I grabbed her hand and gently pried her hand off me.
“I’ve told you already, I don’t want anything in return. Please, if you’re hungry? Be my guest and eat.”
“Are you serious?”
I smiled and nod at her. She grabbed the plate on the table and she picked up her 16 oz steak. She brought the medium rare piece of steak to her nose and sniffed it. Then she lift up the steak to my face.
“Bite it.” She said as a little bit of drool escaped from her mouth.
“Bite it?” I asked.
“Yes, bite it and then swallow it.”
“Okay….” I took an awkward bite of her steak, chewed it and then swallowed it.
“This too…” she said as she swiped a bit of mashed potatoes on her other index finger and raised it to my mouth.
“Really?…”I asked as I raised my eyebrows down at her.
“Yes…do it.”
Slowly, I shoved her finger into my mouth and sucked on her finger cleaned while pulling her slim finger out of my mouth.
“Drink this too.” She held her cup of warm water to me and I’d took a sip from it.
“Satisfied?” I asked.
She said yes by eating her portion like a rabid dog.
“If I wanted to hurt you, it would not be through food you know. I don’t like wasting food…For my safety, I asked Sam to not bring any utensils so I hope you don’t min- Hey, slow down or you’re gonna-“
Jane choked on her food and begun having difficulty to breathe. I went behind her and wrapped my arms around her tiny stomach. With one forceful squeeze and pops out the piece of steak that was lodged in her air hole. Jane coughed and grabbed the cup of warm water and chugs it down her throat. She looks at me with her tearful eyes for a moment and went back to eating. She even picked up the piece of meat she spat out on the table and ate it, this time chewing it very well first.
“Uh…you’re welcome?” I said to Jane.
Jane continued eating her food while I went to check on her sister. I laid my hand on her forehead and checked her pulse rates on her neck with my other hand.
“What are you doing?” Jane said as she gave out a loud burp.
“Relax, I’m just checking on her…she has a fever and she needs medicine.”
‘Or she could be infected.’
I walked to the door and knock 4 times. A couple seconds later Sam answered the door.
“Yes Dad?”
“Can you get some cold medicine. The lady has a fever and she probably can’t eat any solid food for now. So can you make her some chicken soup?”
“Right away…”
Jane is sitting next to her sister with her hand on her sister’s forehead as I turned around.
“Why are you doing this? Why are you helping us? We’re nobody to you. We offer nothing in return….tell me why?”
“Well…because I want to…technically it’s me and Sam that wants to help you both.”
“Your wife, you said these clothes belong to her…where is she?”
“She passed away a while ago…there were these two couple who needed help…we helped them and my wife got infected…”
“You know, we could be infected too, so why are you in here with us? You could be infected right now.”
“Someone has to care for you two while you both are in no shape to do it yourselves. It’s a risk I’m welling to take.” I said to Ashtrid even though I know I can’t get infected.
Jane looks at her sister and then back to me.
“My name… is Ashtrid.” Said Jane.
“Ashtrid…huh, lovely.” I said as I noticed Jane only finished half of her food portion.
Twenty minutes later, Sam comes back with some medicine and chicken soup. I’ve retrieved it and locked the door.
“Here, give some of these to her, make sure she takes two pills every 8 hours and hopefully, her fever will die down. It’s passed it’s expiration date but it’s better than nothing. And see if she can drink the chicken soup. Careful with the soup, it’s still hot. It’ll give her energy and will help with her fever.” I said as I handed the bottle of medicine to Ashtrid.
Ashtrid took the bottle and read from it, “Ny…Quill…”
I was surprised Ashtrid could read as she continued reading the information on the bottle.
“Is this real?….”
“Sure is, it worked for Sam for the last two winters…”
“Do you know how rare and valuable this shit is out there?…and you given it to me like it’s…like it’s nothing?”
“If it is as rare and valuable you say it is, then you better give some to your sister because she needs it now.”
Ashtrid didn’t waste no time and took the bottle. She tried to feed her sister with it along with a cup of warm water.
“Hey, Rose I’ve got some candy…”
I watched as Ashtrid put the medicine pills in her sister’s mouth and she swallowed it with water.
“Ew, candy has no taste…”
Ashtrid came back for the soup. Before she went back to her sister with the soup, she lifts up the bowl of soup to me with both her hands. She didn’t say anything, she looks up at me but I knew what she wanted. I blew at the soup and took a sip from the bowl. Ashtrid approved it’s safe for her sister and she walked back carefully to her sister trying not to spill any.
“I got some food for you Rose, it’s soup made with chicken…”
“Ashy….head…hurt…hot…dizzy…” the woman said weakly.
“I know Rose, but you’re gonna have to eat something if you want to get better, okay?”
