Reyna Feldman, a twenty year old Jewish girl from the tiniest of villages in France, is on the run. Captured by German soldiers while trying to escape over the border, she's taken to an internment camp in Freiburg, Germany, where she meets SS Philli...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Happy 4th everybody!! I've been really motivated to write over the past few days so here's another shorter chap for y'all! This chapter is much lighter than the previous two but there are some minor discussions of dealing with SA.. proceed with caution!
Reyna climbed down the stairs, carefully tiptoeing down each step so they wouldn't creak. Phillip was probably making rounds around the camp, but on the off chance he was in his study, she didn't want him to hear her leave.
Rounding the corner into the hall, she glanced into the kitchen. Mrs. Aberman was nowhere in sight, breakfast preparations having concluded hours ago. Good, she thought, as she stepped inside. She had no appetite, but had been forcing herself to eat nonetheless. Picking up a leftover loaf of bread from the counter, she tore a piece from it and took a bite. After she had finished the piece, she wiped her hands on the front of her dress and exited the kitchen.
It had been two days since Lieutenant Muller had attacked her in the study. She'd spent all of her time since then in the guest room Phillip had brought her to that night, all of her meals being served to her by Mrs. Aberman.
The whole house seemed to be treating her with kid gloves. The few times she'd seen Phillip, he'd acted as though a single look might cause her to burst into flames, and any other interaction had been much the same.
She hated it. Hated that everyone knew what had happened, and hated that everyone was treating her differently because of it.
As she entered the hallway, her eyes fell on Luca, who had entered through the front door, carrying a rather large box. Breezing past him, she made her way towards the door without a word.
"Where are you going?" Luca asked, sitting the box down on the floor.
"To the sorting sheds," She called behind her.
"You should be resting," He argued.
"I'm tired of resting ... I can't lie in bed all day." She shook her head, turning on her heel to face him. "I need to do something ... I need to work." She continued on towards the door, ignoring Luca's objections.
"Reyna," He grabbed her arm, gently restraining her. She flinched away from his touch.
She felt ice cold inside. Yet, at the same time, as though she might burn up from the heat that lingered where Lieutenant Muller's hands had been, as if each touch had left a burn that was still raw, not yet healed. She was tired ... tired of drowning in her own thoughts and self pity. She needed to get out of that damned room ... needed to resume some sense of normalcy or the crushing weight of what had happened would suffocate her. She was sure of it.
Luca's eyes scanned over her expression, his gaze fixed on her as though he was looking at a wounded animal in need of being put down.
"Don't look at me like that," She said grimly. Averting her eyes, fresh waves of shame washed over her, and she felt as though she might cry, though she was sure no tears would come. Those had ceased falling some time ago.
"What do you mean?" He asked, though he arranged his face into a more neutral expression.
"You're looking at me as though I'm broken."
"You are broken," He replied matter-of-factly. "Everyone here is. You can either admit that to yourself or go on pretending that you're okay."
"What if I'd rather pretend?" She asked, stealing a glance at him. His eyes were sad again, his mouth turned down into a subtle frown.
"It'll rip you apart."
"What if I already am?" She asked, but it hadn't been a question. Lieutenant Muller had succeeded in inflicting the damage he intended to. He had torn her apart at the seams and there was no hope of being mended. She would never be the same again.
"You're not," He said simply. "Brokenness doesn't mean you're destroyed."
She met his gaze, her eyes burning with the tears that wouldn't fall. "The girl I was before ... She's gone."
"I would expect so," He nodded. "A horrible thing happened to you," He said after they had stood in silence for a moment. "And if you need a friend, I'm here."
Reaching out apprehensively, he touched her again. She didn't flinch away this time, the suffocating feeling within her chest lifting the tiniest bit as he squeezed her arm lightly.
"Come on," He said, releasing her arm and bending over, picking up the box. "I could use some help. If I don't get these potatoes unloaded into the cellar Mrs. Aberman will have my head ... And there's about a dozen more crates where this one came from."
Glancing at the door one last time, she nodded silently, following Luca down the hallway towards the cellar.
"Get started unloading and I'll bring the rest in," He said, once they had descended the steps into the cellar.
"Thank you," She muttered softly.
His eyes lingered on her for a moment, and then he nodded a silent 'you're welcome,' before climbing the stairs.
———————————————————— Let me know what you guys think!!
