Chapter 2 – Cup of Tea
It wasn´t hard to get May into the cab and she was too distracted with pain to notice that he gave the driver instructions to take them to the central London instead of the nearest hospital. Only when the cab stopped and Ramsey pulled her out of the car, she finally realized that something was off.
"I thought…the hospital. Where…where are we?" she took a few steps back from him, gripping the street lamp for support. Ramsay found it rather funny, did she think that she can escape from him? No, not even if she had two healthy legs. On the other hand, it would be funny if she tried to run, he would love the chase.
"It´s just a sprained ankle, I can treat it myself." He announced and turning from the house they were facing back to her: "You saved my life, let me treat you for the night May." He smiled but it was a predatory smile that held no warmth or actual gratefulness.
"No please, I would rather go to the hospital, I…" she started but stopped abruptly when he suddenly closed the distance and roughly detached her from the lamp. She yelped with surprise and he covered her mouth quickly to prevent her from screaming. "Don´t ridiculous." He smirked and dragged her towards the house while she struggled weakly. Once they got behind the door and he let go, her muffled sounds turned into loud screams for help. He loved that.
"Oh stop it you little fool. There is nobody to help you, I owe the whole house." He grinned at her in the dark hall, "I am simply going to treat your leg in the morning you may go in the morning, so calm down before I give you a reason to scream." His threat was effective despite his playful tone. She stopped yelling but she didn´t look much calmer. Ramsey could see her shaking, she looked pale and scared. He switched on the light and finally took a good look at her. She was at least a foot smaller than him and judging from the bony wrist he still held in one arm she was quite skinny under all that clothes. Her face was heart-shaped with rather big blue eyes and small mouth. He noticed that her bottom lip was bleeding from where she bit herself earlier. There were fresh tears on her cheeks. She was not his type, not at all, but she was pretty. Actually, she was more than pretty but it was that kind of beauty he would never go for. She looked like a porcelain doll and he was sure that she wouldn´t be able to withstand more than one night with him. Pity.
He turned his attention to her body which was hidden somewhere under a pile of rather shabby clothes. Who would wear such things, he thought as he started taking off her coat made out of artificial, orange fur.
"Please don´t!" she protested but he ignored her. The thing was wet from the snow and he wanted it nowhere near him. He threw the coat away and took away her scarf and three sizes too big sweater underneath. He couldn´t believe how many layers she had on her. "What is this? Are you trying to wear your winter closet in one go?" he chuckled. "N-no. Please, please let me go." She sobbed incoherently and he smiled even more. "Don´t be silly May and let me help you, it´s rather warm here and you can´t be comfortable like this right?" he said and yanked another sweater over her head.
Ramsey felt like a child on a Boxing day, cheerfully unwrapping his present. He didn´t stop until he could finally appreciate her body shape, by then she was only wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and there were much more tears on her face despite his attempts to calm her down. She was right not to believe the world but it still annoyed him. He didn´t like being so predictable.
He gave May a long look, appreciating her body. He was right, she was skinny and unhealthy so but her breasts were a solid B-cup, good. He turned away and quickly get rid of his own coat and boots before he helped her out of her own shoes. Ramsay was careful not to pull her injured leg too much, it was probably the first not so rough move he made towards her but she still yelped with pain. He loved how much she was trembling.
"There is a medical kit and ice in the kitchen, let´s go." He said and pushed her gently in the right direction, piles of her clothes left behind them. He would make sure to throw them all out tomorrow. Or maybe he should burn them all in front of her, that might be fun.
It took Ramsay a while to get May upstairs and into the kitchen even though he carried her through the last few halls. When he set her down on the kitchen floor she immediately tried to get away from him but he didn´t let her. Instead, he pulled out a chair for her: "Here, sit down before you injure yourself more." Her tears were getting on his nerves. She should save them for later, he thought.
"Calm down finally." He barked and then repeated himself more calmly: "C´mon May, I know that you are still in shock but you are safe and sound now so please try to stop crying." He wiped her tears again with a paper towel.
"I can´t…please I…." she stuttered incoherently and then finally took a deep breath and asked: "what´s your name?" she asked and Ramsay realized that he didn´t tell her.
"Ramsey Bolton." He smiled at her as her eyes widened when she recognized the name. Oh yes, Bolton was a surname almost everybody in London knew. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head. Almost hear her thoughts: If he is the mayor´s son he won´t hurt me, right?
