Let Me Help

Chapter One

The girl eyed Alexsander warily as Bob pulled her into the house.

�Shut the door Alex.� Bob said, and it wasn�t until the click of the door going back in place was heard that he let go of her wrist. He looked at her. �Katia, please go sit down in that chair.�

She looked at him and Alexsander. The look in her eyes told them both she didn�t trust them.

�Now!� Bob said sternly. She jumped a little and quickly moved to the chair and sat down. Bob looked at Alexsander tiredly. �Watch her closely, she�ll leave if you aren�t watching close enough. I�d recommend either sleeping in the same room as her, sleeping outside the room she�s in, or setting up some sort of alarm system that will let you know if she�s leaving. Or, locking her in the room would work. I didn�t get any sleep on the train. The only time I tried one of the stewards on the plane had dragged her back to me. He caught her preparing to jump off the train. Her name is Katerina Nikolei. People call her Katia. Her school counselor called in. We put her with you because you�re the best we have in the program. And only the best could handle her.�

Bob looked at Katerina. �Katia, this Alexsander Nemof. You should like him, you both come from Europe, just different parts.�

Bob looked back to Alex. �She�ll need supper soon. She hasn�t eaten anything since I got her yesterday. I gotta go. Bye Katia. Good luck Alex.�

Alex opened the door for Bob and shut it after he was out of the house. Alex looked at Katia. She looked small and scared sitting in the large chair. He smiled. �Hi, Katia.�

�Hi.� Her voice was small.

�I�ll take you to your room.� He said. Her stuff had already been shipped over and was now waiting in the room for her.

She stood up and he walked forward so that he was ahead of her, but could still keep an eye on her. �This way.�

He took her up a flight of stairs, and crossed the large room. Opening a door he stepped inside. She followed. �This will be your room while you are here. Your stuff is over there.� He said pointing to the bags and boxes. �I wasn�t sure where you wanted the stuff. You can set it out, but I�ll have to go through everything after you�re done to make sure there are no drugs, alcohol, or weapons in it. Are you allergic to cats?�

Katia shook her head. �Good. I have two cats. I�ll show you them later. Sit down.� He said motioning to the bed. She looked to where he was pointing and closed her eyes. When she opened them they were filled with grief, but she obliged.

Alex pulled the chair away from the desk and sat there looking at her. The look of grief left her eyes and was replaced with a look of confusion.

Alex took a deep breath. People had always told him that his rich accent made him sound kind. The other teens he had helped had thought so too. But she seemed different from all of them. He figured it would take longer to go through the barriers she had set up.

He smiled at her and said, �I want to help you Katia. You�ve looked scared since I first saw you. So, I want to explain what kind of program you are in. Your school counselor put you in our program to help you. The program is for teenagers that are at risk. Risk from people in the environment around them, or at risk from themselves. I�ve helped a couple other teenagers. I�m thirty, but I don�t work. My parents founded a company, and I am now the director of it. That means, I�ll be able to devote all of my time to you. I hope that we can have fun, but that we can also work through the problems you are facing. I�ll be here to help you in whatever way you need me to.�

She sat there, looking at him, not saying anything. Alex stood up and said, �I�m going to go fix supper. Do you have any preferences?�

�No.� she shook her head.

�Okay, you can begin unpacking, or just sit if you�d like. There�s a television out there. But you do need to unpack soon.� He said, smiled and left.

~*~*~*~*~

It was a half-hour later when the noodles were drained and the sauce was completed. Alex ran back up the stairs and knocked on the closed door to Katia�s room.

She opened it and stepped back. She had worked hard during that half-hour. She only had three bags, and one box left to unpack.

�Supper�s ready.� Alex announced.

Katia nodded her head and followed him as he left the room. �You can sit at the table, I�ll dish up a plate for you.� He said and she sat down.

He fixed her a plate, and set it in front of her. Her eyes grew wide.

�Is everything okay?� he asked confused.

�That�s a lot.� She said softly.

�Bob said you hadn�t eaten since yesterday, but you don�t have to eat everything on your plate.� Alex told her.

Katia nodded, smiled and said. �Okay. Thank you.�

He fixed himself a plate and set it down on the table before grabbing two glasses. �Milk, water?� he asked. �Or we have juice.�

�Water.� She said immediately.

�Okay.� He said and poured water into both glasses. He wasn�t much of a milk drinker.

He set them down and then brought over two forks. He sat down and pointed behind her, �There are napkins on that shelf behind you. Could you grab some?�

Katia turned around and grabbed some napkins, setting them in the table between them. Picking two up separately, she handed one to Alex and set the other one down by her plate.

