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Chapter nine
Nico
I watched her as she slept. Despite the mending bruises she had on her face and the broken arm and leg, she looked peaceful.
Finally, she stretched her good arm and squeezed her eyes shut, yawning, before she looked around.
She smiled when she saw me. "Hey, Muchacho Malo."
"Good morning, Angel. Did you sleep well?"
She nodded, "Amazingly actually. Where is Luca?"
I shrugged, "Not sure. He wasn't here when I woke up an hour ago."
“You’ve been watching me sleep for an hour? Creepy much?”
I laughed. I enjoyed watching her sleep. It was how we met after all.
“Well, I need a shower and I'll need your help.”
“Your wish is my command,” I grinned. Lifting her in my arms, I carried her to the bathroom and set her down gently on the edge of the bath. There I carefully removed the hospital gown over her head, being extra careful to extract her broken arm.
Fuck!
I looked over her body. Her neck had an angry red mark on it, and her waist had large bruises on either side of her torso that were dark purple. Her good leg also had a bluish colored bruise, compliments of Luca.
“I'm sor-”
“Don't!” she held up a finger with one hand. “There is nothing to be sorry for, and should I wish it, you'll do it again.”
I was stunned by her straightforwardness.
“Now, shower please,” she said politely and batted her beautiful eyelashes at me. I shook my head, grinning as I pulled the shower head off its hook and adjusted the temperature, then ran the warm water over her body, careful to avoid wetting her casts as much as possible.
"Nico, you still haven't told me why you are this way? Tell me."
I shrugged, “I was sexually abused as a kid.”
Catalina gasped. “Oh my god Nico. What happened?”
“I was nine when I was taken. Ripped from my home and everything I knew.’
“Taken? As in kidnapped?”
I nodded, “I didn't understand it back then. As a child you are just scared and confused, but now I understand it all too well.”
Catalina covered her mouth with her hand in shock.
“One minute I was at home, safe in my bed in Italy, the next I was on a boat surrounded by strangers. I didn't know then, but it was bound for the US where the horrors were waiting.”
Catalina’s arm tightened around my neck. “I'm sorry Nico. That must have been so scary for you.”
Even after all these years, the emotions I felt as a boy at that time were still raw and real. I swallowed hard, trying not to feel anything as I finished watering her skin and started lathering soap over her body, concentrating on the feel of her smooth skin beneath my fingers.
“It was, and I still have nightmares of being taken and used.”
“And what of your parents?”
