"What are you doing out here at this time? Don’t you know about the curfew?"
"Yes, sir, I do and I’m sorry," Zoe said quietly.
The soldier looked surprised. Taken aback, he just told her to get going.
Passing the church, Zoe looked up and frowned when she saw that the door was open. She quickly ran up the steps.
The church was dark, the only light coming from the candles burning by the altar. Zoe stopped in the doorway when she noticed that Eva was kneeling in prayer. Not wanting to interrupt her, she stood by a column and waited.
Eva looked up at the image of the crucified Christ. "Lord, I can’t believe that it is Your will to let Father Haralambos drink from this bitter cup." Her voice broke and she faltered. She wiped away the tears. "He’s my father, Lord...I know I was brought here to find him and I know there is a reason that things happen the way they do, but I can’t see how this will benefit anyone. Please, don’t let him die. He has been my one saving grace in this nightmare." She choked on her words.
Tears welled up in Zoe’s eyes as well, her heart going out to Eva.
"Eva…" Zoe called out as she walked down the aisle and knelt beside Eva and took her hand. "Don’t’ cry." She tenderly wiped a tear from Eva’s cheek.
"You’re wet." Eva looked down at the disheveled young woman.
"I am." Zoe shrugged. "I didn’t think God would mind."
***
Father Haralambos hurriedly made his way to the church. He was going to make certain there was nothing left behind that could link Eva to the Resistance. He was sure he didn’t have anything in his office which would incriminate her, but he wanted to double-check. Thanasi had warned him about such things before he left, and about the patrols that would stop him if he were out after dark because of the curfew that was in place. He wondered where Thanasi had disappeared to, but knew there was no use in speculating. Still, it didn’t keep him from worrying about the lad.
Thanasi, God bless him. He means well but he is just too over protective. Besides, he had to make sure things were in order before tomorrow. It was just a short distance from the house to the church. What could happen? Father Haralambos rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. The church doors were slightly ajar and his heart beat faster hoping that the Germans were not inside the office. He looked around and didn’t see any German presence. He was sure that he had told Sister Maria to close the doors when she had finished preparing for Sunday’s service. He shook his head and wearily climbed the steps.
He made his way into the church and stopped. Before the altar, two figures were kneeling, their heads covered. From their silhouettes, he was quite certain he knew who they were. He smiled. "Thank you, Father," he said quietly and crossed himself. He then noticed the trail of mud from the entrance to the altar, shook his head, and made his way out through the front door of the church. He would head into his office from around back.
***
Zoe and Eva rose and slowly made their way out of the church. Eva stopped and saw the muddy trail. "Do you always like to play in the mud?" She teased, making an attempt to get a grin out of Zoe.
"Only when it rains," Zoe replied. They smiled at each other and closed the church doors. They didn’t encounter any patrols on the way back home. They stopped and watched as the car carrying General Rhimes sped off, and then made their way around the house and into the kitchen.
"Oh, my God!" Despina cried out as Zoe tramped the mud from her boots onto the clean kitchen floor. Zoe stood there with a sheepish grin and shrugged. "Get out of here, now! You are—" Despina yelled, but stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Eva follow Zoe inside. "Fraulein Muller, I’m sorry..."
"Sorry." Zoe took off her muddy shoes and threw them out of the kitchen door onto the rear steps. Her once white socks were now a mucky brown color.
A moment later Henry entered the kitchen and stood just inside the doorway glaring at Eva.
"Don’t start," Eva said before her guard had a chance to speak. "I’m fine, just went for a stroll."
Henry shook his head and with a sigh, he turned and walked out of the kitchen.
"Get some hot water prepared for a bath, Despina," Eva requested, ignoring the glare Despina was giving Zoe as they both trudged up the stairs.
Eva ushered Zoe into her bedroom, determined to get the wet and muddy clothes off her before she developed pneumonia. Placing Zoe on the bed as if she were a child, Eva removed her socks and tossed them aside. "What were you doing? Did you run to the next village in the rain?" She asked as she unbuttoned Zoe’s skirt and watched it fall around her bare feet. "I don’t want you to get sick," she scolded.