"May Hedley. Nice to meet you." She said finally and he smiled at her. It was truly a wonder how quickly she could compose herself. He should have told her earlier but there was always the possibility that she would have heard the rumors which would probably make her scream again. Luckily, she didn´t because she even attempted to return his smile now. The little fool. "Nice to meet you too", he shook her hand grinning.
"Let´s take care of you now, ok?" She nodded and knelt before her to examine her right ankle. May´s feet were still rather cold which was good at the moment because the low temperature prevented the ankle from swelling. He moved her foot a little to see the extent of the damage but she yelped with pain with the slightest touch. "Shhhhh." He soothed thinking about grabbing her and pulling until she screamed. He took a deep breath and made the vision go away. Later, he thought.
"I am sorry." He put her foot down on his knee. "It´s not broken, just sprained. You need to use some pillows to elevate your foot when sleeping and some ice too. I will fix your ankle now with some bandage, ok?" he asked without truly needing an answer.
"Yeah, that sounds…fine," May said, looking at her foot that just started to show signs of swellings. Oh god, this was just so weird! She felt his eyes on her but couldn´t bring herself to truly look at him. He watched as he started to bandage her ankle with surprising skills. He must have sprained his ankle a lot, she thought to herself.
She peeked at him from below her lashes. He had dark brown hair, short on the sides, longer on the top of his head. All guys wore it this way these days. He wasn´t shaved but he didn´t wear a beard either, his cheeks were covered with a low stubble and the shadow of it only emphasized his cheek bones. To her horror, she felt herself blush and stopped looking at him.
"Why were you out so late?" the question startled her and she quickly looked at him catching his eyes. Blue, electric blue.
"I was just going somewhere." She babbled. She didn´t want to tell him really, he made her nervous.
"In the middle of the night? Where?" he prompted. When she was silent he squeezed her foot a little before setting it on the floor, he was done. He stood before her and waited for the answer. When he towered over her like that she was reminded that she still should fear this man. It doesn´t mean that he is not a rapist or a serial killer just because his father was a public figure, May thought shakily while trying to remain calm.
"To a friend, she invited me to sleep over and I got caught up in a work late…" she lied but he didn´t appear satisfied. With one hand, Ramsey caught her chin and pulled her face up, forcing her to look at him. It took him only a moment: "You are lying to me May." It wasn´t a question and she felt herself trembling again.
"You were wearing ten times more clothes than was necessary and you had a big bag with you back at the station. It looks more like you are moving from somewhere than going for a pyjama party." He smirked at her while she just stared at him.
Suddenly she realized the meaning of his words: "Oh my god, the bag!" She didn´t have it! She must have left it behind. Oh god, no! Literally everything she owned was in that bag. She felt the panic rise in her throat as bile. "I am sorry you lost it." He said calmly and smirked even more.
"I must go!" she struggled to her feet but once she put her weight on her right foot she almost fell and had to caught herself on the table. "Please, I must go find it." She tried again, gingerly putting her foot on the ground
"No," Ramsey said, looking amused by her struggles.
"What do you mean no?!" she tried to push him out of her way but he was not having it. He pushed her back to the chair, trying to remain gentle but his touch was firm.
"Just think about it. The bag is gone by now. It was either destroyed by the crash or somebody already stole it from the street. There is no point in you going back there looking." He stated simply and May must admit that he was probably right. So now she had nothing and she was immobile here with this man she didn´t know at all and who was not afraid to physically subdue her when she tried to leave. Suddenly, she got scared again. Maybe he is a serial killer and his father just covers it all up! She tried to think of a way out but there was none.
"Are you calmer now?" he asked without waiting for an answer, "This is what´s going to happen. You will tell me everything about what got you to that bus station and this time you won´t lie. Then, I will decide what I will do with you." He smiled and went to the kitchen counter to put a tea kettle on the stove. May stared at him as he let the water boil.
"How do you take your tea?" the question startled her. Did he have injured, lost girls in his kitchen every other night? Did she really wanted to know?
"The usual way, I guess," she said quietly. "Will you let me go if I tell you?" she tried after a moment of silence. He had his back to her but she heard him chuckle anyway. "Depends on the story." He finished with a tea and handed her a steaming cup then he pulled out a chair for himself and sat down, his side t her front. Before she could say anything, he bent down, caught her injured leg and pulled it up over his knees and put his hand on her shin.
"It will swell less if it´s elevated, remember?" he said and then remained silent, waiting for her to begin with the story. May felt his fingers press into her leg, just a little at first but the pressure was growing. It was like a warning. Warning to tell him everything and not to lie.
She took a deep breath and began: "I run away from home today."
