The Witch in the Woods (bxbxbxbxbxb)

Chapter 6 - It burns

Jacob's pov

Evan was snuggled into my side and Matthew was playing on his phone laying down with his head in my lap. We could faintly hear Cosmo and Michael making dinner together in the kitchen, I smiled as I heard Cosmo's laugh.

Our heads all jerked up as we suddenly heard a yell. We jumped up as we heard a crash and a scream, we ran to the kitchen to find Cosmo on the floor with a overturned pot next to him. He was covered in boiling liquid, Michael was leaning over him and Truffles was staring from the floor 7 feet away from them. Cosmo was writhing in pain, letting out broken sobs.

I quickly rushed over and kneeled beside him, ignoring the hot liquid that was on the floor. I quickly realized that his sweater had collected the liquid and it was still burning him. I explained the sweater situation through the mind link in half a second, and Michael helped me gently take off Cosmo's sweater.

I gasped at the sight below me. Cosmo's right side was covered in old burn marks, which were now recreated on his back by the boiling water. He sobbed in pain and my heart broke seeing him suffer like that.

I gently picked him up without touching his back, being careful to not touch any of the burns. I told Evan, "go run the water for a bath. Make it cool, not ice cold but cool." He nodded and bolted to our room.

Most of the burns were on his back so I leaned his chest against mine. He continued to cry, I hushed him and gently swayed my body, rocking him gently. His sobs died down after a minute but I could tell that he was still in pain. I carried him into the bathroom where Evan was waiting. I gently asked him, "is it okay if I take off your pants? We need to put cool water on the burn."

He nodded and Michael came over, helping me to take off his pants without touching his burns. He whimpered when my hand accidentally touched his back, I apologized and he clung to me more tightly in response. Matthew held his hand and Cosmo seemed to relax a bit more.

I stepped towards the tub and told him, "I'm going to gently set you down in the tub, I won't let your back touch anything."

He nodded and I gently set him down in the water, he clung to my arms tightly, I could see terror and pain in his eyes. I saw that his right arm was completely burnt, and I had no idea how he was managing to hold onto me so tightly. I gently removed his right arm from mine, setting it down in the water. He still clung tightly to me with his left arm, but I didn't mind as it made him feel better. Evan was holding Cosmo's head above the water, but he was careful not to touch his neck as there were burns on it too.

I told Matthew, "call 911. We need an ambulance."

He nodded and took out his phone, quickly making the phone call. He asked me for the address and I had Michael look through my phone's GPS to find it.

When we could hear the ambulance sirens we helped Cosmo out of the tub, Michael patted him dry with a towel, avoiding the burnt skin completely. Evan came over with one of his boxers, helping Cosmo put them on so he would feel more comfortable around the strangers. Cosmo was shaking badly and he hadn't let go of my arm, I could feel his nails digging into my skin but I didn't let him know that he was hurting me.

I realized the gate would probably be closed and the paramedics wouldn't know how to get into the house. I gently asked Cosmo, "is there a way we can open the gate from inside?"

Cosmo's voice was barely noticeable but I heard him say, "it's... by... elevator... switch... labeled... gate." I nodded and sent Matthew to go find the switch, he was hesitant to leave Cosmo's side but he ran out to do it anyways.

I felt Cosmo's grip on me loosen, I looked down to see his eyes were half closed and he looked like he wanted to go to sleep. I sat down beside him and told him, "lean on me baby, you're okay." He leaned his full weight onto me, I kissed his head and ran my hands through his hair, being careful not to touch his neck.