Paint the town blue

Chapter XXV

Charles's POV

I woke up around noon, and it took me a moment to realize that I was dressed in clean clothes, covered with a blanket, and there were no chains on my hands anymore. Another time I would've been happy about it, but now...now I feel nothing but fatigue and pain in my leg. I immediately remembered the events of last night and, deciding to check if it was a nightmare, I sat up a little and carefully pulled the blanket off my legs.

"A waking nightmare."

I said quietly to myself when I saw the neatly bandaged leg. Covering my legs with the blanket again, I lay down on my side and sighed heavily. What should I do now? How should I behave now? And how will he behave with me? If I act like nothing has happened, will he believe me? But if I behave coldly and aggressively, what if that other Max comes back and does something worse to me?

Memories of yesterday's Max immediately returned to my head – so evil, cold, arrogant, and ruthless. His cold tone still echoes in my ears, and the unhealthy shine scares me even when I just think about him. Yesterday it really was as if it wasn't him, but someone else. I've never seen him in such a state before, because even in interrogations he wasn't...he wasn't like that.

And how quickly did his behavior change when I screamed in pain? How he literally ran away and started calling someone. Or maybe I just thought he was calling someone, but in fact he was talking to himself? After the blow, he seemed to be scared of what he had done, he was terrified, and no worse than I was, although it was I who was lying and sobbing in pain, not him. I sincerely wanted to believe that he did this only because of his illness, and not because he is actually a cruel sadist. I was the one who pushed him to do this, because if I hadn't decided to run away, then nothing like this would've happened. In the end, it's really my fault, because I saw how annoyed he was in the evening, but I decided on this rash act anyway, so now I'm reaping the fruits of my recklessness. As always, Charles, it's the same as always.

While I was lying and self-flagellating, I heard footsteps outside the door, so I quickly closed my eyes and pretended that I was still asleep. I'm not ready to see him right now, let alone talk to him. Listening, I realized that Max had quietly entered the room, put something on the drawers, then pulled a chair over to the sofa, put something on it and squatted down next to me. I just lay there, closing my eyes and pretending with all my might that I hadn't woken up, although deep down that's exactly what I wanted right now. Just fall asleep and not wake up.

I could feel Max sitting silently next to me for a while and looking at my face, as if suspecting that I was awake, but still not daring to wake me up. Then, gently, not like yesterday, he ran his palm first over my cheek, and then carefully patted my hair.

"Charlie, please forgive me."

He spoke in a barely audible voice, approaching me and lightly touching my temple with his lips, which made me shudder a little. Max sighed heavily, then he got up and quietly left the room, and as soon as the door closed behind him, I opened my eyes again. Does he really not understand what he did yesterday? Or does he understand, so now he's asking for forgiveness? Or is this another manipulation from Verstappen? I don't know what to believe in.

I looked at what Max had brought - a small tray with food, a mug of still hot tea and some pills. I didn't feel like eating at all, but I understood that if I needed strength, then I had to eat. But what do I need these powers for? After all, I'm unlikely to be able to escape from Max now, he'll definitely be watching me like a vulture watching its prey.

For a while I just lay there and watched a trickle of steam rise from the mug, and only when it became barely noticeable did I decide to eat anyway. Carefully taking the sitting position on the couch, I took a mug of tea and took a couple of sips – I wanted to drink much more than I wanted to eat. The taste of tea seemed very familiar to me, but why am I surprised? All herbal teas are similar in their own way.