Chapter 16

                                    

                                          
Jade
By the time Perrie had stopped crying and calmed down, the day had turned into late evening. Thousands of bright shining stars had appeared in the sky, which grew darker with each passing second. 
                          
Goosebumps arose on my sun-kissed skin and Perrie started shaking when a cold wind blew through the trees. Not wanting the girl in my arms to be cold I held her closer to my body, hoping that my body heat would be enough to keep her warm. 
                          
"Jade?" Perrie whispered, her voice hoarse and barely audible from the last three hours of crying. 
                          
"Yes, sweetheart?" I asked softly. 
                          
Removing her head from my chest, she looked up at me. Her usually lively blue eyes were now grey and lifeless. Thin, wet lines painted her pale tear-stained cheeks. Seeing her like this broke my heart. 
                          
"Please, take me home." 
                          
I placed a kiss on her forehead. "Okay." 
                          
Disconnecting my lips from her smooth skin, I got up on my feet. I brushed off the dirt from my knees, then I grasped Perrie's cold hands and pulled her up. Perrie's legs suddenly gave in and she almost fell over, but I caught her in the last minute. 
                          
"Are you alright there, babe?" I asked anxiously. 
                          
"Not really" she said as she looked down on her right knee. 
                          
A wave of nausea washed over me when I saw the nasty cut on the side of her knee. Blood seeped from the wound and trickled down her knee, staining her pale skin and her white Converse. 
                          
"I'll carry you to my car and take care of the wound there." 
                          
Not wanting to waste another second, I put Perrie's arm around my neck and picked her up bridal style. She flashed me a smile, then she put her head on my chest. 
                          
Approximately three minutes later, we were out of the woods and back by the lightly trafficked road. To my relief, nothing had happened to my car. No one had stolen it and no one had crashed into it. My baby was alright. 
                          
Walking up to the vehicle, I opened the passenger door and gently placed Perrie on the seat. Telling her I'd be back in a second, I made my way to the back of the car. Opening the door to the trunk, I grabbed a bottle of water, a towel, and band-aids. I closed the door, then I walked back to Perrie. 
                          
"Unfortunately, I don't have a first-aid-kit so this will have to do" I said and showed her the things I took from the trunk. 
                          
Going down on my knees, I opened the bottle of water and poured the rather warm water on the wound. Perrie drew a sharp breath. I felt absolutely terrible for causing her pain, but I kept cleaning the wound. 
                          
As soon as the blood was gone, I inspected the wound carefully. It didn't look as nasty now that it was clean. Fantastic. Feeling good about myself, I dried Perrie's wet knee with a towel and then I put three Ninja Turtles band-aids on the wound. 

                          
"One more thing." I placed a kiss on the band-aids, just like my mum always did when I was a kid and had injured myself. "Now my kiss will heal your wound." 
                          
Perrie giggled. "You're such a dork." 
                          
"But I'm your dork" I smiled. 
                          
She smiled back at me, then she swung her legs inside the vehicle. I put the lid back on the water bottle and grabbed the wet, bloody towel from the ground. Standing up, I closed the passenger door and walked to the back of the car. Opening the trunk door and putting back the bottle and the towel, I closed the door and made my way to the driver's side of the car. 
                          
Getting inside the vehicle, I closed the door and put on the seat-belt. Seeing that Perrie was buckled-up, I fetched the car keys from the back pocket of my shorts and put the key in the ignition.