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.
Turning with difficulty, I had to lean against the wall to catch my breath. Moving back, I considered going back to bed. But I was curious and wanted to know what he was hiding, so I pushed on.
Stopping as I reached the stairs, I listened. I could hear scuffling somewhere downstairs and then voices. I held my breath for a moment. But then I heard they were moving away and relaxed, exhaling hard.