Zoe tried to unbutton her blouse, but Eva pushed her hand away. "We can’t have you catching a cold after..." She looked up for the first time and saw the sheepish grin on Zoe’s face, "...all, uh, can we?" Not sure how to interpret that expression, Eva stepped to the side and retrieved a blanket.
"This is very romantic, isn’t it?" Zoe’s sense of ironic absurdity was clearly showing. "Somehow I didn’t think it would be quite like this—me being wet, cold, and covered in mud, with Despina yelling at me..." Zoe teased as she tossed her blouse to the floor.
Eva smiled. "You were thinking about it...about me?" She asked, placing the blanket around Zoe’s shoulders.
Zoe blushed and looked away. Eva cupped Zoe’s face and turned it towards her. "You were thinking about me?" She repeated.
"Yes, sometimes."
"Why?"
"You’re not a boy," Zoe replied with a tiny shrug.
"No, I can’t say that I am."
"That’s good because—" Zoe stopped and looked up into Eva’s sparking blue eyes. "—I don’t like boys."
"Oh," Eva whispered. She had resisted her feelings for so long. She had resisted giving into what her heart desired, but her mind rebelled again. Even now she felt the tendrils of fear envelop her mind, but she tried to push them aside. She would pay for what she was about to do but she was going to do it. She didn’t want to get involved with anyone. She had cut herself off and maintained an icy exterior. She had built walls around her heart to prevent anyone from hurting her again and to protect herself from her father. She had managed to stay remote and aloof until she had met this young woman. Zoe had walked in and blithely disassembled the walls she had worked so hard to build. The last few months had been ones of constant pain originating from her thoughts and desires.
Eva and Zoe suddenly found themselves surrounded by the loving arms of the other. Very comfortable with the newfound intimacy, they held on to each other a few moments longer.
"I’ve never been interested in anyone before," Zoe said softly. "Not that way."
"Well, that’s...what did you say?" Eva asked as she realized what Zoe had just said. Eva had thought that she would never hear those words again, had not dared to hope she would.
"I’ve fallen in Heavy Like for you," Zoe said softly but distinctly, looking into Eva’s eyes. "I’ve never felt for anyone the way I feel about you."
"Maybe we..." Eva started hesitantly. She wanted to believe what Zoe was telling her, wanted so much to feel that finally she could love someone. A dull ache was beginning to stir within but she pushed her discomfort away.
"I’m in heavy like for you. I just admitted to you I was new at this and, well, you are just going to have to be patient with me."
"You surprise me," Eva said quietly as she gazed at Zoe, her red hair matted with mud but her eyes shining brightly. Those eyes looked at Eva with emotions that she thought she would never again see directed at her.
"Oh? How so?" Zoe asked.
"When I told you about my lover and then about my uncle..." Eva said slowly. Now, she had to make certain that Zoe knew where they were headed. She owed her that much.
"You’re wondering why I didn’t go running out the door, is that it?"
Eva nodded.
"Why should I run out? You were hurting and you needed a friend so badly," Zoe reminded he
r quietly, looking into Eva’s eyes.
"You are special, very special, to me," Eva quietly said. Cupping Zoe’s face in her hands, she slowly leaned over and pressed her lips to Zoe’s. Gently at first, to explore the sweetness of Zoe. Eva slowly became more assertive as she could feel the excited response from Zoe and sought to quench her desire.
"Oh boy!" Zoe whispered as they parted.
"Good or bad?" Eva asked with a bit of trepidation.
"Oh, good! Better than good!" Zoe exclaimed as they shared another kiss. "Much better than when Tasos kissed me."
Eva looked at Zoe and her brows furrowed together, which caused Zoe to start laughing.
"Are you jealous, Fraulein Muller?" Zoe asked with a grin. "You should stop frowning like that," she said and playfully smoothed the furrow between Eva’s eyes.
"No...I mean...yes...well...when did you kiss Tasos?"
"Let’s see now." Zoe smiled. "I was ten years old and it happened at the back of the chicken coop. Very sloppy kissing." She laughed. "My brother Michael came out and stopped us. He told me that if I kissed a boy I would have a baby."