He smiled and thanked her for the napkin and then picked up his fork. After taking a bite and swallowing it he said. �So tell me a little about yourself.�

She finished chewing and swallowed. He thought that she had been chewing that small bite for an awfully long time and he realized he�d have to watch how she ate and keep her in his view for awhile after supper was over.

�What do you want to know?� she asked. She obviously wasn�t going to give up any information willingly.

�How old are you?� he asked her.

�I turned sixteen two months ago.� She answered.

�Oh! When�s your birthday?� he asked.

�September seventeeth.� She answered.

�So you�re a sophomore?� he asked.

�Yeah.�

He looked at her, he had taken a bite each time she had answered, but she was still twirling her fork in the same spot she had started after she had swallowed her first small bite. He noticed that she was twirling in a way that only a few noodles were able to wrap around the fork.

�Is there anything wrong with the spaghetti?� he asked.

�No.� she said, and quickly put the fork in her mouth, slowly chewing the few noodles.

She must have realized that he was watching her closely, because she started eating a little more, and a little quickly. After ten minutes she set the fork down and picked up the glass. Drinking half of it she set it down and said, �I�m full.�

�Okay.� He said, surprised. She hadn�t even eaten half the plate of spaghetti. �You sure? You haven�t eaten much.�

�I�m sure.� She said.

�Okay.� He said and continued eating. �So, what school are you from?�

�Oakland High.� She said.

�And your counselor was?� he asked.

�Barry Rogers.� She said glancing away angrily.

�Are you mad at him?� Alex asked, startled by her attitude.

�No.� she said, making sure that he couldn�t make eye contact with her.

�I won�t tell him what you say.� Alex said. She was obviously lying.

Katia hesitated, then looked at him and said. �Yes.�

�Are you mad because he took you away from your family?� He hated prodding, especially when the pain was so visible in her eyes, but he had too.

�No.� she said.

�Then why are you mad?�

She didn�t say anything. She just stared out the window for a couple minutes. Then she looked at him.

He was startled, caught unprepared by the look in her eyes. She looked at him with pure hatred. �Why do you care?�

Alex was surprised. No one had ever been this hostile. �Because I want to help.�

She looked away, a wistful smile on her face. She looked back at him angrily muttered. �You don�t want to help.�

With that she stood up and ran back upstairs.

He sat in the same place, barely moving for an hour. He heard every move she made. But never did he hear the noise he was expecting. An hour and a half later he realized he wasn�t going to hear it.

He stood up sighing. He was happy that she hadn�t thrown up. She was eating, even though it wasn�t a lot.

~*~*~*~*~

He waited another half-hour before he went up. By that time, all movement had stopped.

He knocked on the door. It took her a little longer than last time, but she opened the door. When he looked at her, he saw that her cheeks were a little red.

�Are you unpacked?� he asked her.

She nodded.

He hated having to do it at the moment. She definitely wasn�t happy with him. But the rules stated that he had to do it now. Before she had a chance to use anything dangerous to herself or to him, that she may have brought along.

�All right. I have to check everything.� He said. She nodded and stepped aside, sitting on the bed. She hugged her legs to herself and watched him.

It took him forty-five minutes to go through every drawer, every container. To run his hands all over every piece of furniture and under it. To check every pair of socks, and check all her shoes. To go through every piece of clothing and look in the pockets. He had her stand up and he felt under the covers, and then looked and felt along each side. He had to look under the top mattress and run a broom under it to feel every part of the floor and every part of the bottom mattress and the springs. Then he looked at her. He had really been dreading this part. She was already scared of him. Already hated him. Already untrustfull of him.

�Katia, put your arms out to the side.� He said and she did. �I really don�t want to do this to you, but I have to. It�s rules. Do you understand?�

She nodded.

Alex sighed and walked over to her. He frisked her and felt something in her right jeans pocket. He sighed and put his hand in the pocket, grabbing a small tube and pulling it out. It was a tube of chapstick. He put his hand back in. There was nothing else in there.

�Turn out your other pocket.� He said. She did and nothing was in there. �Put your hands in your back pockets.�

She did and it was obvious that the only things in them were her hands. He continued to feel down her legs and got to her feet. �Take off your shoes.�

She sighed and sat down. She pulled off one shoe and handed it to him. He examined it and then looked at her. She was hiding something.

�The other one.� He said. She sighed and again and pulled it off. He heard a something fall inside of it. She handed it to him and he looked in it. He pulled out a round, pink container. He already knew what it was, but opened it up, just to be sure. �Why are you taking birth control pills?�

She looked at him in disbelief. �So I don�t get pregnant.�

�Do you have a boyfriend?� he asked.

�No.�

�Prostitution?� he asked.

�No!� she exclaimed. �Who knows what I kinds of diseases I could get in prostitution!�

�You have to be sleeping with someone if you�re taking pills to protect yourself from pregnancy.� He said and then went on. �Your father? Your brother? Your uncle? Your next door neighbor? Some kid or kids from school?�

�You should know!� she yelled, glaring at him.

