Keeping his bride

CHAPTER32Selina

A FEW DAYS after the rescue mission went awry, Mrs. Vitale suggested that I go to the hospital with her to speak to the three women who survived. I was reluctant at first, but I ultimately agreed to go. I don’t know how well I’ll be able to help anyone, considering I can barely help myself most days, but I just can’t say no to Nico’s family after all they’ve done for me. If Verona Vitale wanted me to jump off a bridge, I would probably do it because I owe them so much. I feel indebted to them. I truly owe them my life. And since she’s not asking me to do something impossible or dangerous, I can, at the very least, do this for her.

Two of the women are being housed in a room together on the tenth floor of the hospital while another is still in the ICU. The elevator ride is quiet, and I glance over at Nico several times. He insisted on coming, and I feel a bit calmer knowing he’s here with me. He’s wearing a dark blue tailored suit, and he looks devastatingly handsome.

Reaching out, I grab his hand, and the reassuring squeeze I feel in response gives me all the strength I need to get through today. “You’ve got this,” he tells me, his lips tilting up.

Verona went on ahead of us to the tenth floor, wanting to speak with the two women first while Nico and I go to the ICU on the fourth.

“The woman in the ICU suffered longer and endured a lot more than the others,” Nico explains to me. I can see now why Verona wanted me to speak with her specifically. “Her name is Lauren. She’s currently under twenty-four-seven surveillance in a room, because she keeps trying to harm herself.”

I cringe at his words. Lauren clearly doesn’t want to be in this world any longer. I can relate with that feeling all too well, and it takes me back to a time when I was in that kind of desperate state. I never want to feel like that again, I think to myself as a shudder runs through me.

“If you’re uncomfortable, you know you don’t have to do this, Lina,” Nico assures me.

But I refuse to let my dark, painful memories drag me down into a deep pit of despair. Instead, I square my shoulders, hold my head up high and tell him, “I want to talk to her.”

“That’s my girl,” he says with a smile.

The elevator beeps, and the doors slowly open up to the fourth floor. We step out together, and I grip Nico’s hand even tighter in mine, not wanting to let go. I need his strength right now to get me through this. Dealing with Lauren’s trauma will no doubt bring my own memories roaring back to life.

We walk down the hall and stop in front of the room that Lauren is currently in. Nico turns to me. “You can do this,” he tells me confidently before pulling me close and placing a kiss on my forehead, his hands flexing at my waist as he holds me.

My breath catches in my throat. He’s so close, but I want to pull him impossibly closer, crawl inside of him and never leave. If I’ve learned anything over the past several weeks I’ve been free from Constantine, it’s that Nico is the only man I have ever trusted and probably the only one I ever will.

“I’ll be right down the hall if you need me,” he says before slowly releasing me and walking away.

Taking several deep breaths, I steel my nerves before I gently knock on the doorframe and then proceed into the room. I take note of the security camera mounted to the ceiling, watching Lauren’s every move. Right now she’s lying in bed, staring out the window. Her curly brown hair is up in a messy ponytail, and she looks thin, malnourished. She’s breathing so shallowly that for a moment I think she might not even be taking air into her lungs.

“Hello,” I say softly, not wanting to spook her just in case she didn’t hear my knock. “My name is Selina.”

“They told me you were coming to talk to me today,” she utters.

“What else did they tell you?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.

“They said you would understand what I’m going through.” She turns to me then, and I stare at the bruises littering her pretty face. I school my features quickly and move a little closer before taking a seat near her bed. “Do you?” she asks.

“Yes. I know exactly what you are going through right now,” I tell her honestly. “I was held captive for ten years by a human trafficker who bought me,” I confess. God, when I say those words out loud, it sounds crazy, but that is my story. I’m just grateful I can talk about it in the past tense now.

“Ten years,” she says in astonishment. “I was only gone for six or seven months. I can’t even imagine that long,” she says with a shake of her head. “So you do understand,” she says with finality, like maybe she initially thought I wouldn’t. I get where she’s coming from. Not many women have been in our shoes.

“I’m here to talk or just to listen,” I offer. And then I quickly add, “Only if you want to.” I don’t want to pressure her into doing anything she doesn’t want to do.

Her eyes close momentarily. “The things they did to me…” Her voice trails off as she stares out the window with a vacant look in her eyes.

Surprising even myself, I cover Lauren’s hand with mine gently, coaxing her back to the present. She glances towards me again, blinking her eyes. “You’re safe now. Things will get better. I promise,” I tell her confidently.

“It feels like the darkness is just going to swallow me whole,” she tells me with tears in her eyes before pulling her hand away from mine to curl into herself. “And sometimes…I want to let it. I want to disappear,” she whispers, her voice full of sadness and grief.

“I’m not going to let that happen. I won’t let you disappear,” I tell her adamantly. “There is a light at the end of that very dark tunnel, Lauren, trust me. I was lost, just like you. I wanted to die every single day when I was with my captor. But I held on. For what? I didn’t know at the time. But now I know. I held on so that I could be here, with people that I care for, with people that…love me.” It’s hard to say the L word, but I manage to get it past the lump forming in my throat. For so long, I felt unwanted, unloved. And it’s hard to imagine a world in which people care about me, maybe even love me for just being me.