They both laughed as Zoe continued. "Which I believed, and so I never kissed another one again."
Eva looked down at her own tall frame. "Well, I’m not a boy, so I can’t get you pregnant."
Zoe looked Eva up and down. "You certainly are not a boy."
"I thought you said you didn’t like boys?"
"I kissed him to see what it was like. I didn’t like it." Zoe grinned. "Let me tell you something, Fraulein Muller. You definitely don’t kiss like Tasos."
They looked at each other. Eva frowned. "You know this can be very dangerous for you." The thought of her father laying a hand on Zoe made her heart ache. She could withstand her ‘treatments’ again if she had to, but could not bear for Zoe to suffer because of her.
"For me? What about you?" Zoe asked, wrapping her blanket around Eva.
"He will hurt you if he finds out. I don’t want to see you going through what I’ve been through. You are a very gentle soul, and if it means we can’t take this further—"
"And you are a hard bitten Nazi, right? How do you feel about me?"
"I love you, but because I love you, I don’t want to put you in danger. I don’t want to see you hurting."
Zoe sighed. She reached up and tenderly caressed Eva’s cheek. "You may not have noticed this, but we are in a war. I’m in danger just walking down the street. I can get shot for nothing more than looking at a soldier the wrong way."
"My father—"
"Your father is a psychotic man, who hurt you physically and mentally for loving someone. Father Haralambos told me that when we find love, we accept it. We don’t question it, and we don’t deny it."
"Father Haralambos said that?" Eva asked as her hand went to her temples and massaged them when the throbbing headache began. Her knees started to tremble and she felt a heavy weight bear down on her but she was determined to withstand it.
"Yes, he did. I don’t think he was talking about us, but I do know how I feel about you. My brother Michael described it once as Heavy Like when he was talking about his newest girlfriend." Zoe chuckled. "He said, ‘Zoe, there are three stages when you know it’s right: Like, Heavy Like and Deep Love.’ I’m in the second stage. Heavy Like. When I get to stage three you can shoot me, because I’ll be useless. So I’m in stage two and I think there isn’t any cure to stop it from going to level three." She grinned at Eva. "I don’t want to be cured."
***
What happened next caught Zoe completely by surprise as Eva went to kiss her but almost passed out in her arms. Zoe grabbed hold of her as they both sank to the floor. She lost the blanket and concentrated on Eva, who was sitting on the floor with her long legs brought up to her chest and her head resting on her knees.
"You’re not well, I knew that rain—"
"It’s not that," Eva exclaimed. "Oh, god," she moaned.
Zoe knew what was coming and she quickly looked around the room, spotted the dustbin, and emptied it out before she brought it to Eva. Just as she did so, Eva heaved into the bucket. Zoe could do nothing but hold her, unsure of why Eva had been violently ill for the last few months.
"Go, have your bath," Eva said hoarsely as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"I can’t leave you like this."
"Please go, Zoe."
Zoe didn’t want to leave but she thought Eva didn’t want to be seen being sick—that wasn’t her way. "Alright, but I’ll be quick."
"Uh huh," Eva’s response could barely be heard as she had her head resting on her knees.
Zoe hesitated for a long moment before she leaned in and kissed Eva’s dark head.
"Oh, god," Eva moaned. She let go of her knees and lay down on the floor. She curled into a fetal position and started to sob. Zoe picked up the blanket and left the room.
Chapter Thirty-One
It was cold, dark, and airless. Eva took a deep breath and regretted it as her chest heaved and spasmed. She lay in the hospital bed unable to turn. She had been transferred to the hospital as soon as her back started to heal. This prison had been her world for over three months. She didn’t know whether it was night or day, and after a point, she didn’t care.
Eva’s only means of telling time was by the visits of the nurses. If she knew their names, she didn’t remember them. One particular nurse seemed to delight in injecting her with drugs that made her so sick she would retch until the pains in her chest and stomach made her cry out.