He sighed. She wasn�t going to tell him. At least not yet. �I�m taking these.� He said and put them in his pocket.

�Then you better not try anything.� She said.

He sat down on the desk chair. �Take off your socks.�

She took them off and handed them to him. He looked through them and handed them back to her. She set them down behind her on the bed.

�I will not try anything.� Alex said. He looked directly at her. �I�m here to help you, not to hurt you in any way. I always hate the first day. I come off as a mean person because I have to go through all your stuff. But it has to be done to protect you and me.�

He said. �I have to go through some things with you. I need you to answer all my question, no matter how embarrassing they are. Okay?�

Katia nodded.

Alex went on. �What week do you get period?�

�First week of the month.�

�Is it pretty regular? Does it always occure then?� Alex asked.

�Yes.�

�How long does it usually last?�

�Four or five days.�

�Okay. Every month at the end of the third week we will go to the store, where you can choose whatever you would like to use. If it ever starts earlier or later than normal or lasts longer, let me know. Okay?�

Katia nodded.

�Good. Tomorrow, right away we will go to the store. We will also need to get you a toothbrush, and toothpaste. Shampoo conditioner and soap. We will also get you some brushes, combs and whatever else you use for your hair.� She hadn�t been able to bring any of that from home. They had stopped allowing that after teens had died from drinking whatever they dissolved their drugs in. �Okay?�

Katia nodded.

�You won�t be behind in school when you leave. I am trained to homeschool you. But that�s not the important thing I�m trained in. I�ve been trained to listen to you, to help you. I have all the time in the world to keep you here. The sooner you begin talking to me, telling me what�s wrong, the sooner you�ll get out of here.� Alex said.

�Where will I go when I leave?� Katia asked him.

�I�m not sure. You most likely won�t go back home.� Alex answered, guessing that that was what she was wanting to know.

�I have to go back home. I have to go back to protect Braedon.� Katia answered.

�Who�s Braedon?� Alex asked.

�My little brother.� She said.

�Who do you have to protect him from?� he asked. She didn�t answer so he said, �If you tell us who you have to protect him from and why, we can help. We can get him out of there. But you have to tell me.�

�If you took him out of there, would he come here?� Katia asked.

�No. You guys are placed one on one.� Alex said.

�That wouldn�t protect him. That would take him out of the bad situation and put him in one exactly like it.� Katia said.

Alex sighed, but decided not to pursue the subject. Someone at school would get her little brother out of the house if the situation ever arrised, just like they removed Katia. �I will be locking the door at night until I can make sure you will stay in. Don�t try leaving out the windows. There�s a motion detector that will set off an alarm in my room if you move outside of them.�

Katia nodded. �This is worse than the school counselor. Here I�m a prisoner.� She whispered. Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away.

Alex�s eyes filled with tears when he saw the saddness in her eyes. �We�re not trying to make you a prisoner, Katia! We�re trying to help you! To protect you from whatever has been happening at home. Please you�ve got to trust me.�

Katia shook her head violently. �I can�t.�

�Why not?� he asked her.

�You�re not trustworthy.� She said. She added, whispering, �None of you are.�

Alex shook his head and stood up. �I�ll prove to you that I am, Katia.� He walked to the door and looked back at her. She was sitting with her elbows resting on her knees, her head resting on her hands. �Get some sleep. We�ll go shopping first thing in the morning. Good night.�

He left the room, shutting the door behind him.

~*~*~*~*~

The minute he had gotten to his room, he had pulled out the file filled with papers. He grabbed some blank sheets and began to write.

November 9, 2001

This was my first day with Katerina Nikolei. She unpacked. The only thing found was a container of birth control pills that she was hiding in the shoes she had on. She wouldn�t tell me whom she has been sleeping with.

She wouldn�t talk. The biggest thing I got from her was that she has to protect her younger brother, Braedon. She wouldn�t tell me from who or why and said that if we removed him from the house and he wasn�t brought here, he would be removed from one bad situation to one exactly like it.

She�s afraid of me and said that I am untrustworthy and that I don�t want to help. She is filled with fear, hatred and anger.

She didn�t eat much at supper, but didn�t throw up what she ate afterwards.

Today was not a good beginning. Worse than normal.

Alexsander Nemof

After he put his first journal entry into the file folder he pulled the pills from his pocket and put them in a manila envelope. He placed that in the folder and closed it. He pulled off the chain that was around his neck, hidden by his shirt off, and put the key on it into a lock on the drawer of the table by his bed. He pulled it open, and put the folder in the empty drawer. Than he closed it and locked it putting the chain back around his neck.