He came back two days later.
"Back for more, I see. She must be really good," the manager said as he saw him.
"Yeah, I'd like her for three hours this time," Roman said.
"What's in the bag?" The manager asked while looking at the bag over Roman's shoulder.
"Toys," Roman just answered.
The manager smiled.
"Feel free to play all you want. Just don't kill her," he said.
Roman just nodded. He didn't know what to respond to that. It was best just to play along, letting the manager think he was there for the same reason as all the other scumbags.
"She's with another man right now but he only has 15 minutes left. You can wait in room no 2," the manager said.
A shiver went through Roman as he heard she was with another man. He had to fight the urge to run to all the doors, kick them down and get her out of there. He just nodded and walked into room no 2.
He couldn't calm down. He walked around inside the room. His mind was running wild. Was she hurting? Was she crying? He just wanted to hold her.
The door opened and she limped into the room. Blood was running down her legs. He hurried to her and she collapsed in his arms. He carried her to the couch where she curled up and put her head on his lap. He gently ran his fingers through her hair. He tried to find something to say but no words came out. What could he say in this situation to make her feel better? He felt her doze off and he let her sleep. She deserved to rest.
She was only gone for 30 minutes. He could hear in her breathing she was waking up. He was still running his fingers through her hair. The blood on her legs had dried but it was still there. He hadn't dared to look where it was coming from. It could only be from one of two places and no matter which one it was, his heart was breaking thinking about it.
"Your friend came back," she suddenly spoke.
"My friend?" He asked.
"Seth. I was with him before coming in here," she said.
The anger went straight to his head.
"I'm gonna kill him," he sneered.
"No, you're not," she calmly said.
She sat up and looked him in the eyes.
"What good will it do any of us if you kill him?" She asked.
He searched his mind for an answer. He couldn't find any. He knew she was right.
"Why are you around him anyway?" She asked.
"I work for the clan," he answered.
"Doing what?" She asked.
"Whatever they want me to do," he answered.
"Even murder?" She asked.
"Even murder," he answered and looked down, afraid she might judge him.
She put her hand on his cheek.
"I get it. It's either kill or be killed when you're involved with them," she said.
He nodded and looked at her. Her hand went from his cheek and down to his hand. She interlocked her fingers with his.
"I brought you something," he said and reached for the bag. "As you know certain things are basically impossible to get your hands on these days unless you're involved with the Rollins clan."
"Like what?" She asked.
"Like soda," he answered and pulled out two bottles.
"Oh my god, I haven't had that since before the war," she said intrigued.
"Not many has," he said as he opened the bottle and handed it to her.
She had a sip.
"Just as amazing as I remember," she said and smiled.
"I also brought some chips. I'm not sure how they're feeding you in here so I thought you'd like a little treat," he said and handed her a bag of chips.
"You're spoiling me," she said as she opened the bag.
"You deserve it," he said and smiled at her.
"Do you know what I miss the most?" She asked.
He shook his head.
"Baked potatoes with garlic butter. I know it sounds stupid but I really miss that," she said.
"Maybe someday," he said.
They talked for a while while emptying the sodas and the bag of chips. He couldn't take his eyes of the dried blood on her legs though.
"Do you hurt?" He suddenly asked.
He put his fingers to her thigh, gently tracing some of the blood, wishing he could remove it with a snap of his fingers.
"Yes," she answered honestly.
He gave her a sad look.
"I always hurt. Seth or no Seth, it doesn't matter. Every man walking in here hurts me," she said.
"Except me," he said.
"You hurt me too. Not physical but emotional. You show me that another world is right outside this building. A world I can never be part of," she said and looked down.
He grabbed her chin, lifted up her head and softly placed a little kiss on her lips.
"One day I'm gonna get you out in that world. I don't care what it takes. I'll find a way," he said determined.
She just smiled but her eyes were still sad. He talked big but she couldn't believe him. No one had ever escaped this place.