Only the Strongest Survive (19 page)

Damn that John! How could he leave me alone in this
hole?
She looked at the clock on the
computer.
He said “Soon,
should be back by three o’clock at the latest.”

He had left
her a few sandwiches and some fruit juice in case she got hungry,
which had led her to assume he wouldn
’t
be back for lunch.
He’s a
selfish pig, like all men.

Although she
hated him, she couldn
’t imagine being
completely alone in that house and badly needed company,
irrespective of what had happened.

Maybe it’s not all his fault,
she
thought.
He had a strange
upbringing. It’s Ronald’s fault. No, they’re both guilty. They
should be put in jail for the rest of their lives.

Angrily she
kept glancing at the chamber pot
… she
needed the toilet. Until then she had not needed to use it.
If he doesn’t come soon, I’ll have no
choice.
Her face grimaced at the thought
and she decided to suffer a bit longer and delved into her book
again.

*

“I see you had a good time while I was stuck
in this hole.”

He shuffled awkwardly and she noticed he was
drunk.

“
Sorry,
Emely, I had
…” He was going to
apologize, but then realized that he was being too soft, so he
immediately changed his voice. “You go to the bathroom while I fix
you some food and then you’ll eat it in your room.
Understood?”

“Yes,” she said with defiance in her
voice.

*

The next day
they barely spoke. Emely only
told him
the essentials: “Buy a hundred lots of KMM shares at three hundred
and sixty dollars, sell twenty-five lots of Royal Simp shares at
one thousand two hundred and sixty dollars, immediately sell all
the Mico Chips bonds,” etc. She was angry and wanted John to know
it.

He noticed
that she was sulking, but he didn’t care and let her
brood.

Damn idiot. Sitting here like a security
guard,
she
thought.

*

The hours
dragged on
as they could barely wait for
trading to close for the day. When it did, John jumped up as if on
springs and disappeared without a word.

Let him go and never come back
,
she thought.

John
interpreted her attitude as superior and
as if she were the only one in the whole world.

*

In the
afternoon, John
took a nap. When he woke
up, he was full of energy and went into the woods. He walked on the
dead leaves, enjoying the feeling of his feet sinking into the soft
earth. His eyes rested on the green pine trees. Swallows joyfully
played above the trees, twittering pleasantly. It was a truly
glorious day.

He inhaled
the forest air, trying to keep it in his lungs for as long as
possible. Overflowing with life, he wanted to be able to share all
these pleasures with someone. He thought of Emely.
In the late afternoon I could invite
her for a short walk. It would do her good and Ronald definitely
wouldn’t come at that time.
He took
another deep breath so that his nostrils made a loud whistling
noise.

No, I won’t invite her.
He
remembered the argument the day before.
Let her rot in her room, I don’t need her.

He decided to
prolong the walk into a longer wander and went deeper into the
woods. The f
arther he went, the less
light there was. The trees were so close together that only a few
rays of sunshine could reach the ground. And the farther he went,
the more aware he became of just how lonely he was.

M
ushrooms grew here and there and
he looked at their various colors and shapes.
This is a paradise for mushroom
pickers.

Hardly anyone
strayed into this part of the woods
, as
those not familiar with them would get lost. There were no roads
along which you could drive in an ordinary car. All the tree roots
and other obstacles could only be overcome by an off-road
vehicle.

We
could pick mushrooms together
.
About half an hour’s
walk from here there’s a beautiful waterfall above a small pond. We
could swim there together.
He jumped up
in joy a few times like a child.
And then we could lie together in the sun to dry
off.

Over two
hours went by
, when he finally decided to
go back. The long walk and all the fresh air made a hole in his
stomach.
I’ve got to cook some
dinner for us.

*

Emely was
so
annoyed after John had left that she
couldn’t go to sleep for her usual afternoon nap.

She was
looking at various financial magazines, but her thoughts were
elsewhere.
Let him go to hell,
that idiot.
She felt like a hot volcano
that was unable to erupt. She decided not to talk to John anymore,
but to ignore him in order to indicate that he couldn’t treat her
like that.
Even though I’m a
prisoner, I deserve a certain amount of respect. Letting me wait
all day in this room really is despicable. No normal person would
be able to take it.

When it was
five o’clock, she looked at her watch again.
Where is he? I’ll go crazy in this
hole.

She began
pacing up and down out of sheer rage and then she did a few squats.
Lying down on her stomach, she did fifteen pushups without
supporting herself on her knees.
Next she
did a headstand. While in this awkward position, she looked at the
time and collapsed with anger. When she heard noises in the house,
she felt like banging on the door.

*

The door
opened an hour later.
Emely was sitting
on her chair, perfectly calm, and slowly looked up at him,
pretending to be in the middle of some important work. But inside
she was about to explode.

“
You must be
hungry,” he said with a smile. “Let’s go to the dining
room.”

She looked at
him from behind, observing his way of walking.
Like a cowboy. What a redneck.
Then she caught herself watching his behind. As usual he
was wearing a pair of jeans and a simple white T-shirt.

She jumped up and followed him down the
corridor that led to the stairs, looking everywhere but at him,
still brewing her anger.

Due to
carelessness she stepped awkwardly on the sixth step and lost her
balance. She squealed and wav
ed her arms,
yelling, “I’m falling!”

