As I was finishing my hair, there was a knock on the door.
Oliver came in and asked me to follow him. He walked down the hall and entered the door code. My glasses allowed me to see better, and I stood up to look over his shoulder. All I see is that the code starts with 5. Oliver put his hand on the small of my back. He gave me a tour of this magnificent house.
Several women were hurrying around the house. They seemed to be cleaning. He knocked on the door before entering.
Gregory sat on a stool at a large metal table. There is a bed in the center of the room. A set of straps hang down the sides. Gregory turned around and I could see his body shaking.
"Good morning, Diana," he said. "I'm excited to see it up close."
"I'm sure you won't be disappointed," said Oliver.
"I hope," he said. "You can go to bed, Diana."
Oliver pushed me forward, my knees wobbling as I walked. I sat on the edge of the bed. I was shocked when he knelt before me. He unbuckled my sandals and took them off my feet. He took off my glasses and set them aside.
I lay on the bed and held down the hem of my skirt. Gregory rolled his stool to the edge of the bed. He handed the item to Oliver. I squinted and saw a piece of metal.
Oliver pulled my eyelids open and brought the metal to my face. I slapped his hand away. I tried to get out of bed. Gregory put a shaky hand on my ankle and pulled me back. I kicked him away.
"Calm down, Diana," Oliver said. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down on the bed.
"What are those?" I asked, trying to shake them off of me. "What are you doing?"
"I thought you had done these tests on her before," Gregory asked.
"I do," said Oliver. "She's usually unconscious. She's not used to this."
"Keep her hands by your side," he said.
Oliver grabbed my wrist and held it down. Something cold touched my skin. I looked down and saw Gregory's fingers fumbling as he tried to restrain my wrists. He cursed under his breath as I pulled my hands away from the restraints.
Oliver held my wrists in place.
I put my other hand on my chest. Oliver breathed out.
"Diana, don't do this," he said.
I bit my lip and closed my eyes. My heart is racing. I tried to remember what Ben had told me. If I fight Oliver in front of Gregory he will not be accepted into this sick club and he will kill me. If he did get admitted, I would lose the last bit of trust I had gained.
But I'm still stuck. One wrist was already tied to the bed. I didn't resist as Oliver tied my other hand. I opened my eyes as I felt the bed rise. Oliver held the piece of metal in his hands again.
I turned my head to the side. Oliver grabbed my chin and turned my head back. "Dr. Alexander wanted to see my work," he said. "It just opens your eyes."
"I'll keep my eyes open," I said. "Please, don't use that."
"It has to be done," he said. "It won't hurt. It's just uncomfortable. Just lie still for me."
Oliver opened my eyelids. I curled my fingers into the sheets beneath me. My eyes watered as he hooked the metal under my eyelids. Oliver stretched his hand toward me, and also toward my other eye. The sheets were held in my fists.
It's hard for me to hear what they are saying? I didn't understand, but I focused more on my breathing. My eyes feel very dry and I have the urge to rub them. I kept focusing on breathing in and out to stop myself from fighting against the restraints.
Oliver flashed a few gleams into my eyes. Oliver and Gregory leaned against me. I breathed a sigh of relief as he put the drops into my eyes. I tried to blink the water out of my eyes, my eyelids fluttering against the metal.
I was relieved when Oliver finally removed the speculum from my eye. A mixture of tears dripped down my face. I instinctively wiped away my tears. As I moved my hands, the feeling of restraint sunk deep into my skin. The sound of metal clashing sounded.
The sound made my heart sink.
I woke up with blind, restrained memories flooding my mind. I must have been fighting against the restraints because Oliver put his hands on my wrists.
"Is she only seven days post-op?" Gregory asked.
"Yes, she is," said Oliver. "I'm still managing her pain."
"What's her attitude like?"
"I'm not going to lie, she was like a fighter jet when she first woke up, sir. But she calmed down."
Oliver lowered the bed before untying his restraints. As soon as my hands were free, I rubbed my eyes. The eye drops made me even more blurry.
"She seemed very close to Benjamin," Gregory said.
"I noticed," Oliver said. "Dr. Phillips suggested they stay together."
I held my skirt down as I sat down. Gregory rolled over to his desk. Oliver slid my glasses back onto my face and I adjusted them. He knelt in front of me and put the sandals on his feet.
"I'll talk to you in an hour, Oliver," said Gregory.
"Yes, sir," he said. "I'll take her back to her room."
Pushed me out of the room. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, trying to wipe away the remaining droplets.
"He was impressed," he said. "That's a good sign."
I stopped. He put more pressure on me to keep going. I turned around. "You can't sell me," I whispered.
Oliver took a deep breath and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"I'm not sure," he said. "I don't want to let you go, but I also don't want to risk not being accepted."
"Please," I said. I hate begging myself. "Please, I would do anything to get me back to Canada."
Oliver raised his eyebrows, and bile rose in the back of my throat. Have I dug myself a bigger hole?
We walked back down the corridor in silence.
When I glanced back before opening the bedroom door, he was staring at me. I opened the door and he turned and walked away, the door closing behind him.
Ben was lying on my bed with a book in front of him. He looked up at me, closed the book, then turned his legs and sat down. There were prominent dark spots on his shirt, the definite scale of which I could see now.
"Where have you been?" he asked.
"Oliver took me to Gregory's exam," I said.
Ben jumped out of bed and strode towards me.
"How was it?" he asked. “Did you fight again?
"At first, yes," I said. "Oliver tried to put this metal thing in my eye and I was horrified."
Ben rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through his raven hair.
"Forget it, I snuck some waffles for you," he said.
"You smuggle waffles?" I asked.
"We're not supposed to eat in our rooms," he said. "But Elias ate them all. Leta turned a blind eye as I carried them across the hall."
I looked at the dresser and saw a plate sitting there. It comes with two waffles topped with syrup and strawberries.
"Thank you," I said.
Ben smiled and leaned down to kiss me.
