Alabaster had to wonder how many times she'd gone through this, only to fall on the floor and lay there for days at a time. As much as he hated leaving her there, his first priority was cleaning himself up.

When he was satisfied that he wouldn't bleed all over her, he carefully scooped her up and carried her to her bed, taking the time to bandage her own bloodied fingers and clean off what grime he could from their encounter on the street. That done, he shut her bedroom door behind him and plopped down on the couch, contemplating how to pass the next couple of days.