Visit the basement
Nora
Once inside, he slammed the door and threw me to the floor. I fell hard on my side, hitting my hip bone. But I didn't have time to dwell in the pain because in seconds he was on top of me. He grabs onto my hair again, pulling my head back painfully.
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, HA! WHERE WERE YOU, NORA?” Saying this, still holding my hair, he shook my head from one side to the other. It hurt so much that my tears started to come out until he stopped.
He let me go suddenly and got up, then I felt the first kick striking my back, and then another in my legs.
After several more, I got into the fetal position, trying to protect myself, but didn’t work. Then, he stopped.
His heavy breathing and my sobs and groans of pain were all that was heard. He was looking at me from above but did nothing else until he squatted down and brushed the hair off my face.
He stood still for a moment, eyes wide opened, and thereafter, I could hear his teeth grinding, then he said, “Why are you making me do this, Nora? All of this is your fault. Why don't you accept things as they are, and avoid this? You are my wife. Learn the meaning of that word.”
Of course, I did not answer him. So, I closed my eyes, enjoying the pain in which my body was, while sobbing quietly. I had learned not to fight it, but to enjoy it. This made it easier to survive the next day.
Erik took me in his arms and led me towards the basement. I already knew the way very well. The door was already open, ready for me when I arrived. My husband laid me gently on the bed and covered me with a blanket. He looked at me one last time before turning his back on me and walking out the door. The last thing I heard, was when he put the lock on.
∞∞∞
The next time I opened my eyes, I didn't know what time of the day it was. There are no windows or clocks here. All I had was a small spotlight that hung from the ceiling in the centre of the basement. I already knew where to find it.
But the first time he locked me up here, it took me a long time to find the switch.
I tried to get out of bed to turn on the light, but my body wouldn't allow it. A horrible pain went to my chest. In fact, now that I notice it, it's hard for me to breathe. I need to relax and lay down again, with light or without it.
Without much to do here anyway, I stayed still. I couldn't bear the pain in my whole body. I resigned myself to staying in bed until I felt better, but this pain was killing me. The worst thing is that I do not know whether he stocks any pain medication here because I need something for this terrible headache. I think he managed to hit me once or twice in the head, that's why the pain is so persistent there.
While I was in bed, I tried to know all the damage that he caused me this time. Definitely, my head and my chest hurt, but I don't know if it was from the kicks. My face certainly feels huge. It must be inflamed.
Damn, this pain and the resentment were causing my tears to flow from my eyes. But even crying was painful, all the muscles in my face ached. My tears started to spill down the sides. I was so angry that I wanted to scream and throw everything away, but I had to keep control, or I could risk choking on my saliva. And I had no intention of leaving this life without being happy at least once. So, I closed my eyes and let myself be carried away by the darkness.
∞∞∞
The next time I woke up, I was still in the same position. Everything around me was the same, no water, no food, no nothing. Maybe Erik would punish me too by starving me for a while. It would not be the first time. He was a monster.
I tried to raise my arm, but they were still so bad, that it was hard not to scream. But I swallowed it and with all my willpower, I could sit up on the bed. My breathing was still short, thinking that something was wrong with me because I definitely knew this was not right. But I have to go to the bathroom, my bladder can't hold it any more. I got my legs off the bed and I could feel the bumps the blows caused across my skin. However, I'll worry about that later. The bathroom is what mattered now.
My legs were shaking as I tried to hold my weight. I leaned against the wall to stand up, and It was almost impossible. I almost gave up, I even contemplated peeing on the bed. That wouldn’t matter to me either.
I walked as best I could to the switch, and once I found it, the basement lit up. The only spotlight here wasn't doing much, its light was so dim. I was thinking, it was almost the same not having it. But it was still of some use.
I looked around me and saw nothing new. With hope, I looked around to find nothing. Meditating on why he did this, he wanted to make me feel the pain in my body without, raw and intense. That is very low, even for him.
After checking my surroundings, I headed to the bathroom. Each step took my breath away. I was hoping that with more rest, whatever damage Erik caused me would be healed.
The door to the small bathroom was open, and as I walked in, it smelled a bit bad. Looks like they haven't cleaned here since my last visit. How degrading. I sat on the toilet and peed. But I felt a lot of pain and burning when doing it. This was new, he had never hit me like this. His violence toward me was escalating.
After cleaning myself, I stopped to pull up my underwear because I noticed that the water was a little red. What could I do? Nothing. Forgetting about that for the moment, I went to the sink to wash my hands, and what received when I saw myself in the mirror horrified me.
I closed my eyes immediately, I couldn't see the image before me. My eye was completely closed, my nose was swollen and bloody, as well as my lips. I had a gigantic bruise on the other side of my face. Now I know why my head hurts so much.
My spirit plummeted, I lowered my head and went back to bed. I didn't turn off the light, I only leaned back facing the wall, and closed my eyes.
But the sleep never came because my body was suffering so much that it would not let me rest. My head screamed for help, but no one was there. Eventually, the fatigue was stronger than the pain, and I managed to detach myself from reality for a few moments.
I was between dreams and reality until I hear a noise in the distance. I ignored it and tried to return to the dream from which I did not want to wake up. But I was not so lucky. The next thing I felt was the bed sagging on one side. Someone was sitting next to me. My mind encouraged me to wake up, but my body wouldn't allow it. It gave me the impression that I was delirious.
Suddenly, I felt freezing and then hot. Not even rest was helping me now.
