#08 Stay In This Room

Gia twisted the hem of her shirt as the elevator doors opened on the third floor. She had considered various scenarios for why Raven sounded angry, but none of it was helpful; all those guesses only added to her nervousness.

Gia blinked rapidly when she entered the room, which turned out to be nearly pitch dark. However, her eyes quickly adjusted, and she spotted Raven's chair lying next to the large bed.

"Mr. Lindgren?"

Gia approached cautiously, and as her gaze fell on the bed, a small gasp escaped her lips. Raven was groaning with his back arched, gripping his right thigh.

"Raven! What’s wrong?" Gia rushed to the bed without thinking.

"It hurts like hell!" Raven shouted, his eyes staring aimlessly.

"Wait, wait... I can't see! Why is this room so dark?!" Such a large room shouldn’t only have a dim bedside lamp.

*CLAP!* Raven clapped his hands once, and the lights turned on brightly. The room's switch could be activated by a clap.

Gia quickly released her grip on Raven's thigh due to the sudden brightness, and her fingers began examining the right thigh.

"IT HURTS!" Raven yelled in anger as Gia touched one of the muscles in his lower thigh.

"Your muscles are just slightly twisted. Now be quiet and don't move! Let me do my job!"

Gia silenced Raven's whiny shouts with a firm command. If Raven continued to whine, she would find it difficult to concentrate.

Slowly, Gia pressed one of the nerves behind Raven's knee to alleviate the pain. And it seemed to work, as his tense body began to relax. He lay back on the bed, breathing heavily.

"Wait a moment. I'll get my medication and supplies from the room," Gia said.

"No, just have Jasper do it! And don't even think about moving your hand from there."

Raven grabbed the wireless phone beside his pillow and handed it to Gia. Raven didn't want the pain to resurface when Gia removed her hand.

"Sophie, could you ask Jasper to bring my bag from my room? It’s the small black bag with medical supplies. Yes, on the vanity. Thank you, Sophie." Gia placed the phone on the bed, her right hand still firmly pressing a spot just below Raven's knee.

“You tried to move your leg!” It wasn’t a question. Gia knew exactly where Raven’s pain stemmed from. His silence in response to her accusation confirmed her suspicion.

Raven simply didn’t want to admit fault.

KNOCK...KNOCK!

“Come in!” Raven called out. Jasper entered, carrying Gia’s bag.

“Could you hand me the syringe with the blue label on the end?” Gia inquired, reaching out with one hand.

Only one of her hands was free, and she wouldn’t be able to open the bag by herself.

Jasper’s hand moved quickly, sorting through around twenty pre-filled syringes Gia had prepared before coming here.

“Here…” Jasper handed her a syringe still in its sterile plastic wrap. Gia checked the label once more to make sure Jasper had picked the correct medication.

"Cotton and alcohol swabs are located in the right pocket of the bag." Gia pointed to the right side.

“Here…” Jasper found them quickly, as the right pocket held only those two items.

Once everything she needed was laid out on the bed, Gia got to work. Using her mouth, she tore open the plastic wrap around the syringe, rubbed Raven’s skin with alcohol, and injected the medication into his leg—all with one hand.

Slowly, Gia released her pressure on Raven’s leg, and with only a sigh of relief from him it meant the pain had subsided.

“Are you a doctor?” Jasper asked in amazement.

“No. Before becoming a therapist, I was a nurse. That’s why Dr. Stefan allows me to carry emergency medications. If it’s just pain and spasms, I can handle it.”

“That’s cool,” Jasper gave her a thumbs-up.

“It’s nothing special, Jaz. I just gave a pain-relieving injection. Not exactly groundbreaking,” Gia chuckled, amused by the awe in Jasper’s eyes.

“OUT! I didn’t bring you here to flirt with each other.”