Her nurse told her that a friend was going to visit, but she wasn’t told much else. For the first time in a long time, Eva looked forward to something. She was excited at the possibility that it might be a school friend. Logic didn’t enter her mind to inform her anyone coming here wouldn’t be doing so for a friendly visit.
The door opened once again and Eva flinched from the stark glare as the light was turned on and illuminated the small room.
Men in white coats; she didn’t know their names and didn’t care. Hands grabbed her, so many hands of men in white. She fought back but she couldn’t stop them from strapping her down. Her arms and legs were tied. She tried to move but it was impossible. She cried out in fear and pain but no one cared.
Eva opened her eyes to see her uncle Dieter at the head. He placed his hand on her head and whispered something to her that she could not hear—the only sound she heard was the sound of her heart. It was beating so fast, she thought it would explode out of her chest. A thick black strap kept her head immobile, a thick short bar in her mouth, and then the pain as the current went through her body like fire.
"Noooooooooooo!" Eva screamed and struggled to sit upright. The blankets were wound around her, which caused her to thrash around, believing she was being held down. Her breath came in shallow gasps as she woke from the recurring nightmare. The door was flung open and Zoe ran inside and skidded to a stop when she found Eva doubled over, hyperventilating.
"Hey, it’s okay." Zoe gently placed her arm around Eva’s heaving shoulders. "Breathe into this; it works for me."
Eva breathed in and out of the pillowcase, Zoe’s reassuring hand across her back. Zoe held her for what seemed an eternity but was actually only a few minutes.
Eva put the pillowcase on the floor and slumped back down to realize Zoe was holding her tightly. She turned her head and found tears running down Zoe’s face.
"Sorry..."
"It’s not as if you wanted to do that," Zoe replied as she wiped a tear that tracked down her face. They turned to find Henry at the door. He was wearing his uniform trousers and nothing else. He entered the room without asking and sat on the bed.
"Are you two having a party?" Henry light-heartedly asked as his gaze rested on Eva’s distraught face.
"Nothing to worry about, Henry," Eva replied quietly as she reached out and took his hand.
"I’m going to go down to the kitchen—"
"No, don’t. You can go to
sleep."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, it’s Zoe’s turn for Crazy Eva."
Henry shook his head as he rose. He leaned over to his charge and kissed her on the forehead. "Get some sleep, not so crazy Eva."
"He loves you so much."
"He is my best friend," Eva responded softly, pulling the blanket across her shoulders. She turned and gazed at Zoe, who was sitting meters from her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Zoe asked as she reached to touch Eva. She pulled back when Eva shook her head.
"I..Zoe, don’t touch me."
Zoe frowned. She looked around the room and found a chair to the side. She pulled the chair and sat at the end of the bed waiting for Eva to compose herself.
"Whatever it is, Eva, if you say it out loud, it can’t hurt you anymore.’
Eva gazed into Zoe’s earnest face. "It does, Zo, it does hurt."
"How? How can a nightmare hurt you?"
"You are going to think I’m crazy."
"No, I don’t think you are crazy."
Eva closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, the last vestiges of the nightmare so fresh in her mind. "I was a little younger than you when my mother died and my father took out his anger at me."
"Sadistic bastard. That’s when he struck you with the belt?"
"Yes, but I wish that’s all he did. I was sent to Aiden in Austria. My family owns a spa there and it also has a hospital wing," Eva quietly related. Zoe leaned forward, not touching Eva but close enough to her. "My uncle Dieter—"
"That’s the same one that sent Doctor Slutty, right?"
"Yes. He..ah." Eva stopped talking. "He had a cure for deviancy and I was his prize patient."
"What did they do to you?"
Eva blinked in the semi-darkness and didn’t say anything for a moment. "Do you know what aversion therapy is?"
"No, but I’m going to guess it’s not a good thing. You can’t say the word without flinching."
"Aversion therapy is when they try and change you from a homosexual to a heterosexual."
"A heterosexual is what I’m not," Zoe said, getting Eva to look at her for a moment before a slight smile played on her lips.
In The Blood Of The Greeks (Intertwined Souls Series Book 1) Page 24
