The Bitter Truth

Chapter 10 ~ Warm

 Marcus's look of complete shock and realization was short-lived. His eyes darted around for a private place for her to relieve herself, but nowhere—and he meant nowhere—was suitable.

Mickey, however, stood there staring at Saija with the same bewildered expression as Marcus previously wore.

As Marcus noticed him staring, his stomach twisted.

He leaned in close, whispering harshly, "If ya know what's good for ya, keep that trap shut and go back to work!"

Mickey eyed him up and down, sparing one last glance at Saija, and walked away. His last words over his shoulder were like a gust of icy air: "She just soiled herself."

In an instant, Marcus glanced down, taking in the pitiful sight before him. She couldn't hold it any longer, and her pants were soaked through, attracting all the dust. Silent tears were spilling from her eyes. He could only imagine how uncomfortable this meant the rest of the day would be.

Imma fuckin' kill Ronny!

He kneeled down, speaking much softer than before, "I'm sorry, kid... Ya fool of a brother didn't tell me ya was a filly."

Her eyes were downcast, tears slipping down her dirty face and absorbing into her bandana.

Marcus didn't know what to do; surely she couldn't keep working like this. He needed to take her back to Ronny, but he also had a job to finish, and miners were starting to line up at his cart with their rusnine findings.

With a gentle squeeze on her shoulder, he walked back to scale the findings, leaving a tragic and drenched Saija to sulk.

She stood there, her breathing shallow and rapid as she tried to compose herself. The unrelenting gaze of onlookers from all directions was overwhelming. The world seemed to spin and distort before her eyes as if the faces around her were shifting and contorting in a disorienting display. A sense of suffocating claustrophobia tightened its grip on her. Everyone could see the mess she made; everyone was watching. The already clustered, suffocating mine took a more drastic turn.

She suddenly found herself sprinting full force, away from the eyes, away from the dust, away from the mess.

That was until she came smack down, face-planting into a formidable figure; she rebounded off his body and landed on her rump in the dirt.

As her eyes shifted upward, a calmness overtook her beating heart. It was Klaus. Someone Ronny said she could trust. 

"Young lady...oh my soul, Are you alright?" he asked, kneeling down and taking her bitty hands on his own. "I come to fetch you... why are you soaked?—" he didn't need to finish his question. He quickly realized what it was from its path in her pants and the all-too-familiar odor.

"Scheiße," he cursed under his breath, looking around and spotting Marcus sprinting over.

"Fuck, kid!" Marcus scolded angrily and reached for her arm to yank her back to the cart. "Arliss will surely kill me if I lose ya!"

"It's alright," Klaus interjected, gripping her other arm, treating a tug-of-war of her body. "Yous can tell Arliss I got her."

Marcus's eyes widened, "Her? Ya know, too?"

Klaus nodded, glancing around. "Ja..." then took her hand and led her away. 

***

 The walk back to the dormitory was uncomfortable. Saija walked with a wide-hipped stance, but despite her best efforts, a rash was already forming.

Klaus glanced down, noticing the dirt caking onto her trousers. His heart broke for her.

"I talk with Ronny... we think of somethin' better," he offered, and she peeked up at him with hope in her eyes.

As they made it inside the dormitory, Klaus realized something: This was one of the few chances she would get to shower with privacy since everyone was at work. But they would have to be fast; who knew if someone would straggle back for rest.

"Get clothes! Quick!" he ordered with a gentle push towards her cot. She took off running as best she could while trying to keep her thighs from touching and grabbed her bag.

"Bathe, be snappy bout it!" he ordered, now pushing her towards the bathroom. As she darted inside he added, "Then meet me in kitchen!"

The door closed behind her, and he ventured towards the kitchen door, but something settled heavily on his conscience. He couldn't push himself to leave the door. The fear of someone coming in with his back turned was just too high a risk to take. As much as he needed to start lunch, his protective intuition was too powerful.

"Damnit, Ronny!" he hissed, leaned his back against the wall by the door, and waited. 

 Luckily, she wisely followed his advice and hurried through her shower. When she reappeared in fresh attire, her face was beaming with joy—actually, she looked...thrilled. A huge smile had overtaken her usual gloomy countenance.

Her transformation took him aback. "Feelin' happy?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

She nodded, her radiant face conveying her delight. Without a word, she grabbed his hand, surprising him, as she led him into the bathroom. 

Inside, she gestured toward the open showerheads on the far wall, then fake shivered, rubbing her shoulders shaking, and made a "Burr" sound as if to indicate the cold. What really shocked him was that after the whole performance, she shook her head with content on her face.

"What you tryin' to say?" he asked, utterly astonished.

Her smile turned into a grimace as she realized he didn't understand. She walked over to the damp wall and, using her finger, wrote the word "warm" in the condensation.

"Warm?" he questioned. "The water?"

She nodded, her cheeky grin returning.

"You mean to tell me you ain't used to warm water?"

She shook her head, and he felt a pang of sorrow.

"That orphanage ain't got warm water?" he exclaimed incredulously.

A point to the showerhead and a shake of her head confirmed that the showers didn't have warm water.

Klaus couldn't believe it. Even the prisons had warm water, and he had heard in the papers that a significant amount of funding was being directed to those orphanages. The very purpose of these institutions was to help improve the lives of children from poverty-stricken areas and clean up the streets, much like when Ronny was a child.

Where was all that funding going?