Raven’s shout startled Jasper. Annoyed at hearing Gia and Jasper exchanging compliments while his leg was in pain, Jasper quickly bowed and excused himself. Gia also tidied up the bag and the trash that had accumulated on Raven’s bed.

“And where do you think you’re going? I only told Jasper to leave, not you!” Raven snapped, annoyed.

“But my job here is done. Your leg doesn’t hurt anymore, right?” Gia suddenly realized she was alone in the room with Raven. The situation wasn’t exactly conducive to clear thinking.

“And can you guarantee the pain won’t return?”

Gia bit her lip in silence. She didn’t know if the pain would return once the medication wore off. 

She could massage Raven’s leg to realign the twisted muscles, but not now. Raven’s leg had already endured enough strain for one day. Adding more stress might permanently damage the muscle.

“You’ll sleep here!” Raven pointed to the empty space beside him.

“What?... What kind of crazy idea is that?” Gia’s words slipped out, the suggestion sounding like a nightmare.

“If you’re against it, you can sleep on the floor. But you must stay here. I don’t want the trouble of calling you in the middle of the night.” Raven made it clear he wouldn't accept a no.

Gia’s mouth dropped open. Her eyes slowly drifted to Raven’s bed. The bed could comfortably fit five people side by side, but lying next to Raven all night still didn’t seem like a fantastic idea.

“Are you running away from responsibility? You’re the one who caused my leg to end up like this!”

“You’re the one who injured your own leg! Don’t you remember? I told you not to move it for a few days!” Gia argued back.

“Fine. Let’s say I’m at fault tonight. But isn’t it still your responsibility as a nurse to take care of me? And since this isn’t a hospital, I can’t ring a bell to call you. So what am I supposed to do if I need you later tonight? Crawl to your room?”

It was a terrible idea to argue with Raven. He could easily manipulate her objections, and Gia began to feel that perhaps his suggestion to stay close wasn't as unreasonable as it seemed.

Raven’s tactic of appealing to her sense of responsibility was brilliant. Gia was extremely dedicated to her work. She hated the idea of anything tarnishing her performance.

“Isn’t there a sofa or...”

Gia’s voice trailed off as she looked around the vast eighty-square-meter room. The room was nearly empty. Besides the bed Raven occupied, there was no other place for Gia to sleep, like a sofa or chair.

There was only a closet built into the wall, a table that seemed to hold work documents, and a single dining table by the window. That was it. The center of the room was completely empty. 

The unique interior was arranged to suit Raven, who needed to navigate in a wheelchair while blind. The absence of furniture allowed him to move freely without bumping into anything.

The floor! Gia removed her sandals, slowly brushing her feet along the marble floor. Cold. It was autumn, and they were in Sweden. Even with a thick mattress and blankets, her face would probably freeze by morning.

“Are you afraid I’ll do something? Don’t flatter yourself; I’m not interested!” Raven exacerbated the situation by emitting an irritating laugh.

CLAP! Raven clapped once, and the lights went out again.

“You egotistical, arrogant, stone-hearted man!” Gia cursed him in her mind. If he weren’t a blind, paralyzed patient, she might have shouted back. Now, she could only take a deep breath and try to remain patient.

Slowly, Gia approached the bed, pulled back the covers, and slid her body onto the mattress. Raven let out a heavy sigh as Gia settled beside him.

“Sleep! And breathe quieter. You’re too loud!” Raven growled.

If she’d had any nervous anticipation or lingering thoughts about lying beside him, they vanished in an instant. Gia roughly pulled the blanket over herself, turned her back to him, and forced her eyes shut.

Pure anger simmered within her. She knew now more than ever that Raven wasn’t someone who would act kindly. He was a lowly man who had no qualms about seducing his sister’s lover to get his way.

Maybe he was facing divine retribution for all his past wrongs. Gia continued to curse him in her mind, clinging to her resentment just to stay sane.

But a strange feeling crept in as the scent of the bed and blanket enveloped her, tempting her to turn back.