Thirty-One.

Maria

It isn’t until morning that I hear someone knocking gently at my door. At first, I don’t answer. But whoever is knocking is persistent and doesn’t leave. It can’t be Mikhail, I reason, because he has a key to the room. And I get the feeling that if I don’t answer, things will only go from bad to worse for me.

So, I make my way over to the door and, with a trembling hand, pull it open to reveal a concerned-looking Dominika on the other side.

“Is everything all right, koshka?” she asks when I open the door.

I shake my head without looking directly at Dominika and watch her from the corner of my eye.

She pauses, staring at me intently as if to gauge my response, but I refuse to acknowledge her. Just go away, I think. If she goes away, then I don’t have to deal with whatever the hell else Mikhail plans on doing to me.

But she doesn’t. Instead, she shuts the door gently behind her and walks over to me. I steal another look, and there is concern in her eyes. She gestures at the bed and