Noemie's body trembled under the nurse's touch, her bruised skin mottled with angry shades of violet, crimson, and deep blue. Every touch from the gauze and salve felt like fire on an already burning body. Her arms and legs bore the cruel evidence of repeated violence, and her ribs ached with every shallow breath. Once revered for her beauty, Noemie's figure now seemed fragile—like a broken statue, carved and then desecrated.
Her whimpers broke the silence of the cold room. The nurse remained wordless, mechanical in her duties, eyes cast downward to avoid witnessing the pain etched onto Noemie's face. Her shoulders trembled with every dab of ointment, and yet she made no attempt to move, to resist. The silence was louder than any scream—more agonizing than blood.
When the nurse finally left, the heavy steel door groaned shut, leaving the three of them alone. Noemie lay curled on a thin, stained mattress that barely protected her from the freezing floor. There were no blankets, no furniture. Only a flickering ceiling light that buzzed faintly, casting pale shadows like ghosts dancing on the walls.
Annelise and Eliane knelt on the concrete floor beside her, their eyes red and swollen from crying. Their hands twitched, wanting to reach out, but paralyzed by shame.
"Noemie....." Eliane whispered, the syllables catching in her throat.
"I don't want to hear it," Noemie rasped, her voice sharp despite her trembling lips. She didn't look at them, just stared blankly at the cracked ceiling. "You hit me. You hit me."
Tears spilled anew from Annelise's eyes. "We didn't have a choice...."
"Everyone has a choice," Noemie snapped, pushing herself upright though the movement made her cry out in pain. "You chose him over me."
Eliane's voice broke. "It wasn't like that. Matteo said he would take our family if we didn't....."
"And now look at me," Noemie screamed. "Look at what you let happen! You stood by while I was turned into this.... this thing. You're no better than he is."
The room fell into silence again. But this time, it was a heavy silence, weighted with guilt and unspoken truths.
"I thought if I obeyed," Annelise said slowly, "he might spare you. That maybe we could hold onto some sliver of ourselves in this place. But I see now.... we lost our souls the moment we stayed silent."
Eliane nodded, her voice barely audible. "I hit you not to hurt you..... but to save you. And that makes it worse. Because it means I justified cruelty with love."
Noemie lowered her head, her tears soaking her tattered shirt. "I was scared. So scared. And the ones I trusted..... you were the ones who hurt me most."
"I know," Annelise said, placing a trembling hand on Noemie's arm. "And I'll regret it every moment for the rest of my life."
Suddenly, the steel door creaked open.
All three flinched.
Matteo stepped in, slow, deliberate. The sight of him was enough to freeze the blood in their veins. His smile was faint, cruel, calculated.
Noemie instinctively scrambled backward, but her body betrayed her. Her limbs gave out and she collapsed, helpless.
Matteo walked toward her with calm detachment, crouching beside her. He gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear—mocking her with a lover's touch.....before gripping her hair and pulling her face to his.
"You think this is suffering?" he whispered, his voice laced with menace. "This is only the beginning. Tomorrow, you'll learn what true obedience means."
He released her and rose. Turning to a dial near the door, he twisted it.
A low hum filled the air.
The temperature began to drop rapidly.
Matteo exited, the door slamming shut behind him. In the corridor outside, he sat before a massive monitor. A dozen cameras fed him live footage from every corner of the room. His lips curled into a faint smirk as he watched them shiver.
Inside, the frost crept in. Their breaths turned visible. Noemie's bruised skin began to stiffen under the cold, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.
"I can't," she sobbed. "Please... it hurts... please... Professor... Annelise..... help me....."
Eliane didn't hesitate this time. She crawled across the freezing floor and wrapped her arms around Noemie.
Annelise followed, enveloping them both, pressing her cheek to Noemie's.
"We're here," Eliane whispered fiercely. "We're not leaving you again. Not ever."
The three of them huddled together, clinging to each other like drowning souls in a sea of ice. Their limbs entwined, skin against skin, bones against bones, as they sought warmth not just from the cold....but from the guilt, the shame, the pain.
They pressed together in the dark, their clothes thin and nearly useless against the creeping cold. Each wore only a loose, short-sleeved cotton shirt and matching shorts....fabric so light it clung to their damp skin but offered no warmth. Their bare arms and legs were mottled with bruises, the chill biting into every cut and scrape.
Noemie curled into Annelise's chest, her cheek pressed against the soft swell between Annelise's collarbone and shoulder. Eliane slipped in behind her, her arms circling both of them, her breath warming the nape of Noemie's neck. They clung like that.....skin to skin, breath to breath, hearts beating in shaky rhythm.
They didn't rub anymore. Their bodies were too raw, too exhausted. Instead, they wrapped themselves around each other with slow, desperate precision. Noemie's leg hooked over Annelise's hip, her arms buried under the thin shirt to rest against bare skin. Eliane pulled the bottom edge of her shirt loose and draped it over all of them like a meager blanket, pressing her chest flush against Noemie's back. Her hand slipped under Noemie's arm to hold Annelise's side, locking them into one trembling knot.
Their thighs touched, stomachs pressed, chins resting on shoulders. They adjusted with small, instinctive movements...tilting heads, shifting knees, tucking cold toes between warm thighs. They breathed into each other's necks, whispered each other's names like sacred prayers.
"I'm sorry," Noemie sobbed, voice muffled against Annelise's skin. "I didn't want to push you away.... I just didn't know how to survive it."
"You don't have to survive it alone," Annelise said. "You never did."
Their bodies didn't move like snakes anymore. They simply held on. Clung. Merged. A tangle of battered limbs and fragile warmth.
Eliane whispered, "We'll fight him. Together. We'll endure this hell. We'll find a way out."
Their eyes locked, and in that moment, despite the ice, despite the bruises, despite the despair....something kindled in their chests. Not hope. Not yet. But resolve.
"Whatever happens tomorrow," Noemie said, "don't let go of me again."
"We won't," Annelise and Eliane said in unison.
And as the frost clawed at the edges of their skin, they remained pressed together, their warmth defying the cold, their unity defying Matteo's cruelty.
On the monitor, Matteo leaned forward, narrowing his eyes.
"They're bonding," he muttered.
But he didn't smile this time.
Because what he saw wasn't submission.
It was defiance.