Breaking Free: Chapter 9

“I was going to go fix the whole room thing with Mrs. Rui in my half hour but then I ran into Matanja, who was totally breaking down, and I stayed with her because I felt so bad for her and because I’m her friend after all and then I totally forgot about Ksenia and then the half hour was over and then I had to run to the showers and-”

Vladimir held his hands up to stop Lily’s constant rambling and she took a deep breath.

“I showed Ksenia the way to the showers and said that we had to go shower first and that I would go to Mrs. Rui after I was done with that. But when I was done, Matanja was searching for me again and Ksenia said that she would go take care of the whole room thing. So I showed her which way she had to go but I forgot to tell her about the night-clock! And the rooms will close in like 2 minutes and she isn’t back yet! I am so sorry, Vladimir. I never meant for this to happen!”

She was in tears now, something not even the coldest persons could endure. He forgot to get mad at her and pulled her into a quick hug.

“Get back to your room immediately. I’ll make sure Ksenia gets back safely.”

His voice sounded colder than he had meant. Lily’s lips trembled and she sniffed softly as she turned around.

“I’m really sorry.”

“Just don’t let it happen again.”

Lily disappeared and Vladimir turned around to see that Dave had followed their conversation.

Great, then at least I won’t have to explain it all again.

“Okay, I’m going to need your help. You know what to do.”

Dave nodded quickly and Vladimir left the room, closing the door behind him. When he was halfway the hall, the bell rang and all the doors locked. He grunted softly at the sound that affirmed that this wasn’t a lot different from a prison. Vladimir quietly sprinted towards the Mainhall. She would need to go through this hall to get anywhere else.

He pressed himself against the wall and slowly peeked into the hall. It was empty except for a very lost looking Ksenia. She seemed to have forgotten which way would lead to the rooms. Vladimir let out a small sigh as he entered the huge room.

A small squeal escaped her lips when seeing him but Ksenia quickly recovered. She turned her eyes down, looking quite embarrassed.

* * * * * * *

“Let’s go before someone catches us.”

She quickly walked over to him and made sure not to make any eye contact. She hated owing people, especially people that she barely knew. A soft sigh of relief found it’s way out however, when she walked behind him.

Her eyes fell on his strong back which had some scary looking tattoos on it when he lead her to the rooms. They kind of really fitted him and she had to admit that it gave him something special and mysterious.

There you go again, Ksenia. Always falling for the wrong guys.

She tore her eyes away and looked at his all stars instead while trying to keep up with him. He looked tensed, as if he was worried about something. Only then she noticed that there were no other people around them.

“Where is the rest?” She asked him when they reached the rooms. Vladimir quickly turned around and pressed his finger against her lips. He listened intensively and quickly dragged her around the corner when he heard footsteps nearing. Vladimir wrapped his arm around her waist and forced her to sprint with him through one of the halls. They flew around the corner and stopped in front of a room with the number “57” on the door. Vladimir softly knocked on it while searching the halls for any movement.

Ksenia heard someone wriggle something metallic between the door and the doorpost, before it opened. In that second she noticed three things; one, something metallic fell on the ground; two, the guy in the door opening looked rather odd and cryptic, poking with something metallic in the doorpost; and three, the footsteps of an approaching guard.

Vladimir quickly pushed her inside and followed on her heels, swirled around and closed the door swiftly without making barely any sound. The guy next to them removed the metallic wire and picked up a small metallic plate that was raw around the edges.

Strange…

A rather awkward silence followed and Ksenia didn’t know what to do, so she just remained quiet and looked around awkwardly. It was a small room with two beds in it, both with navy blue sheets, and something next to the beds that was supposed to be a nightstand. The only comparison, however, was the size of it.  

The guy with wet hair took his time to let his eyes wander over her body like she was a piece of meat. Ksenia crossed her arms in front of her chest and tried to ignore his stare. Vladimir seemed to notice what was going on and his eyes turned cold.

“Dave, this is Ksenia. She’s new.”

Dave extended his hand with a cocky smile on his face. Ksenia shook it shortly and looked away, feeling quite vulnerable.

“Uhm, can you bring me to my room now?”

Her voice sounded weak and she forced a fake cough as if that was the reason why.

Vladimir raised an eyebrow at her question.

