Chiara Rose

cinquantuno

tw - mention of self harm, rape, sexual assault

Chiara's POV

I wake up to the sound of a steady beeping, and it didn't take long for me to figure out where I was. I was in the warehouse, the medical wing of the warehouse. I blink the haziness away from my eyes and find an iv in my left arm, but nothing attached to it. On my other side Tino is sitting in a chair, on his phone. Otherwise, the room is completely empty, not another person in sight.

I go to reach for the water bottle that's sitting next to Tino, but the movement makes down stairs throb, a lot. So much I can't help but let out a hiss of pain as everything that happened earlier today washes over me, I'd love to be able to un wash it. Tino hears me, shock washing over his face as he realises I'm awake, and he quickly clicks into gear.

"Hey, you're awake. How are you feeling?" He quickly asks, and when he realises that I'm reaching for the drink bottle and it suddenly appears in my hand. I quickly skull a few sips, relieving the dryness in my throat.

"I'm fine." I croak, wiggling in the bed to try and get comfy. The fact that I'm wearing a bra becomes very apparent, and very annoying, it feels like it's limiting my ability to breathe.

"You need anything?" He asks, and I don't miss him sending off a text on his phone. He doesn't even look at his phone as he's typing, I hope there weren't any spelling errors in that.

"Um, could you unbuckle my bra please." I murmur, slightly embarrassed that I have to ask my older brother to do that for me. The embarrassment shows, I can feel my cheeks getting hotter by the second. Tino looks awkward for a split second, but is quick to clear his throat and get rid of the awkwardness.

"Yeah, scooch your toosh around for me." He says and I'm quick to do as he asks. He lifts my shirt up just enough, and must see something he doesn't like because he freezes. He's not frozen for long as he clears his throat again, and undoes the clasps. I wiggle the bra off my arms and pull it out from under my shirt, and the instant relief is so good I let out a small sigh.

I go to turn back around and find somewhere to put my bra, but suddenly Tino starts running his fingers through his hair. People playing with my hair is absolutely one of my favourite things ever. I can't help but wonder if he's trying to put me back to sleep, because if he is, he's doing it well. I feel him playing with my hair, and then I hear the snap of a hair tie and the click of a photo being taken.

I shift back to how I was sitting before and a phone is shoved into my face. It's a photo of my hair that has just been done in a near plait at the bottom of my head. I look back up at him, and he's got the proudest smile on his face, like he's just won first place at a competition.

"It looks great, Tino." I says softly, and his smile just gets even bigger.

"Damn right it does, I'm going to rub this in Gi's face forever." He says, and happily slumps back into his chair. I sit back awkwardly and fold my bra so it's sitting nicely in my lap. Tino quickly snatches it out of my lap, and stuffs it into a bag that's been sitting at his feet. Whilst he's down there, he pulls out the book I've reading out and I catch a look of several other books of mine in there as well.

"This is here if you get bored, plus your phone." He says carefully, placing my book and phone on the little table beside my bed. As I look at him now, I realise how reluctant he's being, he's treating me carefully. I hate that.

"Where's Alexei." I ask, seeing if it'll help stop him from being so careful around me. It definitely shocks him, he chokes on his on spit for two seconds before attempting to regain his composure.

"Well, he's currently being held hostage in a cell down stairs." He responds, I can see his brain thinking about what words to say.

"Did anyone touch him?" I ask, and I can see the corner of his mouth twitch.