The person next to me gently stroked my hair. Maybe I was imagining. Who could be here with me?
After a while, I didn't feel anything any more, letting the darkness embrace me this time.
∞∞∞
The next time I tried, I opened my eyes, and they felt glued together. Little by little I opened them, and the surrounding light blinded me. I tried to adjust to it, but I had to blink a little more. The first thing I saw was a peach-coloured lamp above me. Which seemed very strange to me. Then I ventured to look around and realized that I was in a hospital.
I lifted my head and saw that one of my arms had an IV. What could have happened to me? But I did not have to stay with the doubt for long, since a nurse entered my room and saw me awake.
She was surprised for a moment, but then she smiled at me and walked over to me. “Mrs Costa, I am the nurse, from the night shift. My name is Sara, you had us all worried.”
With a raspy voice, I managed to ask her the following, “Why, what is wrong with me?” The nurse smiled sadly and said, “To begin with, the fall you had was strong. You hurt yourself pretty badly,” she insisted.
“You had a concussion on your head, and the tissues around your chest became inflamed. That was what prevented you from breathing properly. Fortunately, your husband brought you on time. A little more and you wouldn’t make it.”
I dropped my gaze at what I heard. He almost killed me. But I looked at the nurse again and said, “I did not fall, my husband did this to me.”
The nurse's face transformed upon hearing this. Her eyes widened, but she nodded, then said, “OK, Mrs Costa, I'll be back right away. I'm going to talk to the doctor. Do you need something before I go?” I shook my head as a sign that I didn't need anything. The nurse gave me one last smile and left the room.
About half an hour later, she returned with whom, I assumed, is the doctor. They approached the bed, and while the nurse took care of taking the body readings and fixing the IV solution, the doctor spoke to me, “It's nice to see you awake, Mrs Costa, I am Dr Watts, responsible for your care. We did several studies on you, to make sure that you are out of danger. We managed to reduce inflammation in your chest, and brain successfully. Now, what we have to do is wait for you to heal completely. For that, we need to keep you here in the hospital and have you under observation 24 hours at least a week.”
I looked at the doctor with anxiety, then I asked him, “Dr, the nurse told me that I was about to die, and not only that, she told me it was caused by a fall. Who told you such a lie? And before answering me, please call me Nora, just Nora.”
The doctor narrowed his eyes as he considered what to say to me, “Well, Nora, if your husband hadn't reacted in time after your fall, your respiratory system would have stopped working.” It made my blood run cold, Erik locked me up for days after the beating.
My eyes reddened with the fury that was growing with each passing second. I knew the doctor was on my husband's payroll, and I know very well that he will do what Erik tells him, no matter what.
Without taking my eyes off him and in a hostile tone, I asked him to continue. He nodded, and carried on, “Your husband brought you to the hospital, he was distressed. Moreover, he was the one who informed us of your fall and… ” But I cut him off before he could finish.
“I did not fall, let it be clear to you. I know he's paying you, I can smell it. But I want to clarify that I DID NOT FALL. Don't ever insult my intelligence, did you understand? He beat me, he beat me.”
I cried unconsolable, suffering because of my body, and because my soul was alone in this world.
“I don't want to see you here, I want another Doctor, did you hear me?” After my outburst, I closed my eyes and sobbed silently. They were all bought. I know it's useless to say something, no one would do anything to help anyway.
He had a lot of power and influence and I had nothing.
“Calm down, Nora, don't get upset. We are going to leave, and you will not see us again, but calm down, you are still not well, please.”
I didn't bother answering them, I stayed in bed with my eyes closed.
I heard when they closed the door after their departure, leaving me alone for several hours. Now and then a nurse would come to give me my medicine and bring me water, or whatever I needed.
Unfortunately, I didn't have my mobile with me, so I had nothing to entertain myself with. The only thing left was to turn on the TV. And this is how the day went by. It was one of the quietest and most boring in my last five years.
But the peace did not last as long as I wanted. The Collins came through the door with a worried face.
“Daughter, we were so worried about you. When Erik informed us that you took a fall, we wasted no time and came as soon as possible. But you were unconscious. We had to go, but this morning, we got a call from the Doctor, saying that you had already woken up.”
Hilarious, they're playing the same game. I've heard enough. I hit the assist button and waited silently for the nurse to arrive. My face was facing the window because I would never want to see their faces again. After five minutes, the nurse arrived.
“Nora, how can I help you?”
“Please, tell them to leave, they are not welcome.”
I turned my face again, looking at the window, and heard the nurse repeat what I had said. Of course, the Collins wouldn't believe it if I tell them the truth. It was better to be on Erik's side than mine. But I won't speak to them about anything, and the truth is, I don't understand why they keep insisting on having a relationship with me.
We are nothing any more.
But Charles, couldn't keep his mouth shut, “Nora, I can't believe you got this far. I can't believe you've come this far to get back at us.” His words were unable to reach me, no more.
“Nurse, please call security to evacuate these people.”
And now it was Karla's turn, “How dare you treat us this way. We are your parents, and like it or not, we will always be.”
But, the security personnel entered the room and asked them to leave. Charles Collins didn't leave without saying his last words, “I hope Erik puts you in your place. We gave you everything we had, and that was a mistake. I was aware that you needed a heavy hand, and Erik was the perfect one for this. I will have to speak with him about this. And I swear to you, Nora, that you will regret treating us so badly one day.” With that said, he left the room fuming. His wife followed.
At last, I could breathe freely.
