Chapter 14 - Strange Satisfaction - mduno
His gaze was different, and his comment left a bitter taste in the pit of my stomach.
"Don't mess around, Inés."
"No, sir, excuse me…"
"Don't you start too." Simón returned to our side. "Get her or find her some clothes at her house." He widened his eyes. "Verónica stays here until she recovers, and if you look at me like that again, I'll forget the fondness I have for you and shoot you."
"I didn't say anything." Rata raised his arms. "It's impossible to buy anything now, the malls open tomorrow. I'll go to her house early and ask her friend for some of her clothes."
"Good thinking, Rata." I opened the bedroom door. "Inés."
"Sir?" Her white teeth stood out against her dark face.
"Prepare the guest room for me."
"With pleasure."
Simón followed her without taking his eyes off me, raising an eyebrow, he was going to get himself shot. She was sleeping in my bed, covered up to her neck, only her light brown hair visible around her delicate face. She was beautiful; now I understood her reaction at the estate.
Thinking she was playing the victim, putting on an act so I wouldn't think badly of her. And it turns out she had barely experienced a kiss and some caresses. Juan was a complete idiot! I approached the edge of the bed and caressed her cheek; her skin was very soft.
"Forgive me."
I took a lock of her long hair. I remembered the agony in her eyes a moment ago, the happiness she felt upon seeing me. How can you be so innocent?
"I'm not an angel, I'm a damned demon spawn. If you knew me well, you'd be disgusted, just as I sometimes am with myself." I sighed.
I turned off the light and closed the door behind me. There was no trace of Simón or Inés. I went to the room where I would sleep while Verónica stayed in the house, threw myself on the bed to think and try to fall asleep.
Hours passed without success. Three hours until her next dose of medicine, dawn was approaching. It was useless. As I sat on the bed, I ran my hand over my head; my hair was starting to grow back, I needed to shave tomorrow. "Verónica," I whispered, looking at my shirt, I hadn't even changed.
I went back into the room. She was still asleep, peaceful, and I couldn't help but think, "What a way for a woman to end up in my bed." I went to the bathroom where the closet was, took out some exercise clothes, changed, and threw the blood-stained clothes in the trash. Once ready to exercise, I left. She turned over, revealing a breast. I looked away immediately. I've seen thousands of breasts, and now with her, I look away? "You've gone soft." I took one of my t-shirts and, with the utmost delicacy I could muster, which wasn't much, I put it on her. She had a gorgeous body, her breasts were firm and medium-sized, just the right size.
I didn't lift the sheet out of respect for her being naked. "Respect," did you hear yourself, Roland? I caressed her face again, sighed once more, and dragged the armchair where I usually read. Exercise would have to wait.
I took an extra blanket that Inés always left on the top shelf of the closet and the other pillow. I sat down, arranging my feet on the bed. A strange satisfaction of having her close overwhelmed me. I fell asleep until the alarm woke me; it was time for her medicine. When I opened my eyes, my old lady was looking at me like I was an idiot.
"I was afraid she would wake up and not know where she was." Without saying a word, she handed me the pill with a glass of water.
"I haven't asked you anything, sir. However, it's the first time I've heard you say 'I was afraid.'" Yes, how foolish of me!
She woke Verónica to give her the medicine, looked at her strangely, and she took it. I swear she smiled and closed her eyes again. Inés left after we synchronized the clocks again, the next pill was the antibiotic. I settled on the other side of the armchair, now facing her, and fell asleep again. A movement in the bed woke me up. There she was, sitting in front of me.
"Good morning."
She greeted me, looking at the floor. My shirt covered her to her hips, and the blanket hid her nudity. She looked incredibly sensual in my clothes; I had never allowed a woman to wear something of mine. Why did I allow it with her? I stretched, feeling the pain in my back from the awkward position.
"Good morning," I replied. Her eyes welled up with tears. It was a reaction, and she was going to be very sensitive. "Don't cry, Verónica, they didn't manage to rape you."
"Once again, a different perspective." I frowned.
"Why do you say that?"
As I straightened up, I ended up face to face with her, my legs on either side of hers.
"Several men saw me naked. Where am I?"
Her way of thinking was very strange. She should be worried about other things. She wiped her tears.
"At my house."
She nodded silently, covered her face, and started crying in earnest. "Damn, what do I do now?" Why was she crying like that?
"Verónica."
"Thank you." She spoke, wiping her tears and nose with the blanket.
"What were you thinking when you went down that street? Don't you know what they call it?"
Those beautiful light brown eyes met mine, and she shook her head.
