Chapter 6: New Addition

There was a familiar absence of her employer for a few days.  Lexi didn’t bring it up but the guys had noticed it as well.  None of them felt good about it.  It was their day off and the guys were trying to rest and take it easy, hanging out in their room while Lexi tried to tend to their needs.  Justin had a sore throat and JC was complaining about his back, which probably had a lot to do with the uncomfortable cot he was sleeping on combined with the dance moves he was being asked to perform on stage.  She had tried every home remedy and every over the counter treatment she could think of but they were both still not improving.

That was when the door flung open, amidst a swirl of dust a man was tossed down on the floor a few feet from Lexi.  Both guys jumped a little but Lexi remained somewhat unfazed.  After all she had been there long enough to expect anything.  Jade Gaillard stood in the doorway; Lexi couldn’t tell if she was happy or mad so she just waited for her to say something.  She was frozen in place.  Justin and JC hung their heads and waited as well.  It wasn’t until the man began to cough from the dust that they both recognized the sound of his voice.

Jade stepped toward them and snatched the man by his hair, pulling him up off the floor until he came to rest on his knees.  Chris placed his hands on top of hers trying to prevent the violent woman from ripping his hair out.  Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks; his eyes were so full of fear.  Lexi felt her heart break; this wasn’t like before when Jade had brought JC and Justin to her.  Chris was filthy and dressed in rags.  He was terrified and had dry blood on his face from an old head wound.  It wasn’t clear the cause of his injuries, had Jade Gaillard beat the carp out of him and if so, then why? 

“I have a new project for you today Lexi.” Jade stated.  She released Chris, but he remained where he believed she had wanted him, lowering his arms at glancing at her to see if she would hurt him again. “Make this thing look human again.” Miss Gaillard added roughly messing up Chris’s hair and then walked out without another word.

Lexi smiled and got down near Chris, trying as hard as she could to put him at ease.  She examined the cut on his head and gently ran her hand along his jaw line.  He just bit his lip and looked at her with uncertainty. 

“Hi, I am Lexi.  What’s your name?” She asked.  She knew who he was but she just wanted to hear him say it, to say anything really.  He softly told her his name, letting his eyes dart from her to the other guys and back again, and then he waited for further instructions.   “Okay Chris, let’s get you clean up.”  She turned to the other two, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to do it but Chris might be more comfortable with his friends.  “Would one of you mind helping Chris into the shower while I track down a bed for him?” Lexi asked.

JC was hesitant but finally got up.  He had never seen any guy in his bad of shape.  Justin waited; he knew that the bathroom was barely big enough for one let alone 2.  JC latched on to Chris biceps and pulled him to his feet.  They all notice that Chris cringe a little as he got up; there was no telling what injuries his clothing was hiding.    Lexi looked at JC as if to say ‘let me know what you find’.  JC nodded back to her and then guided Chris into the bathroom.

“I can help you set up the cot.” Justin offered, just wanting to feel useful.  He followed Lexi down the hall to where they stored stuff.  The two of them wrestled one of the cots out of the cluttered space; both of them trying to avoid the obvious questions that was on both of their minds.

“Do you think he is going to be okay?” Justin asked looking at her; there was so much care in his eyes.  He didn’t want to see his friend suffering. He hadn’t seen Chris in so long; he cursed himself for not spending more time with him before all of this had happened.

“I don’t know but we can all work together to get him back on his feet.” She said.  Lexi was sure she could tend to his physical wounds, but Justin would have to help heal any emotional ones that Chris might have. Lexi also knew that this place wasn’t ideal for healing, if anything being here might be worse for Chris.  But maybe it was not as bad as where he had come from.

Lexi shuttered a little, thinking back to what JC had told her about if Jade sold them.  Maybe JC had been right, maybe there were worse places to be than here.  It was pretty clear that Chris had found just a place. 

JC turned the shower on for Chris and then helped him pull his shirt over his head, revealing several large bruises across his ribs.  His friend wouldn’t even make eye contact with him; it was as if he was ashamed of his injuries and they way that he looked at that moment. 

“That looks like it hurt.” JC stated.  The silence was bothersome to JC.  Chris looked nervously at the door.  “It’s okay, we can talk.  Miss Gaillard is long gone and Lexi doesn’t care.” JC explained.  Plus he figured if Miss Gaillard didn’t want them to speak to one another she would have seen to it that they couldn’t like she had done in the past.

