(GAVIN)

I woke up at half past eight in the morning. The first thing I did was go to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. It was a cold Friday morning and, given the silence in the house, the girl hadn't woken up yet. I went to the guest room to check.

She was awake.

She was sitting with her back to the headboard, the blanket up to her neck. Her eyes weren't filled with terror like the night before, but completely out of focus, as if she couldn't see. She didn't move when I appeared, probably didn't even notice that I was at the door. So I knocked twice on the wood to get her attention. It worked. Now she was looking at me, but with the same expression.

- Good morning," I said to her in English. Then I automatically corrected myself and went back to Portuguese. - I mean, good morning. I'm sorry, I've just made a bad mistake. Although I think you understood, because many people in your country can speak at least a little of my language.

My God, was I really doing that? What was wrong with me? The girl remained static, not moving an inch.

- I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Let's start again. I'm Gavin. And you're...?

Nothing.

- You're safe here," he said softly. - We're in my apartment, it's 8:30 in the morning. I'll make us something to eat. And you can... talk to me. I'm here to help you.

I felt a slight change in her face, as if she were holding back the tears. I walked up to her slowly, speaking softly so as not to push her away or scare her.

- Don't feel pressured. If you don't want to say anything now, don't. But I need you to do a few things. You need to take a shower and then we'll eat. My friend Donovan, that guy who was with me last night, will be here soon. And we... - I felt a lump in my throat. - We'll look after you.

Take care of her. Yes, that's what we were willing to do. It was the minimum.

- If you need anything, anything at all, just talk to me or him. You're not alone.

Just as before, her expression intensified. Her eyes overflowed with tears that didn't fall.

- "Sssssh," I said, as I knelt beside her on the bed. - It's all right. Come here with me. I'll prepare your bath.

I went to take her hand, but she shrank back as if she'd been shocked. Her breathing audibly quickened.

- Calm down, calm down," I ordered. - I'm not going to hurt you.

She began to mumble as her lips quivered terribly. As if she was trying too hard not to run away or cry, or perhaps both at the same time. I made a calming gesture towards her, the same as the night before when I tried to talk her out of the idea of suicide.

- I'm not going to touch you without your permission. I just think you're a bit weak and need help getting to the bathroom. Don't worry, it's fine.

She looked at me with a frown, at the bedroom door, at me again and seemed to think. Then she nodded.

- Come on - I stood up and held out my hands to help her.

She really struggled to get up, but she hardly leaned on me. In fact, it was more as if my mere touch was extremely painful for her. I started to feel like crying again. I thought about the cuts I saw on her arm. Were they all over the rest of her body too?

Slowly, we made our way to the bathroom. It was big, like all the rooms in my house, but she didn't seem impressed by it. In fact, her eyes became slanted again, cloudy. I helped her sit on the toilet.

- Here's a bathrobe you can put on as soon as you've finished your shower. I'll leave some separate clothes for you. They're mine, but I'm sure a pair of shorts and a shirt will do. Leave your dirty clothes in the basket. I don't have any women's underwear, so you won't be wearing them for a while, but we'll sort it out calmly, okay?

Her expression remained the same, as if she hadn't heard me. But then she blinked, surely showing that despite being inert, she was still awake enough to have heard and understood me.

I turned on the two taps in the bath. The hot water quickly began to smoke as it filled. I looked at it again. It was very dirty. Those cuts could get infected if it went on like that. I, of course, didn't ask about them. All the shock of last night was enough.

- I'm from California - I struck up a conversation. Monologue would be more appropriate, as I knew she wouldn't say anything anytime soon, but I wanted her to hear the voice of another human being; that it would help her get out of the hell her mind must have been in. - I came to Brazil for tourism, but I ended up falling in love with what I saw. Your country has its problems, of course, just like mine. But it's beautiful what I've seen here. Its culture, its people... Everything is absurdly splendid. So I went back to the States to talk to my parents about moving here permanently. They didn't like the idea very much, but my friend Donovan did. He went ahead of me, in fact, and I followed.

The bathtub kept filling up and I kept talking:

- My parents were the first owners of Urus, but they passed the company on to me after they retired. And I'm officially the owner, but it's not my biggest business. I prefer to leave that to Donovan. I dedicate myself more to the course I run here, teaching Brazilians to learn English. I have a lot of students, from all over the world, and all my courses are online. I feel truly fulfilled. Brazil has embraced me in a way I never thought it would. And I've embraced it back. Maybe not as much as Donovan, he loves it here, so much so that he's lost almost all of his accent and speaks Portuguese even when he's with other Americans.

The girl kept looking at the wall, but kept playing with her fingers while she listened to me. I checked the water once more and started sorting out shampoo, conditioner and soap.

- Donovan and I met at college. He's the most incredible man I've ever met. There are few who would do for others what he did for me, which is why when I became successful, I let him take over as second CEO. The only person above him in the company is me, and even then it's mere bureaucracy. If I really could, I'd give up leadership completely, but even though I live miles away, my father would come here and eat my liver.

The bathtub was already full enough. I turned off both taps.

I looked at her.

The girl was looking at the bathtub like someone looking at the barrel of a gun pointed directly at their own head.

- It's all right. Can you... Take a bath by yourself?

She nodded, but didn't look at me. I put my hands in my pockets, apprehensive, but I didn't say anything:

- I've put things together for you to clean yourself. As soon as you've finished, go to the bedroom and get dressed. I'll be in the kitchen preparing our coffee.

Another nod. I stared at her, a growing heaviness in my heart. A bad feeling.

I left the bathroom and closed the door.