Torrential Love

Chapter Seven

~DUNCAN~

Yael clutched onto the red spot on her shirt as she bent over in pain. Worry struck him and he immediately rushed to his drawers. He removed the first aid kit from a cabinet and came over to her bedside to drop it onto the space beside her. She glanced at it and winced when the movement caused her pain. He opened the box and reached his hand towards the area on her chest where it seemed to hurt, but she smacked his hand away.

He looked at her in frustration, and she glared back at him. Then she pointed behind him at the door. She collected the box into her lap and pointed at the door again. He sighed and nodded, then made his way out of the house. When he was in his garden again, her thoughts invaded his mind.

She was undressing herself and he knew where it hurt. There were wounds she could feel around her chest, her stomach and her back. Pictures of her being thrashed about in the deck of the ship came to her mind and he saw her being flung around like a rag doll as the waves crashed onto the ship, throwing it around.

She bandaged herself up well, but as she did so, he waited for the expected to happen. How was she going to tend to the wound which was on her back? It was clearly out of her reach, and she could've used his help, but she was stubborn. He understood completely though; she was fresh out of a shipwreck and now in a strange man's home, and she could not leave. She was completely at his mercy, and it was understandable that she was afraid. If he were her, he would feel the same way.

As time went on, he saw her tending to the wound on her back. She tried to paste a plaster over it, but did it poorly. She winced as she imagined herself removing the adhesive from her wound, but she dressed herself again and thought about him. She was looking at the door and coming up with many ways to call him back. She tried to call his name, but he could not hear it from his garden. He left the garden and went back into his home and saw her watching him closely as she closed the top of the first aid kit.

He tried to appear as harmless as he could, but fear was still dancing around in her mind. She was looking away, but her mind was firmly on him and every movement he made.

She was going to have to learn how to trust him with time; he thought to himself.

Worried, he walked to his kitchen and placed a pot on the stove. He could see his back clearly in her mind and he didn't turn around to regard her or talk to her. He put some rice into the pot and filled it with water. As the porridge cooked, he added some minced meat and pickled lettuce into the pot. When it was ready, he poured it into a bowl. He picked the bowl up and walked to the side of the bed.

Her eyes were glued to the bowl of porridge and he could tell from her thoughts that she was ravenous. He sat at the edge of the bed and picked up the spoon, collecting some porridge into it. She observed him warily as he blew onto the spoon to cool it down. The suspicion in her mind loosened, and the fear left her gradually. Her back which had gone up straight before slumped back down to a restful position and she opened her mouth.

Blowing more on the spoon, he brought it to her mouth and her lips closed around the spoon. She ate from it and swallowed the porridge. Her eyes lit up as images of the glorious porridge popped up in her mind and he chuckled a little. He took another spoonful of porridge, blew on it and brought it to her mouth again. She gulped it down, and her mouth blew puffs of hot air from the steaming porridge. He laughed and a small smile touched her lips.

She looked at him, and the tension in her mind eased. She relaxed and continued to eat as he fed her. Before long, he reached the bottom of the bowl and she sighed in happiness, full from the meal. She put her back against the bedrest and rubbed her belly. She was pleased, and he liked that.

He took the bowl with him to the sink and turned the faucet on, beginning to wash the bowl and spoon up before he returned it to the rack. His mind drifted off to Lucy, and he was considering ringing her up again to see when she would be back when he heard a cry coming from behind him.

It came from Yael.