Page 35 of Release Me

“Give me your hand, and I’ll help you in,” I command.

The moment her body connects with the bottom of the tub her eyes close, and an audible breath rushes from between her lips.

“You like that?” I ask. “Is it too hot? Too cold?”

Surprisingly, she shakes her head no, as she bends her knees, bringing her legs close to her body. She secures them in place by wrapping her arms tightly around them, and I notice the hair all over her legs. I’ll teach her how to shave, but that will have to wait for another night.

Once the tub is filled all the way, I cup some of the water in my hands, letting it cascade over her head. The beads drip down her shoulders and back and she relaxes a little more, placing her chin on her knee. Getting a better look at her, I see her back is covered in scars. Some are large, bright red, and angry. Others are smaller and closer to her skin tone. I trace one of them with my fingertip, and she tenses up. Immediately, I pull my hand away and continue with her hair

Once it’s completely saturated, I open the shampoo and squeeze some into the palm of my hand. The sweet scent of coconut fills my nostrils, and I know the moment the smell hits her nose. Her head perks up and she locates the source. Grabbing the bottle from my hands, she lifts it to her nose and inhales.

“Coconut,” I tell her, rubbing my hands together before placing them on her head and massaging the soap into her scalp.

I watch her eyes close once again as she continues to enjoy the smell of the shampoo. I wonder if this is the first time she’s taken a bath. After rinsing the shampoo, I complete the process again with the conditioner. Before letting the water out of the tub, I hand her a washcloth and show her how to use it by pretending I’m washing my own body.

“You want to get everywhere really well, especially under your arms, your boobs, and in between your legs. Okay?” I point to each area as I go, making sure she watches me closely.

“Now you do it.”

I only watch for a moment as she begins running the cloth down her arms, and over the rest of her body. While she busies herself, I grab two towels sit them on the edge of the bathtub.

“Are you all done?”

“Y—yes.”

Reaching through the water, I pull the plug from the drain and stand back up. Grabbing a towel in one hand, I hold my other hand out to her and help her out of the bathtub. I wrap the towel around her head and grab the other one, quickly wrapping it around her frail body.

“Let’s go check out the clothing situation, shall we?”

She follows me into the bedroom, and I open the closet. Entering the walk-in, I turn the light on, and my attention goes to a single rack full of assorted clothing. There is a dresser in the middle of the closet, and I open one of the drawers to find underwear and several different bras have been placed inside. Pulling a pair out, I hold them up assessing whether or not they will fit her. They look to be her size, and I wonder who Dick has in his life that he borrowed these clothes from.

I’m not saying I’d rather be in this sorry excuse for a bra and sweatpants during the rest of my stay, but I sure as shit don’t want to be forced to wear items from the lost and found collection belonging to Dick’s ex-lovers.

“Put these on,” I hand her a pair of underwear and a sports bra.

No sense in forcing her to dress in an uncomfortable underwire just for dinner. She’s probably never even worn a bra before.

I grab a solid three-quarter length, yellow shirt and a pair of black linen pants from the hangers and hand them over as well.

“And these. Do you need help?”

Gabriella takes the shirt and pants back out to the bedroom and places them on the bed. When she drops her towel, I look away out of respect. I really want her to understand her boundaries and privacy. So I’m trying to lead by example.

Jesus… did I really just say that?

Fifteen fucking minutes into my seven-month long stint at Dick’s estate, and I already fucking sound like he does.

Christ.

When I no longer hear the shuffling of fabric moving, I turn around again. Gabriella is fully dressed and waiting for me to tell her the next thing to do.

“Let’s go hang the towels up, then you can wait in my room while I shower, okay?”

She nods her reply this time. I think she does know more than she’s letting on, but I think it’s hidden deep underneath layers of abuse and neglect that have buried her true character for the past eighteen years. If I’m already acting like her fucking doctor, I have no doubt this place can help her come into her own.

ChapterSixteen

RICHARD

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