Whinney put his hand on my back and I took a step to the side. His fingers sent shivers down my spine.
I followed to the last door on the left side of the corridor. He took out his key ring and opened the door.
I took a small step before stopping. The walls are painted pale pink. There is a large bed with crisp white sheets opposite. Pure white fabric hangs from the four pillars of the bed. There is a white dresser with a large mirror on it. A pink carpet covers the cold cement floor.
Whinney placed the bowl on top of the dresser. He turned and looked around, reaching into the pockets of his lab coat.
"Sit down," Sweeney said.
"I'm fine," I said.
"This is not a multiple-choice question."
I struggled to pull the IV pole across the thick carpet. I sat on the edge of the bed. It was so high that my toes could barely touch the cold floor.
Winnie grabbed my arm and held it out to look at the IV.
"Are you still in pain? How are you doing now?" he asked.
"Everything is fine," I said.
He nodded, then peeled off the tape and pulled the IV out of my arm. He took a cotton ball out of his pocket and pressed it against my skin.
He pushed the pole aside
"Give you a little freedom," he said.
"That's not the kind of freedom I want,"
I said. "I did you a favor. Thank you very much."
Winnie turned around, then frowned and turned away. I screamed as he grabbed my ankles and he pulled my legs straight. I pulled my leg back before kicking him in the shin. I cursed Ben for only giving me one piece of clothing!
Winnie let go of my legs. I swing my legs.
"What did you do to yourself?" he asked.
I could feel a tiny tingling sensation in my legs. "I'm shaving my legs," I said. "I can't really see, so it's not my fault."
Whinney took a small lamp out of his pocket. How much can he carry in these pockets?
He shined a flashlight into my eyes.
"You won't do this again," he said.
"do what?"
"Shave. At least you're not alone."
"I don't want to be supervised!" I said.
"It's all ridiculous."
"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "If I hadn't asked Ben to stay here, you wouldn't have wanted to run away, would you?"
I stretched my legs out from under me and yes, I wanted to jump out of bed and run.
Winnie probably didn't lock the door when he went downstairs. I have been on the track team for the past eight years of my life. I knew I could outrun him, but Ben's words stuck in my mind. You need Veni's medicine to survive. trouble.
"You better behave yourself," he said.
I said. "That's why you have Ben here. I know, but I won't stay here forever."
"You think you're smart," Whinney said. He walked over to the dresser. I could see him in the corner of my eye and I didn't turn my head. "A smart girl doesn't walk home alone at night with music on."
Winnie handed me the bowl. I looked down and saw mashed potatoes and a few pieces of corn.
"You did it yourself, but you'll thank me soon,"
He said. “Eat them all, shepherd’s pie.”
I calmed down for a while and could only pick up my fork and take a few bites of food. Winnie sat down on the small stool next to the dresser. He was in the corner of my new expanded horizons. I wonder if he knows I can see him.
"Do you like Ben?" he asked.
I shrugged
Because my mouth is full of food. This is the tastiest thing he's brought me since I woke up from surgery.
"Very good," he said. "He's a good kid. You have to listen to him."
I nodded and took the last bite of my dinner. Yes, I'm listening to Ben. I don't want to run out of here right now.
"Very good," he said again. "You're going to make me proud at the dinner party, right?"
I glared at Winnie. His face is blurry so I don't know how he reacted to it. He got up and came towards me. He took the bowl from my hand and placed his other hand on top of my head. My hair was still damp from the shower and a few strands of hair were separated from my braids. He stroked his hand through my hair, agonizingly slow.
"Do you like your room?" he asked.
I looked around at the pink and pure white surrounding us. It looked like a twelve-year-old girl's room.
"What can I do? I can make it better" he asked.
"Can you open a window?" I asked.
Vinnie smiled and finally took his hands off me.
"You're funny," he said. "If you really want to see what's out there, you're going to have to work hard to earn these privileges, kitten."
I couldn't seem to move after Whinney left the room. I was frozen on the edge of the bed, arms wrapped around myself. The disgusting nickname he gave me echoed in my head.
I belong to him now.
To him, I was just a pet. I was like his house cat, forever trapped in this house.
There was a knock on the door and I looked up to see Ben standing at the door. He changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt.
"How do you live such a life?" I asked painfully.
Ben came towards me and as he sat down the bed sank. He was holding something in his hand, but I couldn't tell what it was.
"Right now, all we can do is distract ourselves,"
He said. “It takes a lot of distraction to keep your mind off the pain.”
