Chapter 6 - Sophia
He let go, almost sending me backwards. As I placed my full weight on my feet, I felt an intense, sharp pain radiating through the one. It was so bad that I fell back and landed on my butt. I grabbed my ankle as I bit back the scream.
Kolya swiftly bent down. I flinched, waiting for him to get angry and fight with me. Instead of fighting, he tenderly wrapped his arms around me and stood up. I didn’t dare move as I wondered why he wasn’t fighting with me anymore.
Maybe he didn’t want to do it out here, seeing that the neighbors could hear us. All I could think about as he carried me inside was how angry he must be at me. I braced myself for what was ahead.
I didn’t know if he was so angry that he was going to hurt me. Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply. I was scared of him. Opening my eyes again, I noticed we were heading upstairs.
He was surely going to lock me up again, I thought as he stepped onto the second-floor landing. I was surprised when we passed my room and headed further down the hallway. Close to the end, he turned with me into another room. This one I had not seen before.
The room appeared empty and full at the same time. It was so white, it almost sparkled. The light was blinding for a second until my eyes adjusted. It looked like a clean sheet of paper with dabbles on it.
I noticed the bed before the floor-to-ceiling window first. It looked like a kind of hospital bed, perched by the window. The room wasn’t very big. But big enough to still move in. It had a strange chemical odor, which was unsettling.
Next to the bed against the wall was a large double-door cabinet. And on the other side stood what looked like a mini fridge. Above it were shelves with white towels, a bucket, and bottles of cleaning materials.
Carefully, he placed me on the bed. I was surprised at his gentleness.
He cautiously removed my shoe and sock. Pain shot up my leg.
I had to bite down on my lower lip to prevent the scream that wanted to escape.
Turning my head, I focused on the view outside.
It was magnificent. It was peaceful. I could see the lovely flower garden and even outside the walls.
Past the walls were fields of trees and nothing else. I wondered what neighbors he spoke of earlier. But I wasn’t going to ask. I watched in anticipation as he turned and opened the cupboard. I could see some of the items stacked on the shelves. It was all medical supplies.
There were a couple of creams, bottles with tablets, and some bandages I could see. He collected a couple of items, closed the doors, and turned to face me. He pulled out a tray from the bottom of the bed and placed the items on it. There was some cream, a bag, and a bandage.
Kolya pulled out a chair from beneath the bed.
He adjusted the height and sat down. He looked at me as he spoke.
“This might hurt, it sure as hell isn’t going to be pleasant, but trust me, it is for your own good.
I need to attend to the swelling and wrap it properly.
You don’t want problems with it later on, do you? ”
I nodded in reply, unsure of what to say.
This was a side of him I had not seen before.
He studied my ankle, gently moving my foot one way, then the other way.
Then he opened the bag and pulled out a thin cloth.
He rubbed my ankle and foot tenderly. I wasn’t sure why he was cleaning it as I had my shoes on, but I left it.
Once he was satisfied with his cleaning, he dropped the cloth in a bin or something under the bed. Opening the jar of cream, he used a wooden spoon to scoop some out. This was all very odd as I had never seen anyone handle an ankle injury like this.
After placing the cream on my foot, he reached past me and pulled out a pair of gloves from somewhere.
I felt a tad agitated as he pulled them on.
At this point, I couldn’t believe he was this crazy.
I mean, really, did he think I had a disease or something?
Why didn’t he just rub my foot and ankle? The pain was driving me crazy.
“I can assure you I have no diseases!” I shot at him.
Kolya laughed as he replied. “Okay, I can see where you might get confused. I don’t think you have a disease. That’s not why I’m wearing gloves. This cream, like many others, gets absorbed into the skin. I just don’t want any on me.”
Thinking about it, it made sense. I don’t know why I was so on edge. “Please don’t put anything on my skin that shouldn’t be absorbed,” I added, panicky. “If it’s not safe, why use it?”
He shook his head as he replied. “Don’t be silly.
I won’t do that. Relax, the cream contains painkillers, and that is why I don’t want it on my hands.
It is excellent for muscle care. It also contains a numbing agent.
Thus, if I weren’t wearing gloves, my hands would likely go numb for a couple of hours. ”
Biting back the laugh, I relaxed. I felt a tad silly, but how was I supposed to know? Closing my eyes, I felt his hands tenderly rubbing in the cream. He covered the top half of my foot and my ankle.
