Crazy owner (4)
Serving a blind master was not easy. In addition, Vincent turned out to be too wary. I was the tenth person he hired since he locked himself in his room. First a servant, then a maid; but most of them did not stay long, quitting or suddenly disappearing.
Apart from the sudden disappearance, I think I know why they didn't last long. The owner was blind, so he was sensitive to all sounds in the world. His hearing was as sharp as glass.
And he didn't leave the bed. With the exception of a few procedures, when he needed it, he remained in bed, especially if someone came into the room.
He also had a bad temper: he destroyed everything I brought, and if I moved even a little, he would curl up into a ball and hide in the sheets.
He behaves like a real cat.
Luckily, I spend very little time with Vincent before the butler arrives. The butler was the same old gentleman who brought me here. He came to Vincent's room once a day, and during this time the two of them seemed to have a rather serious conversation. Vincent was no longer wrapped in sheets, and he was quite serious. Every time I sneaked a look at him, I thought: maybe he was always so serious and passionate before?
Then what was the point of hiring me?
The plate flew past my face and crashed against the wall. I'm tired of looking around to see the pieces.
- Get out.
I sighed heavily and closed my eyes. Vincent flinched at the sound, but his gaze remained motionless.
- Looks like you don't like me.
“Yeah, I don’t like you at all, so get out.”
– Tell me what exactly you don’t like, and I’ll fix it.
– I don’t like absolutely everything.
This is not good.
- I will do everything in my power to please you.
“You don’t have to do this, just get out of my sight.”
Oh, how I want to hit him!
I looked at the back of his head. Can I just punch him just once?..
-What are you thinking about?
-...
– Don’t even think about it. I'll kill you.
How sensitive he is. I shrugged and turned away to clean up the broken plates.
What a waste of money. If I sold them on the market, I would get a good price for them. I collected the broken dishes with a feeling of regret. Okay, let's put off eating for now and first put the bed linen in order.
- Sir, the bed linen needs to be changed.
- Don't come near me.
-You just need to move a little...
I went up to him to take off the blanket. Suddenly something flew up and hit me in the forehead. The force of the blow knocked me off balance for a moment. When I staggered to my feet, I saw what had hit me in the forehead. It was a table clock.
I picked them up, looked at them and realized that they were broken and the hour hand had stopped. I was shocked.
– If you don’t like it, you can say so, but why throw things around...
- What, are you afraid of getting hurt? Nobody cares about you, even if you die.
I took my eyes off the table clock and looked at him. Vincent rarely showed his face. He was emotionless, even when he was throwing objects and putting people in danger. No, he's definitely laughing at me.
“You can see right through people like you.” Fraudsters who are ready to do anything for money. Filthy, gold-mad creatures. I wonder if such people are afraid of death? You're here for the money, too, because otherwise you wouldn't be so quick to accept an offer from a stranger you've never met.
-...
– Why do you think they hired you? Because you're good at what you do? Because you can be trusted? No, nothing like that. Only because they can get rid of you without consequences. If you turn out to be useful enough, you will live, but if I get tired of you, no one will mind me killing you.
His words pierced my chest like a knife blade. They penetrated to the very heart. How can he be so rude and heartless? How can someone say such cruel things? However, I didn't cry because these were familiar words.
It's easy to blame. It’s easy to blame another person, as if he alone is to blame for all your troubles, and feel comfortable doing so. People have done this to me before. Sometimes my father behaved this way, sometimes my only sister. By judging me, they comforted their own ego. Only in this did they see the value of my existence.
That's why it didn't hurt me. It didn't hurt any more than if my father had beaten me.
Of course, I still felt bad.
– It was mean of you.
- What?
- For such a great gentleman, you are still dirty.
After I said the words, Vincent's face flushed. His gaze, directed into emptiness, looked pitiful.
He clenched his teeth and hissed.
- You, watch your language.
– Although there is something in which you are right. Yes, I'm really crazy about money.
-What?
“Like you said, I could die at any moment and no one would even notice.” If I suddenly disappear, they won’t look for me. You can kill me right now - I won’t resist. I'm not afraid of this at all. If I disgust you so much, then kill me. I would appreciate it if you would do this right away. Oh, and if I die, you can rest assured that no one will come to avenge me. You have found a truly convenient person.
-...
He finally shut up. For a moment, surprise was reflected in his eyes, looking into emptiness. It didn't last long. When Paula approached him again, he immediately became wary.
- So, sir.
