Page 32

A Few Days Later

They sedated me again. I know this because, through my sleep haze, I heard a man talking to Christos. I didn’t spend the last few days completely unconscious, even though I couldn’t make out what people were saying.

I was terrified when I saw him in the hospital. My confused mind believed that no one but me had survived the fire, but now I remember I saw my parents leaving, as did nurse Ann.

And what about Bia? Where is my friend?

I open my eyes and struggle to sit up. I try balancing myself by resting my hand on the bed, and I cry out in pain. The skin is tight and burns. It’s not bandaged anymore, and when I finally see the back of it, I start to feel dizzy.

I pull back the sheets and look down at my legs. There are also no more bandages, just a few scars from the burning, but smaller than the one on my hand and painless.

Suddenly, something crosses my mind. I reach up to touch my face but stop and get out of bed to try to see myself in the mirror .

Jesus Christ, please don’t tell me my face got burned. I need my image so I can pay my mother’s medical bills.

My God!

When I stand up, however, my legs weaken and bend.

A nurse appears, and when she sees me on the floor, she rushes to help me back up. I immediately realize that, even though she is dressed in white, we are not in a hospital but in a house of sorts.

“Darling, I only left for a moment. I’m very sorry!”

“It wasn’t your fault. I shouldn’t have tried to get up.” I struggle to speak, but my voice sounds like sand in my throat, and I cough.

The woman is very strong because she easily lifts me up. After helping me get back to bed, she asks how I’m feeling.

I don’t know how to answer that. Instead, I ask where I am.

“We’re at Mr. Lykaios’s house. I don’t know if it belongs to him, but he brought us here four days ago.”

“Four days? And he . . . um . . . Mr. Lykaios stayed here, too?”

“Yes. In fact, for the last forty-eight hours, no one has been able to leave. It was officially decreed that the world is going through a pandemic, and the governor, in addition to setting a curfew for after five in the afternoon, asked people not to leave their homes, except those who work in essential services.”

“What? Curfew? We can’t leave the house? Where are my parents?” I feel restless again.

“Safe, in a clinic. Even before the lockdown was enacted, there were rumors of an absurd increase in the number of cases. It seems that Mr. Lykaios saw what was coming. That’s why you’re here, too. It was on the advice of the staff who attended you. No one should be going to the hospital except for serious emergencies, as the risk of contamination is very high. Now, please try to calm down. Are you in pain?”

“No,” I say, looking at my hand again. “Did I hurt my face?”

“No, my love. I don’t know exactly what happened to you. What I heard is that your house was on fire. You got very lucky. You were only left with this little scar on your hand, which a good surgeon will be able to fix.”

“It’s not about vanity or anything. I need my face to make a living. My family depends on me. ”

“Oh!” She looks startled. “I know who you are, of course, but I didn’t know that you worked to help your family. Anyway, stay calm. Nothing worse than that happened.”

I work up the courage to ask what I need to, but the fear of the answer makes me nauseous. “When I passed out during the fire, there was a woman with me. She is my agent and my best friend; her name is Bia Ramos. Do you know where she is?”

“I don’t know the details. Just that she’s still hospitalized.”

“Can you please help me change my clothes? I need to find a phone and find out where my friend is.”

“I don’t know if I should. Better talk to the doctor first.”

“Christos . . . is Mr. Lykaios here?”

“Yes, I believe he’s in his office on the first floor.”

“I need to talk to him, but maybe I need a shower first.”

“We’ll give you a bath, as best as we can, to protect your injuries. Believe me when I say that the feeling of water on them will be very painful.”

It is very hard, but with the help of the nurse, I take a shower with my legs hanging out of the tub.

She washes my hair for me because of the burn; at least for now, my hand is useless.

It’s the only physical pain I’m feeling. Actually, it’s more of a burning sensation. But nothing compares to what’s making my chest tighten.

Bia alone in the hospital? Why didn’t he bring her here too?

“Want help getting down?”

“Yes, please. Take me to Mr. Lykaios.”

My steps are uncertain because I feel weak. I’m also afraid of using my hand on the banister for support and hurting myself even more. The stairs are endless, and it takes us about five minutes to go down all the way .

When we finally arrive at the bottom, a very angry-faced Christos stares at me. “, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Because of my natural shyness and being used to running away when confronted, I back up a step, which causes me to lose my balance. To prevent the fall, I use my injured hand to grab the banister and cry out in distress. The pain is so intense that tears well up in my eyes.

Seconds later, arms lift me. Without a word, he walks with me into a room and closes the door.

“Put me down,” I beg, trying to save some dignity.

“No.”

“I don’t want to fight.”

“I’m not fighting, just keeping you from dying.”

Damn controlling man!

Knowing there’s no chance I’ll win this battle, I let myself be carried away in silence until he settles me on a comfortable couch. But he doesn’t walk away. He sits on the edge of it—an almost impossible task since he’s huge—and examines my injured hand.

I shudder at the touch.

He notices but doesn’t let go. “Don’t do that anymore,” he says. “You could have fallen down the stairs.”

“I needed to come talk to you.” I don’t look up at him because, even in pain, his closeness makes my body heat up. “Nurse Beth couldn’t tell me what happened to Bia. I know my parents are fine, and I really appreciate what you did for them, but now I want to hear about everything else.”

“Calm down.”

“I can’t. I need to know where Bia is, Christos. Please tell me the truth.”

“Bia’s in a coma.”