“Okay…”
I watched as Ashtrid blew at the soup and fed her sister with chicken soup.
“Mmmm….yummy….soup…yummy…”
“I know right? Drink it all up okay? See if you can eat the chicken too, they’re very yummy…”
“Okay…”
I leaned on the table with my arms crossed and watched the whole thing happened.
“Good job Rose, you finished it all. Now get some rest and you’ll feel better soon okay.”
“Okay…Ashy…”
Ashtrid walks to me and set the empty bowl onto the table.
“My sister, her name is Rose and she’s…autistic. She’s twenty four years old but has a mentality of a… younger person. That’s probably why you’re wondering why I told her the medicine was candy, she hates medicine. She’s so vulnerable, that’s why I’m so protected of her. I’m her younger sister but I have to be the bigger sister for her.”
“How old are you anyway? If you don’t mind me asking?”
“I’m old enough to survive if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“No, it’s just that, you look so young but you show so much maturity. You even look younger than my daughter.”
“Then just leave it at that then. Does it matter how old I am?”
“I…I..guess not. I noticed you had some education, that’s really rare in these days, who taught you how to read?”
“My parents…”
“Oh, you have family?…”
“They’re dead…”
“Sorry…”
“You know, I’ve been traveling for almost a half of year with my sister and I’ve never met anyone like you before…”
“…is that good or bad?”
“I don’t know yet…”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Because I don’t think you have what it takes to survive out there. Do what’s necessary to survive.”
“Well that’s why we are here and not out there.”
“So what happens if you were force to go out there and survive? With no weapon to hunt, would you help others like you helped me and my sister when you have nothing to offer? Would you suck someone’s dick to feed your daughter? Would you sell your daughter’s body for a little scraps of food? There’s gonna be a point where you might turn on your daughter and rape her-“
“Dad!….Don’t listen to him!” Sam screams as she pounding on the door.
Ashtrid gave me weird look.
“I… I got carried away. I didn’t mean to offend you or your daughter. I’m very tired and I don’t know why I said that. I’m gonna get some rest. Thank you, for the food and the soup for Rose.” Ashtrid said rubbing her forehead.
“Mmm..yeah see you in the morning Ashtrid.”
I’d open the door and locked the door behind me. Sam was waiting for me while biting her nails.
“I…Uh…I’m gonna call it a night too. Night Sam.”
“Wait…what he said, what happen between us-“ Sam said as she begun walking towards me.
“Stop Sam….I know…goodnight.”
I’d stripped off my lightly damped clothes, washed up with some water and put on some fresh clothes. For some reasons, I wanted to sleep in my clothes tonight. I saw the pink stains on my sheets when I got to my bed. Angrily, I grabbed the sheets and toss it to the corner of the room. The stains had seep through the sheets, there’s some stains barely visible on the bed. I’d replaced the sheets with a spare one but it still felt dirty to me. I couldn’t sleep that night as I was thinking about what I did to Sam. While on my bed, I laid on my side staring at the wall in the dark. Sam snuck into my room later that night and cuddle against me from behind.
“What are you doing in here Sam?…I don’t think you should be in here-”
“I know Dad and I don’t care. I just want to talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Yes there is…I want to get it out in the open….you did not rape me okay? I wanted it, even if I was crying or when I told you to stop. I almost didn’t want to tell you this but…I kind of liked it. It…it definitely was painful at first but as you kept going in my…butt. It started to feel good afterwards. I only pretended it was still hurting because I thought you might’ve stop if you knew…So in a way, it was me that raped you….wait, that didn’t sound any better…”
“….okay, I get it Samantha…now go back to your room”
Sam stayed quiet and didn’t say anything for a couple seconds.
“Alright, goodnight Dad.” Sam said as she kissed my back shoulder and went back to the door.
“Oh I almost forgot. Earlier, I went to the attic to get the winter blankets…I got you one too. I didn’t know if you want it…I’ll leave it here by your side if you get cold.” Sam said as she lay the folded winter blanket next to me and left my room.
I didn’t want Sam to see my tears as they were dripping onto my pillow. That talk may had lifted some guilt off me. I grab the winter blanket and unfold it over my body. Moments later, I drifted to sleep.
I did my daily routine in the morning. It’s still raining, so my chores was just feeding the animals in the barn that day. Sam was still limping as she continues to do her light chores around the house. I told her to take a day off but she wouldn’t listen. I kind of avoided Sam the rest of the day, I couldn’t bare to see her in pain like that. For every step she takes, she reminds me of what I did to her. I brought the girls food and cleaned out the bucket in the basement. Ashtrid wasn’t talkative and I decided to leave her be. Rose’s condition is still the same. I checked the medicine bottle and it looks like Ashtrid has been feeding Rose 2 pills every 8 hours as I instructed.
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