Redamancy

Awake

So far I haven't seen her since she arrived but to my understanding she's been unconscious the entire time, which makes sense because she obviously needs time to heal.

"Ask the nurse," I shrug, taking another sip from my whisky. "You don't know?" He frowns. I audibly scoff at his hypocrisy, wondering when it became my responsibility to take care of this random girl.

"Well I need to get some work done, I'll be back in an hour or two so just text me updates," He sighs, heading towards the door with a handful of snacks from my fridge.

I finish my whisky in silence before standing up and stretching out my legs. I walk through the halls of my empty mansion, the same dull ache in my heart which was briefly replaced with hope a few days ago now returning.

"Sir," Lucinda, one of the nurses I assigned to take care of the girl calls out. I turn around to look at her, causing her to cower under my gaze.

"If it's alright with you sir we could use your help," She says nervously, avoiding eye contact. "Look at me when you're talking," I scold, causing her to immediately hold unflinching eye contact with me. "Well?" I ask, growing impatient.

"Ideally we wanted to wait until she regained consciousness to bathe her but I'm afraid if we wait any longer there's a higher chance her wounds will become infected," She explains. I raise my eyebrow, wondering what this has to do with me.

"None of us can lift her without causing further damage so we need you to place her in the tub and we'll take it from there," She clarifies.

I sigh, turning around and heading towards the guest room where she currently resides. "I'm just going to grab something we can use to cover her cast," Lucinda calls out, heading downstairs towards the kitchen.

I open the door, not bothering to knock because I know she'll be asleep but when I open it the room is completely empty. 

I stand in the doorway, staring at her empty bed. Her sheets are messily thrown to the side as the tubes from her IV hang loosely beside the nightstand.

My eyebrows furrow in confusion before I realise that they must have been able to get her in the bath themselves. I shrug it off, heading back towards the door when the sound of soft cries makes me stop in my tracks.

I stand still for a moment, trying to decipher where the sound was coming from. I check the bathroom, only to discover that it's completely empty. Growing more frustrated, I check under the bed before turning my attention towards the wardrobe.

I pull open the door, being immediately met with the sight of the girl rocking back and forth as she shakes violently.

I grimace slightly, the smell of death and decomposition still tainting her skin.

Unsure of what to do, I awkwardly try to comfort her by placing my hand on her knee but I immediately take it off when it only seems to make her more hysterical. No touching, understood.

I feel my anger rising as I look down at my hand which is now covered in dirt. My maids should have at least tried to clean her up so she wasn't so dirty and uncomfortable.

"Sweetheart can you come out of there please," I try and ask softly but it just comes out forced and tense.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," She repeats under her breath. "I'll be good," She sobs. I just stand there, completely unsure of what to do.

"You're not in any trouble," I assure her. "I'm not?" She hiccups, finally looking up at me with her teary eyes. I feel a pull at my heart as I look into her dark blue eyes, them reminding me of my little girl's.

"No I just came in to see if you'd like to take a shower," I tell her.

"Shower?" She questions, tilting her head and furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. She's never had a shower?

"Yeah water comes out of it and it cleans you," I briefly try to explain. This clearly panics her as her face morphs into one of utter fear as her breathing picks up.

"Like the hose?" She asks, her lip wobbling. "No," I shake my head. "A shower is much gentler and you can use hot water," I clarify. This does nothing to calm her down though as she remains the same level of panicked.

"Hot like... burns?" She questions wearily. "No no, it won't burn you or hurt at all," I promise her. She nods hesitantly, slowly stepping out of the wardrobe just as Lucinda returns with a garbage bag in hand.

"Ah you're awake!" She exclaims, making the girl squeak and hide behind me. I shoot Lucinda a glare, telling her to tone it down.

"We need to wrap this around your cast so it doesn't get wet," She explains, motioning for the girl to follow her to the bed. She sits on the edge of the bed in silence while Lucinda wraps the bag around her ankle before helping her up.

Realising that I'm no longer needed, I head towards the door. "Wait," Lucinda calls out, causing me to turn around. "My shift ended an hour ago and I really need to get back home, could you just help her with the shower and apply this gel to her wounds," She requests.

Normally I would reprimand any of my employees for ever asking me to do something but I give her the benefit of the doubt, knowing that I have been overworking her.

I agree and watch as she exits, leaving me in the silent room with this girl.