Once the cream was fully absorbed, he opened the bandage. “This will be a little sore. But I must wrap it tightly,” he said softly.
Nodding, I waited for him to start. As he wrapped my ankle and foot, the pain radiated up into my leg. I made small fists and dug my nails into my palms, trying to absorb the pain.
Once my ankle was wrapped correctly, he lifted me and carried me to my room. After placing me on the bed, he propped up my leg with a pillow and covered me with a fluffy blanket.
As he turned to leave, I called out, “Hey!” I was still fired up about my close call. Well, it might not have been as close as I was trying to tell myself, but that didn't matter. “You lied to me earlier!”
Kolya stopped and turned slowly. “Lied to you? Lied about what?” he asked. His tone was soft, but I could hear a slight irritation in it.
“Everything you said about Melody. My boss isn’t like that. She will never do such things as you claimed she did.” I could feel my anger bubbling as I shot my words across the room. “She will never do such horrid, dirty things to me! She is a great boss! You know nothing.”
He lightly rubbed his chin as he took a step closer to me. His demeanor was calm, and his tone light as he replied. “Oh, dear, but she did.”
“She didn’t!” I replied sharply.
He sat down as he spoke. “I haven’t lied to you. Everything I have said so far has been the truth. I was open with you from the start.”
“Stop trying to fill my head with lies!” I screamed. Folding my hands across my chest, I turned my gaze away.
Kolya sighed, then I felt him getting up. Looking his way, I saw him walking to the door. “What are you getting out of this web of lies you are spinning?” I questioned.
He stopped dead in his tracks. His shoulders moved up and down as he breathed heavily. He glanced at me over his shoulder, pushing his hand through his hair as he replied. “Once again, I’m not lying.” Then he started walking again.
“Stop being so childish!” I screamed. I was frustrated and angry. Why did he insist on lying to me?
He flung around with force as he rushed at me.
Flinching, I closed my eyes, expecting him to hit me.
But there was no hit. Blinking, I opened my eyes to find him towering over me.
He pointed a finger in my face as he responded to my accusation.
“Childish? You are the one being childish! You keep on giving me attitude when all you have to do is be honest with me!”
Before I could get another word out, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Every time he did things like that, it made me flinch. He was a big man and a criminal.
I stayed in bed, off my feet, the entire day. Kolya had one of the scullery maids bring me lunch and supper. He checked in twice but didn’t say anything. The cream he rubbed my ankle with was something else. The pain had eased instantly. But it was wearing off.
Turning to my side, I felt sick. The pain coming from my ankle was numbing my leg. I rolled from side to side, trying to find a comfortable position in which to sleep. After a couple of hours, I finally fell asleep. I was overly tired, and sleep came quickly.
I woke up a couple of times during the night. My sleep was restless, invaded by aches and pain radiating from my ankle. Sometime during the morning hours, I thought I heard the door. I tried opening my eyes, but they were heavy with tiredness.
When I finally woke up, I noticed the water and tables next to the bed. He had been in here, I thought as I drank them without question. There was also one crutch. That would come in handy. I had to relieve the pain. I lay staring out the window until I felt the pain subside.
Carefully, I rose from the bed, testing my ankle. There was still some pain, but it was bearable. Grabbing the crutch, I started moving slowly. I opened my door and listened. The house sounded quiet, so I decided to do some exploring.
“This may take me some time,” I mumbled, staring at my ankle. I hobbled out of the room, trying to be as quiet as possible. Looking both ways, I decided to go towards the end. There were only three doors. One of them I now knew was the medical room.
Holding the wall with one hand, I carefully moved the crutch forward. Luckily, the tip was rubber, which barely made a sound. I found a double door and opened it. It was a cupboard filled with curtains, bedding, and towels. A strange place for such a thing, I thought as I closed the doors.
I stopped by the medical room and opened the door. Staring at the bed where I lay, I felt a warmth bubbling up in me. There was something mischievous about him. I couldn’t place the feeling. But he made me feel safe and warm, even though he scared me. Shaking my head, I moved further.
The next room was empty. There was no furniture at all, as if it had no purpose. The last one looked like a storage room.