AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Noticing the gray cement dust in her hair, I whisper, “Can I help you clean up, love? We need to get you warm and rehydrated.”
She nods, but when I move to stand, she grabs my hand, holding me in place. “Please don’t leave.”
“Okay,” I promise.
Washing the grime off her is not easy from my position behind her. It takes me fifteen minutes from start to finish because I have to cup enough water with my hands to wash her hair. But, despite my slow progress, I manage to gently slough the dirt off her, transferring it to the bath water, which turns murky as a result of my careful ministrations.
“How long was I gone?”
It’s been so quiet between us that the question takes me off guard. For a moment, the anger spikes my pulse, stealing my ability to speak. Taking a deep breath, I force myself to relax and release one last scoop of water over Cat’s shoulders. “Almost three days.” My voice is calm, but the anger is there. Cold and hard.
She nods.
Disentangling myself, I push to a stand. The cool air nips along my soaked clothes, forcing a chill into my bones. When I step out of the tub, a puddle of water pools at my feet. Ignoring it for now, I grab one of two bright pink towels from the rack and hold it up for Cat. “Ready?”
She nods and stands, steadying herself on the bathroom wall as her shaky legs wobble underneath her.Before she can object, I wrap her in the oversized towel, and lift her from the tub, deliberately avoiding any contact with the raw skin around her neck and ankles.
I carry her to the bedroom, not bothering to apologize when I trail a significant amount of water in my wake.
Antoinette and the doctor are sitting on the bed, talking in hushed undertones. They both look up when they hear us, and when they see Cat in my arms, move hurriedly from the bed, making space for me to put her down.
“I’ve left some sweats for you on the dresser there,” Antoinette says. “Why don’t you change while Doc. Hinde takes a look at Cat?”
I look down at Catherine wrapped in the pink towel on the bed. Gently brushing her hair away from her face, I ask, “Will you be okay for a few minutes?”
She smiles weakly. “Yes.”
My socks squelch as I backtrack to the bathroom and shut myself inside. Alone again, I rest against the door and allow myself to close my eyes for the first time in days. The adrenaline leaves my body in one long, slow leak, each second draining my muscles and my mind until I am not sure if I even have the energy to undress.
As quietly as I can, I slide down to sit on the floor. My clothes are soaked. My eyes are dry and scratchy with fatigue. I’m pretty sure the stress and lack of food over the last few days has given me a stomach ulcer.
I don’t give a shit.
Catherine’s home.
The realization slams me from every direction, destroying me, piece by piece, and I find that I can’t quite bank the tears of relief that stream down my face. It’s asif I’ve woken from a nightmare where I’d died and gone to my own special hell—a world without Catherine.
Catherine
There is no noisecoming from the bathroom. No quiet footsteps. No small noises to indicate that Aiden is changing into the sweatpants and shirt Toni brought from Drakos.
“Do you think I should knock?” Toni asks as Doc. Hinde finishes wrapping my ankles.
“No,” I whisper, my voice dry through my sore throat. “I’ll go.”
Both Toni and Doc. Hinde open their mouths to protest, but I hold up a hand, silencing them. “He needs me too. I…I want to. Please…Go.”
“You need to drink small amounts of water every few hours until you stop feeling thirsty,” Doc. Hinde says. “Sleep. Eat whatever you can hold down, preferably something high in protein.” She glances at Toni. The gesture is imperceptible, but I see the weariness in the doctor’s eyes.
“Cat…Did…” Toni looks at me. She doesn’t have to finish the thought.
“No,” I say. “They were getting ready to move me from the other girls when Drakos came…If he hadn’t arrived…”
“So, I don’t need to do a rape kit?” Doc. Hinde asks, her voice calm and professional, as if she’s asking me aboutthe weather.
“No.”
“Okay.” She stands to leave. “Call me if you need anything. Otherwise, I suggest that you double your appointments with Harry.” She looks towards the bathroom door. “Both of you.”
