye, actually—reflected the light from her headlights, setting them ablaze with fear. Rose realized with a jolt: I just hit Dedrick Warflash with my car.

“I—I am so, so sorry,” she apologized rapidly.

He whipped his head around and tripped backwards on the curb. He fell on his ass, scrambling to his feet, muttering, “No, no, no, off, off, off, off the ground, off the ground, out of reach, out of reach—”

Rose had no idea what she was thinking. Perhaps she wasn’t. But she followed him, a word-vomit of apologies spilling from her lips. “I’m sorry! I didn’t see you! I didn’t want to hurt you! Let me help, I can—” Dedrick ran headfirst into the corner of the brick building and hit the ground again. Rose cringed, but he stopped moving so erratically. He squeezed his eye shut for a moment, panting. “—help you,” Rose finally finished.

Dedrick jumped and sat up. He winced, pressing his hand to his head. It was hard to tell with the rain and the limited lighting, but Rose was pretty sure there was blood on his face now. “Rose?” he said, as if he just noticed her.

Rose approached him slowly. “Um…please don’t tell my mom about this,” she said, outstretching a hand.

Dedrick didn’t take it. He tilted his head back, frowning. “About…what?”

“Me, hitting you with my car.”

“You did what?”

Now, Rose was confused. “It was…it was ten seconds ago,” she said, gesturing to her car. Dedrick glanced from her, to the car, to the bakery, as if he had to piece together the last five minutes. Oh, Cadote, he has a concussion. Luckily, that was the one thing Rose knew to look out for. “This is my grandma’s place. Let me help you.”

Dedrick’s shaking hand finally grasped hers. She had to pull him to his feet, and he swayed a little. She kept a hold of his hand, leading him to the door. Surprisingly, she didn’t have to look for the key. Lee’s door was already, slightly, ajar. That was weird, but right now, everything felt weird.

The air-conditioned air of Lee’s apartment chilled Rose, and she decided to contribute both of their shaking to that. She started up the stairs, toting Dedrick along, but then her arm extended. Dedrick was a couple steps lower, slowly raising his feet along the dim stairway, focusing hard. For a moment, Rose thought, maybe, he was bleeding into his brain. No, he’s like this at school, too. Finally, it clicked. Stairs. Depth perception. He has one eye.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned on the flashlight, shining it at his feet. He flinched at the sudden light. He didn’t say thank you, but his steps came faster, until they were finally on even ground.

Rose grabbed a roll of paper towels from the kitchen and brought him to the bathroom. The fan hummed. Dedrick sat on the toilet. He had a small gash on his forehead, and another weeping cut on his nose. The skin around them was already darkening with a bruise. Rose rummaged through the cabinets for hydrogen peroxide and bandages.

Rose folded a paper towel into fourths and soaked it in peroxide. “So, um…what were you doing out this late?” she asked him. He didn’t answer. Typical, she thought. He seemed like the guy who wouldn’t even admit what his favorite color was. He seems like the kind of guy to have a fight in the school hallways over a hat.

However, those thoughts went away when she turned to clean the cut on his forehead. Dedrick was staring at his trembling hand, streaked with his own blood. He had a faraway look in his eye, like he did downstairs.

Rose set the antiseptic towel down and replaced it with a regular wet paper towel. She wiped his hand off, revealing callouses and small scars. So many scars.

Dedrick blinked, shaking his head a little. “Did—did you say something?”

“It’s not important.”

“Oh.” Rose grabbed the antiseptic towel, and his eye was now following her. “What’s that?”

“It’s got hydrogen peroxide,” she said. He narrowed his eye a bit, suspicious. He doesn’t know what that is? “It’ll keep you from getting an infection,” she explained, lifting it to his forehead. “It’s gonna sting a little, so…don’t hurt me.”

His eye twitched, but otherwise, he remained still while she cleaned him up. “What were you doing here?” he asked.

“Taking Guin home.” He hummed in slight contempt. A bit of anger coiled in Rose’s chest, but she forced it down. He was a private person, and Guin enjoyed being a confidante. “They can be a lot, but…they’re a great friend,” she said.

“I’ve heard.”

Rose’s hands were still shaking when as she dabbed at his nose. This is too close, she thought, but she wanted to see if it was still bleeding. His silver eye stared right into her, like he was trying to read her. She noticed with a brief glance that he had his fists in his pockets.

And yet, she still found herself asking, “What does ‘off the ground, out of reach’ mean?”

It startled her as much as it did him, if his expression was anything to indicate. “What?”

“Never mind,” Rose said hurriedly, tossing the bloody towels into the trash. She fumbled for the box of bandages, digging for ones long enough to cover his wounds.

“It happened again, didn’t it?” he asked. Rose shrugged. “Like earlier today? The fight?” Rose paused, two bandages pinched in her fingers. “I saw Fred and Ben shoving Eric around, and it was like…it was like when…” He flinched, pressing his fingers to his head. “I barely even…I knew the fight happened, but I didn’t remember being in it.”

It suddenly clicked into place. Rose put the bandage on his forehead extra gently. “You…were probably triggered.”

He blinked at her. “What?”

“Something made you remember a traumatizing event,” she explained. “Like…like for me, Harmony’s voice, some of her mannerisms…I just remember how I felt the day she tried to destroy my friendship with Guin.” Rose avoided his stare, trying to clean up.

A jolt went up her spine when the walls shook. Lee was awake.

Her grandmother pushed the bathroom door open, staring wide and cautiously. “I can explain,” Rose began as Lee’s eyes flicked down to Dedrick.

“Go to bed, Dedrick,” Lee said softly, nodding toward the spare room.

Rose felt rooted to the spot, even as Dedrick brushed past her. Did Lee just tell him to go to bed? Like he… “Does he live with you?” Rose found herself asking once he was out of sight.

Lee grimaced, crossing her arms. She cast a worried glance in his direction. “For about a month now, yes. After his parents’ accident.”

It didn’t make any sense, until it did. Until she remembered the passing thought she had about the razor in Lee’s medicine cabinet, little red hairs sticking out from the blades like thorns. She remembered seeing his big blue backpack sitting next to the recliner in the living room. The open front door, the fact that he ran from that direction…

“Um…well, I…I hit him with my car. Only barely, but—but he kinda ran into a wall, and fell a lot.”

The corner of Lee’s mouth twitched. “I’ll keep an eye on him,” she promised. “And…don’t mention this to your father. I have yet to tell him.”

Trust me, Rose thought, exiting the bathroom. He’s not going to know about any of this.