"I'm sorry. Last night, after I stopped fighting those guys, I had no strength left. I asked God to send me an angel." I leaned back in the armchair, frowning at her. "You arrived at that moment with your white shirt, I saw you as illuminated…"
"I killed a guy right in front of you without any remorse, I've killed hundreds. I'm anything but an angel. What you saw was an optical illusion. I ask you not to refer to me by that term. You offend the very word. I don't believe in anything divine; I hope you respect that."
"To me, you are and always will be, Roland. I am not God, I will not judge your actions. He knows how and why He allows what you do. He always moves His pieces in ways that seem illogical to us. But they always have a purpose.
"If you hadn't arrived, right now I would be violated, dead, dismembered. Say what you will, you were an angel sent by the divine. That's how I saw you, that's how I prayed for you. I prayed for someone to be sent to save me." She gestured towards the ceiling. "And He sent you."
"Veronica..." I whispered.
She expressed herself very well. I moved a little closer, and she took my face in her hands. At that moment, my heart skipped a beat; I didn't see it coming. She kissed my forehead. I've never allowed anyone to touch my face, not after...
And now she comes and does it without permission, like at the farm when her gaze begged for protection. That time, too, I was scared. I got up quickly to put some distance between us. Simon came in after knocking and placed the suitcase on the bed.
"Here are your clothes, miss."
"Miss," Rat was the shit... I clenched my jaw to keep from laughing. She looked cute blushing.
"Thank you. The term 'miss' was abolished decades ago, please just call me Veronica."
"As you wish, miss," he wrinkled his forehead, that expression looked very cute on him.
"The bathroom is over there, I'll leave you to get ready." My decency surprised her.
"What's your name?"
She wrapped the blanket around her waist and walked with her legs apart towards Rat. I stood with my arms crossed.
"They call me Rat, miss."
"What's your name?" she emphasized.
"I don't say my name."
He straightened up more, and I realized Veronica wasn't that tall. Well, I almost always saw her in heels, but now she looked small. She looked at me, demanding I tell her his name.
"His name is Simon," I said. Rat glared at me.
"Simon," she pondered for a few seconds. "A biblical name. Thank you, Simon."
She stretched and kissed him on the cheek... "On the cheek." My stomach tensed, and I realized the sudden gastritis was caused by this girl. Why does she give him kisses?
"Call me Rat, miss."
"Call me Veronica."
"I can't tell lies."
"And neither can I, that's your name, right? Your ID doesn't say 'Rat.'"
She emphasized again, and I smiled. Despite everything she had been through, she radiated tranquility, her eyes sparkled. How I wished I knew what she was thinking. She took the suitcase and headed to the bathroom. My friend, for the first time, showed his true self to someone other than us, making it clear he was approachable.
For those who know him, my second-in-command was more of a son of a bitch than I was, and in a way, he still was. Simon respected our friendship, the brotherhood. Also, the love received from our beloved Ines and the fraternity with a select group of men under our command. We are like brothers, even though we maintain the rank. He didn't respect anything or anyone else, it was surprising how he behaved so condescendingly with her.
"She's stubborn," I closed the door to my room.
"Seems like it."
"She's pretty, Roland. I thought it was makeup making her look pleasant, but no, she's really pretty. That's why she gets to you." I punched him on the shoulder.
"Don't mess with that crap again. I already told you, I'll shoot you."
He burst out laughing, jumped down the stairs two at a time, and halfway down, he spoke.
"Well, get your gun because you've been screwed for the first time."
With his agile body, he jumped, laughing his ass off. When he reached the first floor, he looked back at me. It was the first time a fourth person had entered my house. Someone outside my trusted men and the doctor. Oh! Also, the private tutors.
"Kill me, boss, but I like that girl for you!"
I shook my head. She wasn't for me, but there was something about her that infected us all. It was like having an angel sleeping in a demon's house, spreading her nobility... Her purity.
I went downstairs for breakfast, told my mom to take Veronica's breakfast to the room, her watch beeped announcing medicine time, and I went to check that she took them. She was watching the morning through the window, sitting in my armchair, wearing a short dress that revealed the gauze covering her wounds. She analyzed us; we offered her the medication, she took it, and smiled seeing us synchronize our watches together.
"Are you always this rigid?" I nodded, I never joked about that.
"Yes. And you have no idea how much." She tried to cover her legs. "I asked Simon to get your clothes, dresses are the best because you need to let the wounds breathe."
"It's not my clothes, it's my friend's."
Ines left to get breakfast. Leaving the door open, Galaxia entered; a Siberian husky in her last days of pregnancy, quite fierce, and not used to visitors. The surprising thing was she didn't even bark at the one who smiled at her. She called her with a couple of claps and approached without hesitation.
"Be careful, she's very fierce."
"Like you?"