Page 5 of Slavic

IswearIhave to bite my lip to keep from stomping my foot whenRowannods her head again, but the last thing she needs is me showing my ass.Shehas experienced enough of that.Afterbeing with her these last few hours,I’mglad we’re headed somewhere she can get some help, becauseI’mnot qualified.

Mytemper is short andIhave little to no patience for the “poor me syndrome”.Ifeel a little guilty at my harsh thoughts toward my sister.She’smy sister, soIlove her, but her downtrodden demeanor is really starting to get on my nerves.Whywon’t she react to something?Anything!Thankfully,Ihave never been in her shoes, soIcan’t say howIwould be acting if this situation had been reversed.

Sighingheavily,Iwatch as she silently leaves the bathroom, closing the door softly behind her as she goes, leaving me to have some much-needed time alone.Theguilt presses down on me harder.Ishouldn’t be looking for an escape fromRowan, but then again, shechoseto marryRobert.She’sthe one who put herself in this position, despite the fact that no woman deserves to be treated like she’s been.

Ifonly she had listened to me whenIwarned her about him!

But.

There’sno use crying over spilled milk.Notat this stage of the game.

Roughly,Ijerk my clothes off, leaving them in a heap on the floor, and step over to the walk-in shower.Theknobs are simple and in no time, steaming hot water is shooting out of the showerhead.

Asigh of relief escapes me asIease under the spray, letting the hot water wash away some of the tension from my body the last several days has caused.KnowingthatRowanis waiting on me,Idon’t stand there idle for long.Thereare a variety of products in the shower caddy hanging from the showerhead, soIchoose a shampoo and body wash at random.Idon’t care whatIsmell like, as long asI’mclean.

Finishingup,Istep out and dry off with one of the towels on the rack next to the shower door and hurriedly dress.Grabbingmy dirty clothes,Iexit the bathroom only to findRowanstill sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into space.

It’sas if she’s lost in a world all her own.Pityand anger war within me.Itry to clear both from my voice and speak as softly asIcan to get her attention.

“Rowan,I’mdone in the bathroom.It’sall yours,Sis.”

Thistime she doesn’t even nod, she just gets up, slides past me into the bathroom, and closes the door behind her.Theclick of the lock is a bit of a slap in the face, butIdo my best to not let it get to me.Thisisn’t about me; this is about her.

Imust have fallen asleep on the couch because her opening the bathroom door has me jerking up.Hereyes are red and it’s easy to tell she’s been crying even through all those bruises.Herface is so swollen right now thatIcan’t tell if her nose is broken or not.Turningoff theTV,Ihead into the bedroom, watching her out the corner of my eye as she turns the bed down.Flippingthe light off,Icrawl into the same bed as her, pulling her close likeIdid when we were kids.Rowan’sbody is tense, and even with me humming the song mom used to sing to us when we were little, it takes her forever to drift off to sleep.

Quiettears flow down my cheeks.Idon’t know how to protect her or take this pain away.Thenight is passing quickly, andIneed to get some rest, but my mind won’t shut off.WhenIfinally drift to sleep, my dreams are haunted byRowan’svoice calling for me in the distance, and no matter whereIturn,Ican’t find her.

Aknock on the door has both of us jerking out of our tortured dreams.Myheart’s beating fast in my chest whenIhear a voice on the other side of the door.

“Girls, it’s just me,Edith.Ihave your breakfast.”

“Damn,Imust have overslept,”Iwhisper to myself. “Hell,Idon’t even remember the alarm going off …Sorry,Edith!Giveme a second andI’llget the door.”Glancingover atRowan,Icantell that she’s awake, but her eyes are huge and unfocused. “Hey, look at me.It’sok.I’llcheck the door beforeIlet her in.”

Stumblingover the blanketsImust have thrown on the floor throughout the night,Ilook out the peephole.Onlyto find the same older woman that had talked to me last night, standing there patiently.

“Ruby,Ican leave this here if it’s a bad time.”

Slidingall the locks off,Iease the door open.

“It’sfine girls.There’sno one here right now, and the few that were here last night have already checked out.Ihave some instructions fromJanetthatIneed to give you two before you take off.”

“Please, forgive my manners,Edith,IpromiseIwas raised better than this.It’smy first time being on the run, soI’mstill trying to figure out how to think like a criminal.Ishould have watched a few more documentaries.”

Shesmiles, “Youdo need to be cautious, dear.Youshould know thatI’vebeen watching all the local news channels, and they haven’t reported either of you missing yet.That’sa good thing because it gives us more time to get you to safety.Let’ssettle in the kitchen and talk for a bit.”Iwave her in, taking the heavy tray from her the second she’s through the door.Edithturns onceIhave the tray in hand and locks the door herself.

Ican hear the sink running in the bathroom, soRowanmust have gotten up while we were talking. “Ruby, we’ll wait until your sister joins us, that wayI’mnot telling you guys this twice.”Rowanmust have heard us because moments later she comes walking in, once again wearing that same oversized sweatshirt.Sheis hiding more than those bruises on her face from me, andIknow it.

Myfirst thought is that she might be pregnant, but until she opens up to me,I’mnot going to force the issue.Hopefully, once we get settled somewhere, she’ll tell me what’s happened to her whileI’vebeen galivanting all over the country.

Edithglances over atRowanand then back to me.Ishake my head whenRowandoesn’t make eye contact as she sits down at the table.Shewalks over, standing next toRowan. “MayIhave a look, dear?”

Rowan’seyes meet mine before she glances up atEdith.

“Iwon’t touch anything but your face.Weneed to see if anything is broken, honey.”

Rowanpulls her hood back down and closes her eyes as she tilts her head up towardEdith.Iwatch her flinch whenEdithfirst touches her jaw.Gentlyshe runs her fingers along the yellow and black bruises covering her small cheekbones.Nowthat the swelling is going down,Ican see that her lip is split in multiple places, and there is a cut above her eyebrow.

“Honey, your nose is broken, but that can be fixed.Ithink the rest is just muscle and flesh damage, but some places are still too swollen for me to tell.”

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