Chris placed his hand gently against his ribs and flinched at the pain.  He knew exactly how it had happened along with the other bumps and bruises that were spread across his body, but he didn’t want to tell JC, at least not yet any way.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Chris said then stripped the rest of the way and climbed into the shower.  JC turned his back to him and propped himself up against the wall, he didn’t want to go too far as Chris didn’t seem to sure on his feet.  The water wasn’t very warm but it felt good to Chris despite the stinging as it ran over his scraps. 

“There is soap and stuff in there on the floor.  Let me know if you need any help.” JC offered.    Chris looked down and snatched up the shampoo.  He worked hard to get the grease and dirt out of his hair, trying to use just enough soap to get clean but not be wasteful.  “So you really aren’t going to tell me what happened to you?” JC asked.  Chris shook his head, realizing after he did it that JC couldn’t see him anymore.

“It doesn’t matter.  I am here now.” Chris said.  His voice lacked emotion and that worried JC.  Chris had always been a passionate person, willing to share his hard ships with any one that would listen.    JC didn’t push it any further, maybe in time Chris would open up about it.  But there was one thing JC had to know.

“It wasn’t Miss Gaillard was it?” He asked softly.  He wouldn’t put it past her to hurt someone and Chris wasn’t known as the most attractive one in the group, so his appearance could have less value to her.

“No, she was rough but this much dirt and grime takes time.” Chris answered as he watched the steady stream of dirt go down the drain.  He wanted to put JC at ease but there wasn’t much he could offer him, other than to knowledge that his master hadn’t been the one to inflict such damage on him.

Justin reached in and handed JC a clean pair of underwear before rushing back to help Lexi make the bed they had just set up.  Lexi appreciated Justin’s willingness to aide her, but his mind had to be a flurry of questions and concern regarding the new addition. 

“Hey if you think you can handle this, I’ll go look for some more Band-Aids and stuff.”   Lexi asked, she had a feeling that she just wasn’t going to have enough and she wanted to pick Jade’s brain about what exactly she was thinking bring Chris in there like that, maybe even find out where Chris had come from.

JC kept his back turned as Chris stepped out of the shower, he was almost afraid to look at his point.  He handed Chris a towel and the clean underwear. 

“I can see if Justin can find a blanket, but Lexi is going to need to look you over and tend to your injuries before you get fully dressed.” JC explained.  He didn’t wait for a response before sticking his head out the door and asking Justin to hand him a blanket.  JC handed it to Chris and then stepped out, waiting just outside for Chris in case he needed a hand.

Chris put his hand on JC arm as he passed him but was able to make it to his bed without any help additional help.  He sat on the cot for a minute not saying anything just adjusting the blanket that was draped loosely around him.  Chris wanted to talk to them, after all he hadn’t talked them in so long, but he wasn’t sure what to say.  ‘Hi, how are you doing?’ just didn’t seem appropriate.  They sat in silence for what seemed like forever before Lexi came back.  She hadn’t found all the answered she had been looking for but she had gotten the stuff she thought that Chris might need.

“Do you want them to step out?” Lexi asked.  Chris shook his head no; he didn’t want to force his friends out.  But he was nervous about them seeing him like this, they must have picked up on it because they both sat down on one of the cots and faced away from Chris, trying hard to respect his privacy. 

Chris let the blanket fall onto the bed as he sat there shivering, waiting for Lexi to give him the next order.  Lexi couldn’t stifle the gasp that escaped her lips.  She ran her fingers along the bruises.  Chris flinched but didn’t say anything. 

“I am just checking for broken bones.” Lexi explained.  He nodded.  She hoped there wasn’t anything broken; Lexi wouldn’t know how to fix it if there was.  In reality she wasn’t even qualified to do the work that she was already doing.  “I think you are okay, does anything feel broken?” Lexi questioned.  Her eyes met with his for a minute.  He looked scared.

“No, it doesn’t feel broken.” Chris sighed.  Lexi smiled at him again, just to make him feel better; she didn’t want him to be afraid of her.  She sorted through her stuff and found a rag.  She dipped the rag into peroxide and it stung as she ran it over the wounds; some of them looked a little infected, when she was done with that she put some cream on the wounds that looked the worst and cover them as best she could. 

After she handed Chris his new clothes Lexi left the room, taking his old rags with her, they would need to be burned or something.  But she wanted to give the guys some time alone, to help Chris settle in.  Lexi felt ill when she thought about what Jade had done to JC when he arrived and hoped that the same wouldn’t happen to Chris.    The man was already broken; he knew his place better than most, to do so would just be cruel. 

Justin and JC exchanged glances while Chris got dressed.  They weren’t sure what to say or really what to do for him at this point.  “So do you want us to show you around or something?” Justin finally offered.