(DONOVAN)

I was distressed, nervous, and even desperate. This girl now in my arms had almost killed herself. Gavin and I were responsible for this, for her being here, safe and sound.

She must have been cold or in pain, maybe both, because she let out an incomprehensible murmur. I caressed her so she could relax, and it worked. Moments later, the girl was asleep. A heavy sleep, as if she had never truly rested at any moment in her life.

The desperate look she had reminded me a lot of myself in my darkest times. For her to have reached that point, it must have been practically irreversible. What terrible things had happened to someone for her to give up so young on everything life had to offer?

I had no idea. But I wanted to help her. And I knew she desperately needed help.

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at Gavin’s comfortable apartment. He said goodnight to the doorman, as usual, and left the car in the parking lot. His expression was that of a man who had a bomb about to explode in his hands and didn’t know where to run or what to do. We were both shocked and terribly worried.

We took the elevator. The girl still seemed deeply asleep. Her hair was black and curly, loose and reaching her shoulders. You could see the knots and many frizzy strands, as if she hadn’t combed it. I reprimanded myself for the thought. If she was about to kill herself, hair was the least of her worries.

The doors opened. Still in complete silence, we walked through the equally silent corridor, and Gavin took out his keys. Upon entering the apartment, he turned on the light and made room for me to enter. I went straight to the living room, specifically to the large red upholstered sofa, which I sincerely loved.

Gavin locked the door and came to me. We looked at the girl, who was now lying on the couch. Then we looked at each other.

“My God,” were his first words. He was speaking in English.

“I know,” I replied in English, too. “If we hadn’t stopped…”

“She would be dead,” he finished. “Dead.” He repeated, stunned, his voice much lower and even shaky.

“But she isn’t. She’s... severely beaten, but she’s with us. She’s safe in your apartment.”

Gavin went to get a drink. He returned with water and three glasses: two for us and one for her, as she would need to hydrate if she woke up.

While drinking the water, I looked once more at the inert form on the couch. Despite being brown-skinned, it was obvious she was pale. Was she still cold? Reading my thoughts, Gavin got up once again, this time to fetch a blanket from the guest room, along with a pillow. He covered her, supported her head, and gently caressed her. She didn’t even move.

“What will we do?” I asked while sipping the water.

“We’ll wait for her to wake up. And... we’ll talk to her. Find out what happened.”

“She doesn’t seem like she’ll wake up anytime soon.”

“I know.” He scratched his head and sat on the arm of the sofa, where the girl’s curly strands covered a bit of his leg. “I’ll put her in the guest room. But I really wish she would wake up now. So she could take a bath, eat something... She... it looks like she hasn’t done that in days…”

“She’s really in a bad state. But it’s clear she’s very tired. It’s better to let her sleep a bit... and then we’ll do everything to help her.”

“Are you going to stay the night here?”

“I have a meeting tomorrow at eleven. It’ll be tough if I sleep here. But after the meeting, I’ll come straight back here, I promise. Will you be okay?”

Gavin took a while to respond. He stared at the girl again.

“Will I be okay? That’s not the main concern here.”

“I mean, will you be able to take care of her alone?”

He looked at me with an almost amusingly irritated expression. I made an apologetic face; he accepted it. I drank some more water and grabbed my phone to call an Uber.

“If you need anything, call me, okay?” I got up and gave him a quick hug. I took another look at the girl and headed to the door. Gavin followed me.

“We did the right thing,” he said as he turned the key in the lock. I think it was his way of sounding calm, but I knew him so well that it was impossible not to notice how scared he was.

“Yes.” I paused. “We did.”

I stepped into the corridor. I took a deep breath and prepared to say goodbye, but he suddenly asked:

“There’s no chance she’ll wake up and try to kill herself again... is there?”

I looked at him deeply. My silence was already an answer. I saw his blue eyes dim and look down. He was on the verge of tears.

“I’ll help. As soon as I’m out of the meeting, I’ll come straight here. You’ll be fine. Good luck.”

I walked toward the elevator without waiting for him to say goodbye. If I had stayed there any longer, he would have asked me to stay. And I really couldn’t.

Besides the meeting, I knew that if I stayed too long, I would end up breaking down in front of him. And I had been sparing him from that for a long time.

As soon as I left the elegant building in Ipanema, the Uber was already waiting outside with its hazard lights on. I said goodnight to the driver, gave the address of my building in Leblon, and spent the entire trip in silence.

I allowed a few tears to fall for the poor girl, but I knew she was in good hands now. All I could hope for was that she survived. And that she found enough strength to face whatever nightmare had brought her to that point.