Vincent groped around with his hands, as if looking for something to throw at me, but I didn’t worry. He has nothing left to throw anyway. Taking advantage of his confusion, I stopped in front of the bed.
- I'm sorry.
I grabbed the sheets and pulled them over myself.
Vincent groaned, rolled over onto his back, and fell off the bed with a loud thud.
- What the hell!
“I'm trying to change the sheets, sir.”
He was about to answer something, but I just pushed him away and pulled the remaining sheets off the bed. And I replaced them with fresh ones, pretending that I didn’t notice his indignant exclamations.
Then I sat on the floor in front of him and undid the buttons of his pajamas. Vincent noticed this and put out his hand to stop me. I deftly grabbed his hand, lowered it and pressed it to the floor with my knee.
- What are you doing? Don't touch me!
- Why? You have a very beautiful body.
- What?
Stunned for a moment, he squirmed and struggled as I unbuttoned his pajamas and tried to pull them off him. He was stronger than I expected, and losing my balance, I fell to the floor.
With one hand free, he grabbed me by the hair and pushed me straight down. But I continued to resist. Even though my head was thrown back, I still didn’t let go of my pajamas. I pulled it towards me with all my strength, dragging Vincent himself along with his pajamas. Chaos reigned.
In the midst of our struggle, he let his guard down for a moment, and I finally pulled off his shirt and threw a new one over his shoulders.
I was told that he went blind a year ago. And for six months now he has eaten almost nothing.
He was too thin.
There was not a drop of flesh left on his naked body.
The skin was tight against his ribs, so they protruded clearly. He lost a lot of muscle. When he was wearing clothes, the lack of defined muscles, considering his physique, looked good. But now, naked, he looked pathetic. Sometimes when I grabbed his hand, the dryness of the skin made me think it was just a bone. I couldn't believe it was possible to be so thin. And here and there small bruises were visible on his body.
Up close, his face looked very sunken and pale. There were deep black circles under the eyes. His dull emerald eyes were unfocused, and a heavy sigh escaped from under his cracked lips.
It feels like it will break if you touch it.
Although it is obvious that he is a grown man, it is not felt at all.
I felt sick.
Without realizing it, I stroked his cheek. He shuddered and turned his head away from my hand. He seems uncomfortable. I looked away.
Pulling my hand back, I also lifted my knee off his arm and pushed his shoulders back a little. As soon as his body went limp, I took off his pants. He kept his underwear with him.
I got up, put away my dirty pajamas and took fresh ones from the closet. He wrapped his arms around his thin body and cowered, his spine sticking out unsightly.
“I can’t help it if you want to continue wearing your stinking clothes, but as my lord, I hope you will understand my deep desire to keep you clean at all times.” And I would also appreciate it if you would stretch out your arms so that I can put new clothes on you.
- I'll kill you.
- Yes, yes, as you say. Please keep your arms extended.
I grabbed his thin hand. He tried to pull it away, but his hands were too weak. I had no idea that he was really so weak. Life in captivity leaves its mark.
Instead of making him raise his hands, I wrapped a new nightgown around his wrist. He hesitated and began to pull on his pajamas, clearly embarrassed by the fact that he was naked. I pretended not to notice and smoothed the hem to make it easier for him to put it on.
-Here are your trousers and underwear.
-...
There was no answer. However, I wasn’t expecting him.
I shoved the remaining clothes into his hands and headed towards the bed. After removing the pillowcase, I replaced it with a new one and put on a fresh sheet.
Looking at the clean bed, I felt proud of myself, and then looked back at Vincent. Fortunately, he had already put on his trousers.
I approached it, pleased with its cleanliness. Vincent felt the floor and tried to get up. I extended my hand to help him up, but he pushed me away and then walked hesitantly towards his bed.
So stubborn.
- Sir, the bed is to the right.
- Shut up.
When he turned to the right, I picked up the clothes he had left behind. But why did the clean underwear remain on the floor?
- Sir, you need to change your underwear.
Vincent had already climbed onto the bed when I said this. I was speechless when I saw him curled up in the corner, wrapped from head to toe in fresh sheets. I sniffed him just in case, and as expected, he smelled bad.
Could it be that...?
-You haven’t changed your underwear?
- Get out.
- No, you can’t be so dirty, sir. I'm sorry...
As soon as I bent over, the sheet flew up and something appeared from under it.
It was the gun that Vincent put to my forehead.
I froze in place, afraid that he would pull the trigger.