his eyes are darkening. He must be in a world of pain, but he doesn’t show it at all. I don’t mention his obvious injuries, and instead answer his question.
“Okay, I suppose. I feel numb, but I can’t get the images I’ve seen out of my head.”
“Totally normal. You’ve been through a massive trauma; it will take time. Maybe you ought to get some help, see a therapist.”
“I will, as soon as I’m free. Right now, Konstantin plans on keeping me as his prisoner for a bit longer, because he says I’m not safe out there.”
Andrius sighs and settles back in the chair. “He is a hard person. Harder than me, I think. He finds it difficult to show patience or to trust people. He’s had more people betray him than most of us must contend with. Give him time.”
“It’s fine, Andrius,” I say. “I appreciate your advice, but I don’t need it. I don't want him to chase me, or fall for me. I just want my life to go back to normal.”
He smiles, and it’s a touch pitiful. “Ah, Cassie, there is no going back to normal for you. This world? It’s split between those of us who have witnessed the things you saw today, and those who haven’t. The divide is one that is hard to cross. You might go back to your office job, and marry a boring but nice man, but you’ll always have it in you. What you saw, the horror, the knowledge of what’s lurking in the dark corners of the world. And those people you work amongst, with their watercooler discussions about boring television shows, and your nice new husband with his insistence that every Sunday you cut the grass and wash the car, in your suburban home… They will seem like aliens. I don’t think you should walk away from Konstantin. You are good for him, and I think he could be for you. That is all. I will leave you now to rest.”
He leaves, and I sink back onto the hard bed and sigh. Why does he want me and Konstantin together? Why does he care?
My eyes close as exhaustion steals over me. I start to drift and then I jerk awake with a gasp, as images of blood, death, and the sounds of Liza’s moans hit me. I can’t breathe. I panic and sit up, trying to suck in air. I can’t get any in, though. Nothing, no air. I’m suffocating. I try to reach out, desperate to breathe, and I grab the table by my side, as I half lurch out of the bed. I knock the table over, and it lands on the floor with a loud bang. I follow it, falling out of bed and landing in an ungainly pile of limbs. Ouch, it hurts. Luckily for me, the pain seems to do something breathing wise, and I gasp as blessed air rushes into my lungs.
The curtain opens, and heavy footsteps fill the space.
“Cassie?” Konstantin places a steaming plastic cup on the floor at the end of the bay and comes to me. He lifts me carefully as two nurses rush into the space.
“Are you okay? What happened?” one asks.
“I couldn’t breathe,” I say. “I started to doze a little I think, and I jerked awake because I couldn’t catch a breath. My heart was pounding, and I couldn’t get air in. It was horrific.”
“How did you end up on the floor?” Konstantin asks.
“I reached for the table, knocked it over, and fell out of bed onto it.”
“Sir, can you take a walk for ten minutes? Maybe get a drink?” the nurse asks.
“I just got a drink,” Konstantin says in reply, surly and pissed.
“Okay, then some fresh air perhaps?” The nurse doesn’t back down which makes me respect her.
Konstantin gives her a dark glare but turns to walk out of the curtained off room, leaving the drink. “I’ll be five minutes,” he tells me.
When he’s gone, the nurse turns to me, a concerned expression marring her face. “Is he hitting you?”
“What? No,” I answer before I think. I go with the honest answer, my gut leading the way. But then my brain kicks in… If I tell her he’s hitting me, will they put me in some sort of protective custody? This is it. My chance to get away is here, all wrapped up in a shiny bow. To take it, all I have to do is lie and tell these nurses that Konstantin hurts me.