Chapter 108

Ciara waved at the little boy as he and his mother walked towards the entrance of the hotel with Jon.

She swallowed at the lump in her throat, fighting the tears.

Ciara decided to see how Ksenia was doing, hoping she could get her mind off the little boy.

She found her smiling and nibbling with gusto on her breakfast.

“Knock knoooock!” Ciara felt relief flooded her as she watched the pink cheeked girl in the bed.

“Someone is much better!”

“That I am! Come sit.” She patted next to her on the bed. “I’m so ready to get out of this bed!”

“You just take it easy now. We will take it a little at a time.”

“Yeah yeah mother hen.” She taunted playfully. Ksenia looked closer at the girl, her smile wavered. “Someone cried. Was it hard on you to part with Jesse?”

“ A lot harder than I thought. He is such a sweet boy. I’ll miss him very much!”

“You can always keep yourself busy with the daddy.” Ksenia’s eyes twinkled mischievously.

“He is married remember.”

“Not for looong.”

“I don’t know Ksenia. We live in two different worlds.”

“You like him. I can see it and he likes you.”

“There is a difference between like and sexual attraction. Jon is a dangerous man to love. He will only break my heart.”

“OOoh I don’t know about that...”

“Who is going to break hearts?” Richie peeked around the door.

Ciara gaped at Richie, shooting a warning glare Ksenia’s way.

“Girl talk.” She smiled at him.

“Oh and I don’t wanna be part of that. I’m outta here. We are going for sound check as soon as Jon comes back. So I’ll see you girls later?”

“See ya later!”

Ciara watched as Ksenia finished her breakfast.

Ksenia caught her eyes on her.

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”

Ciara shook her head.

“Its nothing...actually ...never mind.”

“You want to know what happened to me huh?”



“I don’t want to push. You will tell me when the time is right.”



“I want to tell you all about it but I’m afraid there are some pieces of my story you will not believe. “

“Please don’t feel pressured. If you don’t want to talk about it, I will understand.”

Ksenia seemed to drift back to her past as she looked past Ciara, staring into the distance.

“My childhood was perfect up until I turned seven years old. I had a little brother, Dmitri, two years younger than I and we were all so happy until my father died in an accident. My mother had to work two jobs just to keep us alive until she met the professor. We moved in a while later into the professor’s house but we were so unhappy. Some places were forbidden and my mother lived in fear at night. It was so bad that she actually locked us in our rooms at times.”

Ciara paled.

“Did the professor...”

“No, no not that. One day my mom asked me to look after Dmitri. He wandered off a while later and I totally forgot, playing with my doll. My mother found him. He had been killed.” Tears streamed down her face.

“Oh God honey! I’m so sorry!”

“My mother was never the same after that. She was so depressed and wouldn’t eat. She would work, come home and go to bed. She eventually committed suicide by slicing her wrists.”

Ciara gasped in horror. How could one person survive so much heartache?!

“That is so horrible Ksenia! I’m so sorry for what happened but how...”

Ksenia stilled her.

“You want to know what causes all this don’t you?”

Ciara nodded.

“After my mom died, I turned to the streets. Not long after that I was caught up in a dark world...a world so evil and vile you wont even believe me if I told you.”

Drugs and prostitution crossed Ciara’s mind and she shuddered, suddenly feeling a chill creeping up her spine.

As if Ksenia read her mind she shook her head.

“Its not what you think either. Its much darker...more dangerous. You wont understand so I’m not going into detail right now. Just as life seemed to be getting at it worst, the professor found me again. He took me home...”

A sigh of relief flooded through Ciara and she smiled.

“Thank goodness! So he wasn’t as bad as I thought! For a moment there I thought he molested you or something.”

Dark shadows danced in her eyes. Fear etched in her irises turning them into a dark shade of midnight.

“He was a bad man, an evil self righteous man.”

Dread settled like cold lead in her stomach.

“He used me. I was nothing but a pawn in his sick game. His experiments were beyond bizarre and cruel.”

She sagged tiredly back against her pillows. Her face seemed much older than her years at that moment.

“I want to explain all this but I can’t. I’ll only chase you away, make you think I’m crazy.”

The dark smudged underneath her eyes was so prominent she looked like death.

“And the scars....did he?”

She nodded.

“Not all of it but yes some of it.”

Tears threatened to spill onto her cheeks.

“Everything seemed hopeless but them I met Richie.”

Her smile broke through like the son through the dark clouds.

“He changed my life. I have Jon and Richie to thank for my life. If it wasn’t for them, I might have been dead by now. “

“Don’s say things like that!” Ciara scooted closer and took the slender girl in her arms, tears now running freely down her cheeks. “Now tell me how your illness fits into all of this.”

