Storming inside, I find Katya lying on a bed, curled into a ball. She couldn’t have been inside of this room for longer than thirty minutes but she looks… not afraid. Instead, she looks more comforted. There’s a peace on her face that startles me.
“Katya,” I say, running over to her side. “Let me take you back home. You’re safe.” I touch her arm but she shrugs away from me.
“No,” she whispers.
“No?”
“It’s safe in here. In this room. It’s like my room. Nothing can hurt me. I’m not leaving.”
I let out a slow breath as a heavy weight hits my stomach. I knew that Katya had issues she had to deal with. Trauma that makes her seek the comfort of a small room like this cellar.
But she would rather stay inside this room than return home with me.
“We’re going,” I say, grabbing her arm but she turns to me and screams, “No!”
It’s so loud, it makes me flinch back. “Katya.”
She grabs the pillow and holds it to herself. “I’m safe here. I’m safe here.”
I stare at my wife in horror. I never needed to beat her down. She’s already been beaten down by the world. By her father and her brother.
For the first time in my life, I’m at a loss for what to do.
Chapter Eleven
Katya
Ican tell that Alek is confused about what to do but I can’t help him. I can only help myself and right now, what I need is to stay here, in this bunker, where I’ll be safe.
“Katya,” he says in his stern voice. “We are leaving this place right now.”
“No,” I whisper into the pillow. “I can’t leave. It’s not safe out there.”
“You were brought here by a man who wanted to hurt you. It’s not safe here.”
“Yes it is. It’s a small room. It’s where I’ve always been safe.”
He touches my arm with a gentleness that I never thought possible for a man like him. “Katya. Please. We have to leave. I’llthrow you over my shoulder if I have to. But I want you to make the choice to leave. I want you to leave your old room behind. Leave behind your past that’s haunting you. It’s not doing you any good.”
“And you care?” I snap. “You kidnaped me. You’re the one giving me confusing feelings.”
“How so?”
“I hate you for taking me from my home and yet…”
“You let me touch you between your legs.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, remembering the pleasure he showed me. “Yes.”
“It’s ok, Katya. Give in to me.”
“You want to hurt my brother. That’s the only reason.”
“I do want to hurt your brother. I won’t deny it. But I also want you.”
“Who would even want me?” I ask. “I have nothing to offer. No experience. Nothing.”
“I like that you don’t have any. I can give you all your firsts. I want to be the one to do that. I’m a jealous man. I like knowing that I don’t have to share you with anyone else.”
