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Juri

What a nightmare! And I was right in the middle of it!

And as if everything wasn’t already crappy enough, I was also in such excruciating pain that I felt nauseous.

It was already three in the morning and all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep, but instead I was sitting in an Uber outside Erotic World, explaining to Luca over the phone what he should pack.

“I can’t find the cable,” he said on the other end of the line.

“Check under the bed,” I replied.

“Ah, here it is. I’ve packed the laptop. Headphones too. What do you need from the bathroom?”

The drugs. But I didn’t say that out loud.

“Toothbrush and toiletry bag,” I said. That’s where I kept everything I needed. I lugged it around to almost every one of my gigs.

“Okay, anything else?”

“My pillow.”

“Your … what? You’re getting a fully furnished room.”

“Bring me my pillow,” I insisted.

“Fine. Is that everything?”

“I think so.”

Shortly after, Luca returned to the car with my bag on his back and the pillow under his arm. “And if you’ve forgotten anything, we can just go back and get it,” he said as he sat next to me in the backseat.

I couldn’t muster a laugh. He was taking the situation way too lightly for my taste. “I’m in the process of moving in with you, and I barely know you. What does that say about me?”

Luca turned serious. “Listen. I’m really sorry about what happened. I hope you understand that I’m trying to make it right.”

“But it doesn’t look like much of a sacrifice to me.”

“Does it have to be?”

I was starting to get furious. “Just do me a favor. It’s pathetic enough that I have no other choice, but just leave me alone with this inspirational crap. I really don’t need it.”

“It’s not like there’s a switch for that, but I’ll try not to annoy you with it.”

The way he spoke to me, with that gentle voice dripping with empathy, hit a nerve that made me even more depressed, so I picked up the pillow, rested my injured hand on it, and stared out the window.

“You’re not pathetic,” Luca said softly.

That didn’t make my emotional turmoil any better. “I just want to sleep.”

It felt like a relief when we finally started driving, yet the situation gnawed at me.

And whether I was pathetic. My life was built around getting by on my own.

I refused to rely on others. It was so ingrained that it didn’t even make it onto my list of rules.

Yet here I was, crippled and completely battered, being chauffeured to a stranger’s apartment.

Only until January 4th. Then I get that walking boot and can do whatever I want again. At least I hope so. Fuck! That’s way too long!

We sat silently in the car, driving to Luca’s place. He lived in the Niederdorf, a bit off the main road, on a parallel street. I knew the area well, as there was a small gay scene in the two bars there.

Luca instructed the driver where to stop and helped me out of the car. He took my right arm over his shoulder and supported me. I hopped along beside him down the hallway, already out of breath by the time we reached the elevator.

Everything appeared clean and tidy. Damn, man! You even felt welcome in the entrance hall. We rode up to the fifth floor, and as I leaned against the mirror, I noticed Luca looking at me repeatedly, but I was too tired to respond.

“I think Sara is still home today, so we should try to be quiet. But I know she’s leaving to go visit her parents tomorrow and staying there until the semester starts.”

I nodded and watched as the numbers changed and we ascended to the fifth floor.

Unfortunately, Luca was right. It would have been impossible to stay in my own apartment.

When the elevator door opened, he supported me again and led me to the entrance.

A shoe rack sat there with the word “Welcome” written in flowing letters.

This sucks.

Luca led me into the dark apartment. In the dim light, a living room opened to my right with a huge couch and a monstrously large flat-screen TV. Adjacent to it was the kitchen with an island and a round dining table by the window.

“This is Sara’s room,” Luca whispered, pointing to a closed door to our left. “And this is mine.” He continued to lead me and opened a door directly across the kitchen, then turned on the light. “You can use this room. It’s been empty for about six months.”

He guided me straight to the bed, and I sat down, trying to catch my breath. Meanwhile, Luca switched on the small lamp on the nightstand and turned off the ceiling light. I sat on a double bed and surveyed my new home.

The first thing that caught my eye was the hardwood floor. Unlike my own place, it showed no signs of wear or broken spots. It looked brand new. And there were no holes in the plaster on the walls either. They were smooth and appeared to have been freshly painted.

A massive painting hung on the wall, matching my taste and somehow out of place here. It was dark and bizarre. Lizards hid in caves from the light, lurking as if they were about to attack at any moment.

“Yeah, that …” Luca ran his hand through his hair, looking somewhat puzzled, and shrugged. “My landlord has a thing for peculiar art somehow. It’s all over the place here. This painting here is new. From some young Zurich artist.”

“I like it.”

Luca placed my bag on the white sideboard under the painting and handed me the pillow.

He then shut the dark blue curtain and surveyed the room.

In the corner next to the window was a small desk.

He removed the chair from in front of it, cushioned with felt pads on its feet to prevent noise on the hardwood floor.

“Here,” he said, placing the chair beside the bed. “Who knows, maybe you’ll need to get up at some point and I won’t be here. But don’t worry, I’ll leave my phone on. In case anything happens.”

I peeled off my coat, which he hung on the hook behind the door.

He also helped me untie my shoe and store it with the other one under the sideboard.

Then he reached for my sweatpants and T-shirt out of my bag.

When he saw me struggling to take off my pants with just one hand, he rushed to assist. In the end, I had no choice but to accept his help.

Normally, I didn’t mind being naked in front of others, but this time it felt weird somehow.

Maybe it was because I was so battered. Or because I wasn’t getting paid for undressing.

Maybe it was because this wasn’t about sex at all, but about me ending up in a state of needing help like a helpless child again due to injuries.

Plus, we hadn’t even talked about what had happened in the back room yet.

I sat there shirtless and became aware of all the scratches and scars.

“What the … These aren’t from me, are they?”

Before I could react, Luca leaned forward to inspect the bruises from Tuesday. Less than two hours had passed since I had to explain to the doctor that I hadn't been abused. When Luca reached out his hand, I instinctively slapped it away.

“How about some space?” I said, annoyed. “You’re almost suffocating me.”

“Oh … I’m sorry. But … What …?”

“It’s nothing,” I said in a serious tone.

Luca’s horrified look told me he didn’t believe a word.

“Trust me. It’s fine.”

“Nothing is fine! You’re already injured, and I nearly threw you down the stairs. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I can do to make it up to you.”

“Damn,” I said, snatching my shirt back from him and rolling my eyes. “Believe me, you’re doing enough already, so get a grip. I can’t hear it anymore.”

“Who did this to you?” he asked, helping me into the shirt.

“It doesn’t matter,” I replied curtly and lay down.

“Do you want to brush your teeth?”

“I just want to sleep.”

“Should I call someone for you tomorrow? Employer or something? Where … uh … do you work anyway?”

For a moment, I was wide awake again and swallowed dry. “No, it’s fine. I’ll handle it myself.”

“Fortunately, there’s not much going on over Christmas and New Year’s,” he said, smiling. “You can recover well then.”

Luca stood in the doorway, appearing somehow undecided, as if it were hard for him to leave me alone.

“Hmm …” I just said.

If he only knew! I’m missing out on the most lucrative time of the year right now.

“Okay, then. Good night.”

“You too.”

As soon as he was out the door, I took a picture of my splinted foot and injured hand with my phone.

I sent the photo to Franz, my client from Thursday, and explained that I would be out of commission until New Year’s.

Feeling exhausted, I decided to cancel the remaining bookings tomorrow.

I managed to turn off the light and fell asleep immediately.