A few minutes later, Elena returned and was about to open the door, only to find Anton standing in the doorway, giving her a fright.
"All right. I'll go with you", Anton said to her.
Elena blinked and raised her eyebrows at him. "Really?" She asked him, surprised.
"On one condition", said Anton, his voice gentle, but somewhat demanding. "Don't expect me to be your friend. Once my arm has healed, I'm gone."
Elena eyed him for a minute and said, "Yeah, sure."
In no time at all, both the hitman and the nurse started on the long drive to Brainerd in a blue 1975 Volkswagen Beetle. An hour had past before either one of them spoke and Elena thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get to know her new patient.
"So, you married?" Elena asked him.
"No", said Anton, not looking at her.
"You have any kids?"
"No."
Elena looked at Anton and examined him with her eyes, before asking him, "So, what do you do for a living?"
Anton looked at her for a second and then at his arm. "Currently unemployed", he said.
Elena focused her gaze back on the road and said, "Sorry I asked." She then turned up the radio, keeping it on a low volume in hopes that the music would make the drive feel less awkward for her. She could tell instantly that this man was not one for conversation.
A few hours went by and neither one of them spoke, until Anton broke the silence.
"You're how old?" Anton asked her.
Elena looked at him, surprised. "Me? I'm 24", she answered, before focusing back on the road.
"You live by yourself?" Anton looked at her.
"Yep", said Elena.
"You have no family?" Anton asked her.
"I have a cousin in Brainerd, but she's more like a mother to me", said Elena.
Anton looked back at the road and said nothing else for the rest of the day.
After stopping to rest at a hotel in Wakita, Oklahoma, for the night, Anton and Elena started back on the road early in the morning. It was still twelve hours to Brainerd.
After a long silence, Anton looked at Elena and spoke to her, "You said you were a nurse. Did you ever finish medical school?"
Elena looked at him. "Yeah, why?"
"I'm curious about you, that's all", said Anton.
Elena focused her gaze back onto the road and said, "Yes, I am a certified nurse, if that is what you're wondering. I know I should have taken you to a hospital and let a professional fix your arm, but with the skills I learned, I figured I could do it myself."
"Yes, you said that", Anton reminded her.
Elena looked at him again and asked nervously, "You won't tell anyone, will you?"
"I wouldn't worry about it", said Anton.
Elena looked at the road ahead of her and took a deep breath, tapping her fingers on the wheel. "Well, no skin off my neck there, then", she said.
Anton said nothing and just stared at her for a minute. He saw no reason why she would be ashamed of her involvement in fixing his arm, seeing how it was part of a nurse's job to take care of injured people. This woman knew what she had done was not part of her line of profession, yet she decided to do it anyway. He wondered about that. Some part of him told him he shouldn't trust her, yet something in the back of his mind told him not to hurt her, like a distant voice calling out to him to spare her life for a better purpose in the near future. If this was the voice of fate speaking to him, Anton would surely listen to it and not bring any harm to Elena.
At 6:39 p.m., they arrived in Brainerd. Elena drove them through the downtown area and past the outskirts of the city, heading out towards the woodland terrain. Turning right, Elena drove them down a trail that led to a little white house near the river. She looked at Anton and said to him with a smile, "Welcome home."
Anton stepped out of the car and looked at the house from where he stood. It was a single story house, possibly a two bedroom unit, complete with a swinging bench on the front porch. He would have thought she lived in a home in the suburbs, but luckily for the hitman, at least she lived far away in a remote location where nobody would ever suspect to find him.
Elena picked up her bag from the back seat and started heading towards the front porch. Anton followed behind and asked her, "This is your house?"
"I know it doesn't look like much, but you can't always judge a book by its cover, right?" Elena set her bag down and pulled her keys out from her pocket.
Unlocking the door, Elena picked up her bag and stepped inside. "Hello, house! I'm home!" She called out, answering to an empty residence.
Anton stepped in after her and briefly glanced around the living room, before following Elena towards the back of the house. She opened the first door on the left and said to him, "You can sleep in here."
Anton stepped into the room and eyed the details of the interior. The walls were a vibrant orange with pink gossamer curtains draped over the snow-white window frame. A portrait of an angel overlooking two children hung on the far right side of the room next to the bed, which was covered by a rose pattern bedspread. On the left side of the bed, a Barbie snow globe and a Felix the Cat doll sat on top of the nightstand. In the left corner of the room was a small shelf filled with children's books and a vanity with a little jewelry box on the left side of the closet.
"Now while you're here I only have two rules", Elena spoke to him, in a firm tone of voice.
Anton turned his head left and looked at her, her expression was serious.
"One: no smoking or drug usage of any kind. And two: no violence." Elena smiled and said to him in a cheerful manner, "Other than that, feel free to make yourself at home. I'll fix us something to eat."
Elena existed the bedroom and went to put her bag away, leaving Anton to glance back at the brightly-colored bedchamber. This was not his idea of a guest room, but it would have to do.
Later that night, after a small meal, Elena removed Anton's shirt and sling, and covered his arm in new bandages. She then had Anton wait for her in the guest room.
A few minutes later, a knock on the door signaled her return.
"Come in", said Anton.
Elena entered into the bedroom, wearing a white nightgown and carrying a pair of dark gray pajamas. "These should fit you", she said, sitting down next to Anton. "If I have time after work tomorrow, I can see about finding you some clothes."
"What time do you go to work?" Anton asked her.
"My shift doesn't start until nine", Elena answered, as she helped him take off his boots and black jeans.
"What time do you get off?"
"Depending on how many patients come in each day, I don't get off until about five, sometimes eleven at night." Elena looked at him and said, "My main concern, however, is are you going to be okay without me for that long?"
"I survived 31 years without you", Anton answered her. "I think I can manage."
Elena nodded her head and said, "Okay. Well, just to be safe, I'll have everything set up for you tomorrow before I leave."
After helping him into his nightwear, Elena put the sling back on Anton and then helped him into bed.
"You rest easy tonight", Elena said to him, pulling the blankets up to his chest.
"You know I'm not a child, don't you?" Anton said to her, looking a bit irritated.
Elena glared at him and said in a gentle voice, "I'm fully aware of that, but with your arm hurt the way it is, you can't perform certain tasks on your own. I'm not saying you're weak, but the least you can do is let me help you."
Anton paused for a minute and sighed to himself. "I have no way to thank you", he said.
"Oh, I don't care about that", Elena said to him, making sure he was tucked in nice and warm. "As long as you get better, that's all that matters to me. I want you to rest as much as possible." Elena then placed her hand on the right side of his face and said, "Good night, Anton."
Elena stood up and was about to head out the door, until Anton sat up and said to her, "Good night...Elena."
Elena turned around and looked at him, before Anton lied himself back down. She gave him a warm smile before shutting the door behind her.
Anton lied there for a few minutes staring up at the ceiling, before turning his head right and looking towards the open window, a gentle breeze made the transparent curtains flutter a bit. 48 hours ago, he was a hitman on the run. Now he was a just an ordinary man with a broken arm being taken care of by this woman. You're not weak, she said to him, but what if it was true? With the ability in his left arm restricted, Anton feared he would soon have no choice but to give up contract killing. Was this fate's way of telling him his time as a hitman was up?
Turning his attention back to the ceiling, Anton closed his eyes and tried to sleep it off. He would think about it in the morning.