“It comes and goes. I never know when it will hit but it has something to do with stress and if my immune systems goes of track, the fever hits bad. This has been the worse in quite a while.”

“And the meds? Did a doctor prescribe it?”

Ksenia’s eyes refused to meet hers.

“Its an old remedy my mother used to use when she got sick like that.”

A lightbulb suddenly flashed in Ciara’s mind.

“Aahh, so this is an inherited thing?”

The look on Ksenia’s face drowned all hope.

“No its not like that. This sickness was forced on us. The things we had to endure brought this along. More than that I can’t say. Please believe me. You wouldn’t understand. You might just think I’m crazy and pack your bags and leave and I need a friend now more than anything. You, Jon and Richie are the most precious things I have and I cant lose any of you.”

Ciara smiled. “I’m not going anywhere and by the looks of those two, they aren’t in a hurry either.”

Ksenia’s face lit up. “Thank you for what you did for me. Richie told me everything. He even told me how scared you were but you stayed and you helped. And Richie, always my night in shining armour.”

How wrong she had been to mistrust Richie! He was a hero. Why they managed to stumble upon the girl was another question but she decided to leave it for another day. There were now even more questions than before but she hoped that someday it all would be revealed.

Two women hugged each other, sharing the moment of elation and pain off the past.

When they eventually pulled back they couldn’t hold back the giggle bubbling from their lips as they looked at each other.

Red, puffy eyes and sniffling noses were so anything but pretty. They each grabbed at a tissue blowing very unladylike into it, bringing yet another series of bubbling laughter from their lips.

“I have a brilliant idea! Why don’t you jump into a nice warm bath and I do you hair for you? What do you think?”

“You would?”

“Of course I will silly! Thats what friends do. We cry together, we play together and we dolly up together. Now scoot on over to the bath. I’ll get everything ready ok?”

That’s just how Richie found them an hour later, two laughing, bright eyed girls.

“Now I do like the sound of womanly laughter in my ears but woooaaaa mama, I do like the sight of a pretty one too!”

“Richie! You’re home!” Ksenia stood up, walking barefoot towards the dark haired mountain.

Long arms welcomed her to his chest, enveloping her completely as she walked willingly into them.

A private moment passed between the couple and Ciara turned away keeping herself busy with packing everything away. How she wished she could feel the unconditional love of a loving, devoted man. Blue eyes loomed in her mind’s eyes and she shook her head as if to clear it.

“Richie! You’re going to mess up my hair!” She smiled as he lowered down for a quick kiss.

“Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll order in. I think it will be ok for you to come and eat in the lounge tonight. You gonna eat with us tonight?”

“I...uuuhhmm.”

“Of course she is!”

“Okies then, the lady has spoken.” Richie laughed and turned away.

“I’ll go while you get dressed just to make sure he doesn’t order unhealthy food. You need to build up your strength.” She smiled as she walked out, closing the door behind her with a definite click.

She found Richie in waiting for her.

“My girl looks so pretty and very happy. Thanks for that.” He was searching her face.

“She deserves to be pampered for all that she’s been through.”

“She told you about her past huh?”

Ciara nodded.

“All of it?”

She shook her head, biting her lip.

A sigh of relief crossed his lips and she frowned.

“What could be so bad that she cant tell me? I’ve heard the worse of it, haven’t I?”

“Honey, trust me. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it or myself. That is what nightmares are made of.”

An ominous sensation swept through her and she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself for protection.

“Your face looks a bit swollen.”

“Gee thanks.” She laughed softly.

“I wasn’t supposed to mention it huh?”

“Nope.”

He came closer and Ciara didn’t for the first time since she has met him, felt the urge to move away.

“I can always offer you a hug. I’m good with that. See this?”, he patted his chest, “best hug cushion around.”

She looked surprised at him but stepped nonetheless willingly into the circle of his arms.

Her face snuggled into his chest. His heart thudded strongly in his chest, his warmth warmed her chilled bones. Oh how glorious to feel human touch again.

“You are such a wonderful person. I’m so glad you came into Ksenia’s life.” Her voice was muffled.

His chest rumbled lightly against her ear and she smiled as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

“Jon has a big part in it too you know. I know you two don’t see eye to eye but he is a good man.”

“So Ksenia says...”

“You don’t fool me honey. The sexual tension between you two is so thick its hard to ignore it.”

Ciara felt her cheeks warmed.

“Give him a chance honey.”

“He’s married.”

“Not for long. She served him with the papers, he signed it without so much as a word.”

“Oh God! He must be heartbroken.”

“He’ll live.”

She moved slightly and his arms slackened.

“Don’t you think Ksenia might get upset if she should walk in on you two clawing at each other?”

Richie and Ciara jumped at the chilly voice drifting from the door.