13
"Xavier? Where are you?"
"Here," he replied languidly.
I hurriedly slammed the door, rushed to the couch before I had time to change my shoes, and examined his arm. "Where did you burn it?"
"What's the rush?" Xavier glanced at me and shook his left hand. "Here."
Sure enough, there was a bright red mark on the back of the hand, with the edge slightly raised.
"When I was a child, I had a burn before, so I know how to treat it. Your injury isn't very serious. I'll apply the cream first for you and then, we will apply ice to it. Sit still and don't move."
I frowned as I dealt with the burn, but he picked up the gauze to play nonchalantly as if his hand was not his own.
"How did you do it? How did this happen in the middle of the night?"
"I was cooking. Initially, I was going to cook some supper for you."
"Tell the truth!"
He paused before saying, "I had the burn when I used your garment steamer to steam a shirt."