John turned within a split second and caught
her just in time. “Got you.”

Her face was
bright-red. They were so close she could smell the soap on his
body. She trembled from head to toe, then immediately straightened
up, looking at the floor like a little girl. She didn’t want him to
see the embarrassment on her face.

“Will you manage or shall I carry you to the
dining room?” he said jokingly.

“Yes, I’ll manage,” she told him, still
looking down. She was angry at herself for having been
careless.

When they
reached the top of the stairs she went to the bathroom, feeling
upset with herself. Her heartbeat had not slowed down yet and the
red flush on her cheeks was still there. If no one could hear her,
she would have screamed.

In the
bathroom, she sniffed all the shampoos and soaps, and finally found
the shower gel that John must have used. She squeezed the bottle
and inhaled the scent, then decided to use it too.

After a hot
shower she felt much better and the unpleasant tension inside her
went away. It would be pointless if she continued sulking; it would
spoil the pleasant atmosphere. As if nothing had happened, she sat
at the table and closed her eyes in order to guess only with the
help of her nose what was on the table.

“I had a walk in the woods today,” John
said.

“Oh, yes?”

“It was very nice.” He looked down, feeling
awkward. “If you want, you could come with me sometime.”

She
couldn
’t believe her ears. Only that
morning he had been insolent and bristly, and now he was inviting
her for a walk. She thought about the trees surrounding the house.
She had been in that basement for a few weeks now and a thought of
seeing the sun, the sky, and everything else seemed almost like a
fairy tale. Until now all she had been able to do was look out the
window, but even that was covered in thick net curtains.

“It must be beautiful at this time of year,”
she said.

“
It’s
charming. Flowers competing in beauty, even the bushes are
flowering and the treetops are at their thickest. Not far away
there’s a small waterfall, which ….” He wanted to tell her about
his idea of swimming, but changed his mind. If he proposed that,
she’d definitely get the wrong idea of what he meant.

“I’m sure to like it.”

“Let’s have a drink.”

The evening
was pleasant. They had their fill of food and later talked on the
terrace until nearly midnight. Emely was overjoyed to be able to
stay out in the fresh air. By allowing her to be with him on the
terrace, John had made her feel happier than if he had given her a
diamond ring. While they were talking, they could hear the calls of
nocturnal animals in the woods, observe moths flying into the
light, and spot shooting stars in the clear skies. The evening
seemed almost magical to Emely. Never before had she enjoyed
observing nature and the night skies quite so much.

If John had
not suggested retiring, she would have never gone in. This was the
first evening she went to bed in a good mood. Until now she had
either cried or felt depressed. She was sure that the outside alarm
would wake her in a few minutes, so she read for a while to
postpone falling asleep.

*

John was
overflowing with energy. Even though it was already after midnight,
he felt like going into town and enhancing the evening even further
with one of the women. He got his cell phone and put it to his
ear
, when he thought,
I’m so tired in the morning, after a night
out.

Slowly and
deep in thought he set off for his room. He did feel slightly
sleepy. When he covered himself, his thoughts were still with
Emely. He remembered how he had caught her on the stairs and held
her close. She seemed so fragile and sensitive. Closing his eyes,
he tried to relive those moments. It had all happened within a few
seconds, but he could remember every detail. Her blue eyes, wide
open from fear, her sensuous lips parted, her long hair flying all
over due to the swift movement and then immediately rearranging
itself into its original shape. There were many other details he
could describe.
The incident had lasted
only a few moments, but he knew that they would always remain in
slow motion in his memory.

Chapter
11

_______________________

Blake Crouse
came home exhausted as usual and hungry to boot. His stomach, which
had recently regularly been ignored, was loudly drawing his
attention to its needs. So he opened the fridge only to find that
there wasn’t much in it: some old bread, butter, yogurt, and eggs.
Not feeling like going out again, he decided to boil some
eggs.

After he
satisfied his hunger, he lay down on his favorite couch and
switched on the television. Without his being aware of it, his
thoughts focused on Emely. Remembering the dance where he had seen
her for the first time after she became an adult brought a smile to
his face.

*

His eyes
followed her as she twirled
in her high
heels like a ballet dancer. The tight dark-blue dress showed off
her supple and well-toned body that floated around the dance hall,
taking people’s breath away. Everyone was looking at her, even
those who pretended that they weren’t.

This was at
the Garden Ball in Miami, organized every year by the businessman
George Baldwin. Only the most prestigious were invited. Emely
Donnovan didn
’t belong among them since
her company only had eight employees at the time. But she was lucky
enough to have managed to persuade Baldwin’s company, LMK, to
invest some of its capital in her company. Within a few months she
had increased its value by over 10 percent, which made Baldwin
decide to increase his investment. When he talked to Emely, he
liked her confident and elegant approach so much that he couldn’t
resist inviting her to the ball. Emely was overjoyed, and aware
this would be an excellent opportunity to meet the most influential
people.

“You’re an excellent dancer,” her partner
whispered in her ear. He was the son of the well-known
industrialist Mike Gold.

“That can’t be true. I’ve only just finished
having dancing lessons.”

“Then you must recommend your teacher to me.
Everyone is looking at us. At you, to be precise.”