CHAPTER 4. I... ONLY HAVE THIS TO SELL...

Christian, not caring that the accident had not yet been reported to the authorities, moved his car, which, despite the damage to its bodywork, had suffered no mechanical damage. Without wasting any time, he sped away from the scene of the accident on his way to his friend's house.

 

He could not help but feel an unpleasant unease running through his body, turning into a piercing cold sweat that eventually settled in his spine, too worried about Sally's state of health. He was afraid that something bad might happen to her, because if it did, he would never be able to forgive her for not paying him the attention he deserved during those days, and besides, she was the only person who could make him feel loved and protected, perhaps because they had been together in the orphanage until the day he decided to escape.

 

Twenty minutes later, in record time, he arrived at the housing estate in a middle-class area of the city, a few old gabled houses with red roofs, all painted white. On arrival he turned the handle of the wooden door, but it did not give way, it was locked, for a moment his concern increased, he closed his fist and struck a few blows on the door, but he remembered the place where the occupants of the house hid a set of keys in case of an emergency, without wasting any time he went into the garden, looked in the right place and took the key, he could not help but feel relieved to have it in his hands.

 

Without wasting any more time, he went to the door, opened it and began to call the woman's name.

 

"Sally!" he shouted, heading for the living room, where he assumed she must be if she had fallen on the way up to the second floor.

 

As he entered the sitting room he saw her sitting at the foot of the stairs with her foot outstretched, he quickened his pace to be at her side at once, the woman was wearing an expression of pain, but when she saw him she changed it to one of joy.

 

"Oh, Christian!" the excited woman exclaimed as she saw him, a few tears rolling down her face at the same time. "It's such a relief to see you, please can you help me to my room?"

 

He leaned to the side of her before helping her to the room, taking her foot, removing her shoes and beginning to examine it carefully and delicately, running his hands over the area where she indicated she felt the discomfort as the woman let out a slight moan without taking her eyes off him.

"Apparently there is nothing wrong with it, but since it is so painful for you, it might be a sprain. We should see a doctor, it is necessary to send you for some x-rays to rule out a fracture, do you think so?" the man asked in a tone of concern.

 

His words did not reassure Sally, on the contrary, she became nervous. Seeing the fear on her face, Christian put it down to the fact that she did not want to be out of action for too long.

But his words did nothing to reassure Sally; on the contrary, she became nervous. Seeing the fear on her face, Christian put it down to the fact that she didn't want to be incapacitated for long, so he began to comfort her.

 

"Don't worry Sally, you'll be fine. There's nothing to be afraid of because I'm going to be with you for as long as it takes. Come on! Lean on me so I can carry you to the car and take you to the hospital," he said firmly.

 

She made a show of getting up, but then a wince crept across her face, not unnoticed by the man who tried to hold her so he could carry her weight, but she pushed his hand away in tears.

 

"I'm sorry, Christian, I can't even walk with you supporting me," he looked at her hesitantly, trying to find a solution, a moment the woman used to make him a proposition. "Unless you take me in your arms, that's the only solution," she announced, excitedly waiting for his reaction, for she was desperate to have him close to her.

 

He was surprised for a few seconds, as he didn't like people being close to him, but in the end, he decided to do it. As he carried her, the woman sank her face into his neck, a strange sensation invaded him and his skin bristled at the contact, he tried to think of something else to ignore her closeness and quickened his steps to get her to the car and not have her so close to his body.

 

As he got her into the car, the woman, instead of letting go of him, continued to hold him by the neck until he let go.

 

"Sally, can you let go? You're strangling me." The man's words made her feel sorry for him.

 

She released him immediately, and he took the opportunity to rush away, turning to get into the car as he ran his hand down his throat as if cleaning it, then jerked his hands in an unconscious gesture, trying to remove some invisible dirt.

 

*****

Lynda had been eagerly awaiting the outcome of the doctor's conversation with her family, but when she interrupted and saw the look on his face, she knew the answer without fear of being mistaken. It was no surprise, it had always been this way, ever since the unfortunate accident in which her mother died, she had been treated as an outsider, sidelined, without a voice, without a vote. She couldn't help a few tears escaping from her eyes, she quickly wiped them away so as not to be seen, but the doctor noticed and felt sorry for the young girl.

 

"I'm sorry! From the look on your face, you probably expected this result, you weren't very receptive to me, you didn't care what happened. Do you have another alternative?" he asked worriedly.

 

The girl remained thoughtful, she didn't really have anyone to cover her expenses, maybe she could call her only friend to see if she could help her sell the only thing she had, she put her hand to her neck and took out the beautiful necklace, the only memory of her mother, she couldn't avoid the pain that it caused.

"I... I only have this to sell..." She couldn't help but break down and start crying. "It was a gift from my mother before she died. I don't have anything else to pay for it with." The man looked at the necklace curiously, but held it without saying anything, just with a thoughtful expression.

"We can do something else, if you don't have a guardian, we can call social services," the doctor said.

 

"I'll be of age in a month. Don't worry, I'll call my friend to help me sell them. Maybe I can get it back one day."

 

At that moment, while she was talking to the doctor, a man of about fifty came in, it was her father, she was excited to see him, she thought he was worried about her, he greeted him with joy, the doctor went out to give her privacy.

 

"Dad, you came! I thought not..." she could not continue because her father interrupted her.

 

"Shut up! It's time to stop pretending, not only did you steal your sister's car, but not content with that, you wrecked it for her. How could you crash your sister's car? You're too mean! What kind of horrible person are you?" he shouted angrily.

 

The girl was shocked by his words, she cowered in fear of this attack, she could not believe her father's attitude, instead of worrying about how she would be if she had come out unharmed, he was doing it because of her sister's car. This was a heavy blow to her already battered heart, with all the sadness in the world she could once again confirm the truth, for her father she had no value and the sooner she realized that she could expect nothing from him, the less she would suffer, she said to herself, trying to find a way to control the crying that threatened to reveal itself and thus be able to accept with stoicism the unjust reprimand from her father.

Dare to be brave today and trust that if you spread your wings, you will fly. Maria Demuth.