“Uh sweetheart, you’re locked in. Lily forgot to tell you about the night-clock and she’s terribly sorry about it, by the way. At 9 o’clock, when the last bell rings, all the doors lock. If the guards would have found you outside, you’d get at least 5 months of labour. Lucky for you, Dave and I found a way to cheat the lock on our door. You will have to stay the night over though, because Lily’s door is locked and well, so is ours now.”

Ksenia gulped. She was locked in with two guys she barely knew. Not good.

“Don’t worry, you can take my bed. I’ll sleep on the floor. Tomorrow you will have to leave immediately after the doors unlock and go to your own room. Just to make sure that they won’t find out and punish you.”

Ksenia nodded, still not at ease, and awkwardly walked towards the right bed. Vladimir fished one of the two sheets, the thinnest one, off the bed and lay down on the ground. Dave shook his head and let out an amused chuckle.

“You’re kidding me right?”

Ksenia lay down on the bed quietly and pulled the sheets ‘til under her chin. A nice manly scent crawled up her nose. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore these very awkward circumstances.

“What?” Vladimir replied rather cold to his friend.

“Seriously?”

Dave kept chuckling as if he was having the biggest fun with himself, perhaps he was. Vladimir tilted his head up and gave his friend a long stare.

“Stop laughing like an idiot or I’ll smash your face in.”

Ksenia cleared her throat and turned on her side. She stared at Dave and Vladimir, who were exchanging some very cryptic looks.

“Oh come on! Seriously, you’ve got a woman in your bed and you are sleeping on the ground? You’ve got some serious issues, dude!”

Vladimir snapped Dave’s pillow away in a flash and smacked him in the face with it. Dave growled and laughed at the same time.

“I’m not as perverted as you. I have more respect for women than to take advantage of them.”

Dave couldn’t help but chuckle loudly as response. He tried to snatch his pillow back but Vladimir wouldn’t let go of it. Ksenia couldn’t help but notice how well he had been taking care of his body. His muscles came even better into view as he wrestled for the pillow with his roommate. Vladimir ended up throwing the pillow at Dave’s face and seemed to mark the end of the wrestling with that. Dave chuckled softly as he clung to his pillow and lay down again.

The light suddenly switched off and a long awkward silence followed. Ksenia turned on her back again and stared at the pitch black darkness above her.

A long bored sigh came from the other bed.

“If you get cold, babe, you know where to find the warmth.”

Ksenia bit on the inside of her cheek and tried to ignore him. This was way too uncomfortable. She heard shifting next to her bed and a loud smack followed. A muffled groan now came from the other bed.

“Cut the crap and go sleep.”

Vladimir’s voice was cold again, something his friend seemed to notice too because he kept quiet. 

Ksenia turned on her side again, feeling rather restless, and stared at the place where Vladimir should be laying somewhere.

“Thanks, by the way, for saving me back there. I would be in quite a mess if you hadn’t come to my rescue probably.”

Ksenia was a bit surprised to hear him sigh softly in reply.

Confusing much?

He sat up again, or at least, that’s what she thought judging from the sounds.

“Look, I don’t mind helping you out and I’ll do my best to keep you out of trouble, you have my word on that, but you have to be more careful. This is no place to be careless.”

He sounded like he meant well but it landed very wrong for Ksenia. Too much pressure and fear had been haunting her these last few days for her to stay reasonable and calm.

“I’m sorry for  not perfectly following the rules, okay! But I just happen to be new here and it would be a lot more helpful if you actually tried explaining the rules instead of giving me the cold shoulder every time I do something wrong.”

Perhaps that was a little bit too much. Especially after him heroically saving me from getting punished.

The short silence that followed was disrupted by his soft reply.

“I wish we had that luxury, but unfortunately there just isn’t time enough for that. I rather have you confused and perhaps even offended than behind fences. It’s an awful experience to be working your butt off in the hope that you do enough to keep the guards content, so that they’ll actually let you sleep inside for the night.”

The fact that this cold guy actually cared, made her feel gooey and guilty at the same time. She had no right to treat him like this. Ksenia swallowed slowly and hugged her pillow, or actually his pillow, tighter.

“Sorry.”

She dug her nails into her skin and wished she could skip this entire moment. It felt as if once again she had messed things up for herself. The only guy that had offered to protect her and actually respected her, and she had treated him unfair.

Way to go…

“Don’t worry about it, dear. Goodnight.”

And with those words repeating over and over in her head, she finally fell asleep.