I looked at Ben and my jaw dropped. His legs were on top of me and his elbows brushed my arms. If his surgery was more than three years ago, he hasn't been around young people in a few years. He must have not been with any girl for a long time. I quickly got out of bed, my chest pounding.
Ben raised his eyebrows.
"What's wrong?" His eyes widened when he realized what I was doing. "Oh my God, Diana. No, I didn't mean that. I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie with me."
I took a deep breath, put my hand on my chest, and chuckled. He then giggled and I laughed even harder. Ha ha.
"Okay," I said. "What movie are you thinking about?"
I squinted and leaned in to try to read the title.
"Young Frankenstein," he said.
"Is this because I told you? Don't you know who Frankenstein is?" A smile appeared on my lips. "Are you going to show me a movie about Frankenstein's kid?"
"Frankenstein's child?" he snorted. "Well you obviously don't know your Frankenstein movies. I'm Gene Wilder. Please tell me you know who Gene Wilder is?."
"Yes, yes," I said. "I know exactly who he is."
"Just making sure," he said.
"Not many young people know this!"
"Young man?" I asked.
"Yeah, how old are you?"
"Twenty. What about you?"
"twenty four."
He stood up from the bed and shook his hair out of his eyes.
"There's a room across the hall with a TV. Come in when you're ready."
He left and I slid off the bed. I was pacing on the plush carpet when I heard the sound of plastic, bags rustling outside my room.
Ben placed the bag in my room before closing the door. I dug around in the bag until I found a pair of flannel pajama pants and a black T-shirt.
I put the bag on the floor. I refuse to take them apart. If I put all of this away, I'm telling Winnie that I'm happy to be settled here.
I walked across the hall and saw Ben sitting on the leather couch. His feet rested on the wooden coffee table in front of him. He held the remote control in his hand and smiled. I squinted and saw a large TV hanging on the wall. Behind the sofa sits a foosball table. There are several bookshelves nearby, filled with books and movies.
"The couch is comfy," Ben said.
I walked from the door to the couch. I sat at the other end. I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around myself. Ben reached out for the remote and the movie flashed on the screen.
When I saw the image, I felt a strange sense of relief.
Old black and white movies. The new pastel shades can leave me alone for an hour and a half.
"Where are you from?" Ben asked.
“Ontario, but I’m going to Dalhousie University,” I said.
"What's your major?"
"Environmental Science."
"Really? I wouldn't treat you as a science student."
I rolled my eyes as a sharp burning pain spread across my temples.
"Did you really just say that to me?" I asked. “I actually majored in biochemistry before I switched to environmental science.”
"Okay." Ben raised his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean to do it, I offended you."
"What were you doing before you came here?"
"I couldn't afford tuition," he said. “Instead, I moved to Toronto and wanted to be a writer while working part-time at a pizza shop.”
"What did you write?"
"Mainly the script."
I giggled and covered my mouth with my hand. Ben turned to face me, frowning.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"I'm sorry," I said, trying not to laugh. "I just saw this photo of you sitting in a trendy cafe full of other writers late at night. That's funny to me."
Ben let out a sigh of relief.
"Yeah," he said. "You're not entirely wrong."
I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around myself. The white and purple pattern is very similar to the knitted blankets my grandmother made.
We spent the rest of the time watching movies. This was truly the most relaxing time I had since waking up from surgery.
The stairs creaked as the credits rolled across the screen. The lights came on and Winnie walked in. He put two glasses of water on the table.
"What are you two doing?" he asked.
"We were just watching a movie, sir," Ben said.
"Okay." Winnie nodded. "I have your medicine."
He pulled a bottle from his lab coat pocket and tossed it to Ben.
"Dr. Philip gave me yours," said Whinney.
Be
He opened the cap of the bottle, stuffed the whole bottle of medicine into his mouth, and drank some water.
Another bottle? Handed me three pills and a glass of water. When I swallowed the pill, I glanced sideways and saw Winnie's slightly nervous look.
"Open your mouth," he said.
"What?" I asked.
"Make sure you swallow. Open your mouth and stick out your tongue."
I glanced at Ben. He nodded. I responded and opened my mouth. nodded. I responded and opened my mouth.
"Very good," said Whinney. "Don't stay up late, see you tomorrow morning."
"Good night, Dr. Whinney," Ben said.
I wrapped the blanket tighter around me as he walked out of the room. Ben stood up from the sofa and walked over to the bookshelf.
"What do you want to see next?" he asked.
“Black and white stuff,” I said.
