I can still smell the scent of dirt, but it slowly dissipates as he runs water over my head and face, making sure no traces of my past exist.
And when I emerge, I feel like I can breathe once more. Although my stomach still aches and I don’t feel well.
The last time I felt like this…well, it was when I finally escaped.
How I gathered the courage and clambered up the ladder without thinking, how the hatch was open. How no one came to stop me. It was so surprising that I just stood there for ages, risking being caught. But no one came. No one stopped me. I just pushed my way outside, the sun hitting my skin for the first time in ages. How hot it was, how I couldn’t breathe. How overwhelming it all was.
“Come,” Georgiy says, pulling me out of the memory and toward the bed.
He’s dried me off while I was just standing there, and while I’m still naked, he does nothing more than tuck me under the covers.
“I’m ordering you something to eat.”
“Don’t bother. I don’t feel well.”
“You must eat.”
I don’t argue, just lie there in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Georgiy is on the phone, placing the order, picking out foods he knows I like, and when he hangs up, he sighs.
“You are far too still.”
“I thought you didn’t like my wiggling.”
He hovers over me, his jaw working back and forth. My eyes meet his, and my breath catches in my throat.
“No. I want Bane back. My Ara. But you take your time. I am a patient man.”
Despite the stress my body seems to be under, my cock perks up. Not that I want anything sexual at the moment, but it’s comforting to know I still work.
I will get better. I will bounce back.
I always do.
The house was just unexpected. I didn’t know I was walking into my past.
“I’m going to shower. I will be quick. Do not leave the bed.”
I listen as the water turns on and clothes hit the bathroom floor. I should join him, but he told me to rest. He knows how exhausted I am.
Within fifteen minutes, he’s washed and clothed, just in time for the food to be delivered. He brings it to the bed and helps me eat it, wiping off the crumbs on my lips and the sheets. But he makes no comment about the mess I make, just lets me exist.
Even after consuming the food, I feel the same. Not better but not worse either.
I think it’s probably better to eat, though. My body needs fuel. I need to get through this.
I can do this.
“Come here,” Georgiy says, sliding beneath the covers and holding out his arm. I wiggle toward him, burying my face in his armpit and throwing my leg over his. He smells like soap, like Georgiy. I don’t want to move from this space.
I don’t want to fall asleep either.
His arm pulls me closer, shifting me so I’m now lying half on top of him, and I bury my face into his neck.
“Are you okay with me like this?” I ask.
“Da.”
I wiggle a little more until I’m completely on top of him, and his arms are holding me tightly.