The girl releases a sob from her lips. “I would like to see my grandma again. She was always so sweet to me. I don’t know why I ran away from home. I’m sure I broke her heart,” she says, her bottom lip trembling as she stifles her cries. “I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me for running away.”

My heart breaks for the young woman. “Would you forgive your grandmother if she had been the one to run away?” I ask her.

Lauren pauses, and I can see her expression morph from sadness to understanding. “I would forgive her for anything,” she whispers.

“Then don’t you think she would forgive you too?” Her face crumbles, but this time I can see the joy behind her tears. I press forward. “I think she would be happy to see you again, Lauren. Don’t you?”

The girl breaks down then. “She would be so happy.”

“See? There is always a light at the end of that tunnel. Keep that in mind.”

The girl reaches her hand out towards me, and I take it, gripping it gently. We sit in silence for a while before Lauren finally speaks. She tells me story after story about her and her grandmother, and I hang on to every word, listening with rapt attention.

“Do you…do you think someone could call her for me? To let her know that I’m here. That I’m okay.”

“Of course,” I tell her without hesitation. The two of them clearly had an unspeakable bond, and I can’t wait to see the two of them reunited.

After writing down her grandmother’s number, Lauren seems calmer, like she’s been able to alleviate most of the stress and anguish that had been weighing her down. And later, when she falls asleep peacefully, I finally leave her room. Instantly, I feel different. Lighter. Like I’m floating. I believe I really made Lauren feel better; that I actually helped someone who has gone through some of the same things I have.

Just like my words had comforted Lauren, they comforted me as well. And in that moment, something inside of me changes. I’m tired of running away. I’m tired of not living.

Like I told Lauren, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dark or endless it seems. Nico is my light. And I’m drawn to him just like a moth is drawn to a flame. I don’t even care if I catch fire when I reach my destination. I just want to be as close to him as possible, basking in his warmth, in his glow. And I know I can trust him to keep me from burning up. Nico would protect me at all costs. I know that now.

Nicholas

In the security room, I watched the entire interaction Selina had with Lauren. I was enamored by the way she brought the girl from the edge of darkness and back into the light. Selina is the strongest woman I know, by far, and today definitely proved it.

Just like my mother told me earlier, this is Selina’s calling, her true purpose in life. She can help these women that we rescue just by being a kindred soul to them; someone they can look up to and trust. Selina knows exactly what they’ve gone through, and there aren’t many therapists or doctors who can relate to their patients on that kind of level.

“You did great today, Lina,” I tell her when we get back to the compound.This text is © NôvelDrama/.Org.

“You really did,” my mom agrees. “Those girls have something they didn’t have before.”

“What’s that?” Lina questions.

“Hope. Hope for a better future, for a better life. They want to make your success story their story too.”

“I hope they can achieve everything they dream of and more,” Lina says fervently.

“We’ll make sure of it. I want you to help me make sure of it,” my mother offers.

Lina gives her an emphatic nod. “I want that too.”

When we get inside, Lina says, “Even though it’s getting late, I would like to call Lauren’s grandmother for her.”

“Sure thing.” I lead her into the library and then pull my cell phone out of my pocket and hand it to her.

She stares at it with trepidation, like she’s looking at a foreign object, and I realize my mistake. Lina hasn’t had much experience with cell phones, especially not the latest technology. I doubt if Constantine ever let her use a phone, let alone even get close to one.

Pulling my cell back to me, I ask her, “What’s the number? I’ll dial it for you.”

A relieved look is on Lina’s face as she recites the number on the piece of paper, which she holds tightly in her hands like a little lifeline. I know she’s going to be nervous to call Lauren’s grandmother, but I’m hopeful that the conversation goes well, not only for Lauren’s sake, but also for Lina. I can see the optimism in her eyes, and I don’t want anything to ruin that.

I hand the phone to Lina when it starts to ring, and she holds it up to ear, nervously gnawing on her bottom lip as she waits for an answer.

Someone on the other end finally picks up, and I hear a faint voice before Lina asks, “Is this Gloria?” A smile graces Lina’s beautiful face, and my own face mirrors her expression. “You don’t know me, but I know your granddaughter.” She pauses. “Yes, Lauren. I spoke with Lauren this afternoon, and she’s in the hospital -.”

I can hear the grandmother’s worried, erratic voice on the other end, and Lina pulls the phone away from her ear for a moment. After the grandmother calms down a bit, Lina continues. “Lauren would love to speak with you, maybe even see you.”

“We can arrange the meeting,” I whisper to her, and Lina relays my words to Gloria.

“Okay, great. I’ll be in touch. Yes, yes, I’ll call you first thing tomorrow,” she says with a wide grin. She hands the phone back to me, and I end the call.

“It sounds like it went well,” I tell her.

“Very well. I can’t wait to see the two of them reunited. I really think Lauren will be in much better spirits after she sees her grandmother.”

“I think so too.” Tucking my cell phone away in my pocket, I walk over to Lina and put my hands on her upper arms, gently squeezing. “You did good, Lina,” I tell her, mimicking the words she said to me just the other night. “No, fuck that. You did amazing today,” I say, which earns me an ear-splitting grin.

“Your mom mentioned me helping out with the paperwork for the women and trying to help them get reunited with their families. I think I would really like to do that,” she says while tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“And I think you would be perfect for the job.” I can’t think of anything better for Selina to do. I really do think this is her calling in life, and she’s going to be amazing at it.