Selcouth
Four

I shook my head. “I can’t let you heal me. Janet says that costs you guys money and I can’t afford it now.” I covered up my knee.

Roman looked around the lobby. “Well, fine. I will have to look at your wound off of the property and then they can’t say a damn thing about it.” He stood up. “Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” I stood up after him.

He looked back at me and waved me to follow him. “Somewhere safe where I can look at your wound without getting yelled at for it. I like to think health should come before a patient’s inability to pay.”

I followed him to some little home that was stacked on top of other homes. “Welcome to my apartment. I’m finally off work a few hours.”

I looked around his place. “It’s small.”

“I don’t need much space.” He shrugged. “Sit. I’ll clean your knee.” He went to grab some supplies.

I sat down on a tiny couch, looking at my knee. It was dried up by now but blood was still all over my wound.

Roman came back and bet down, getting out some wipes. “This is going to sting. My neighbors may assume I’m torturing you. Don’t be surprised if there are knocks on my door.”

I didn’t have time to react to his words before he wiped my knee with the wipes. He was right. It stung and I screamed.

I looked at my knee and made sure the blood was cleaned up. “You assume I can’t do my job? I do this for a living.” He grabbed a bandage, wrapping it around my knee.

I studied him as he wrapped my knee. He stood up. “We might want to get you changed out of that.”

“I don’t have clothes. This is all I have.” I picked up the skirt of my dress.

He looked at me. “I may have some clothes. My sister stayed here a while back and I never threw them out.” He went to another room.

I looked at the walls of his place, noticing how empty they were. They didn’t say a lot about him.

Roman came back and gave me some clothes. “Try these.”

I pushed my blonde hair behind my ear, frowning. It was a bra. I’d seen these before. “I can’t wear this. I don’t have breasts.”

Roman pointed to the bra and nodded. “You can. This is what my sister calls a bralette. They’re still cute and easy to wear for women with smaller chests. Trust me.”

“Women without breasts can wear bras?” I looked at him.

“Of course.” He led me to his bathroom. “You can change in here. I’m going to make some food. I’m starving.” He closed the door behind me.

I looked into the mirror, pulling the sleeves off of my body. I dropped the dress, looking at the skinny girl before me. I pulled on the underwear and swallowed, pulling the bra over my head next. I fixed it, turning and observing the lace bra from different angles. I was wearing a bra. I could not believe I was wearing a bra that fit me.

I pull the white t-shirt over my head and pulled my air out of the neck hole. I pulled the pants on, frowning when they kept slipping off. They were too loose.

I walked over of the bathroom, holding the pants up at my hips. “Roman, these don’t fit me.”

He looked up from the food and came over, observing them pants. “Hm, we’ll need to go out and get you some other clothes.” He grabbed some baggy shorts from a pile of clothes in the corner and gave them to me. “Wear these in the meantime.”

I stretched the waistline. “This won’t fit me.”

He looked at it. “What the hell am I supposed to give you?”

I put the shorts down and frowned. “I’m sorry... I wish I wasn’t so skinny.”

He sighed and looked through more clothes. He threw a large shirt at me. “This is all I have.”

I went back into the bathroom and switched the shirts. I could smell the food he was cooking. I walked out, peeking into the pan. “That smells good.”

He looked at me. “Good because it’s all we’re getting for a few hours.”

I stepped back when he turned around. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here. I need to go replace a job and a home.”

“How are you expecting to do that?” He crossed his arms over his blue outfit.

I looked at my hands. “I’m not quite sure. I ask if anyone wants me to work for them I suppose.”

“They don’t accept that. You would need applications. You would need an ID. To get an ID, you need proof of your birth and other things. You need to heal and be able to lift over fifty pounds which I know you can’t do. There is no way you’re able to get a job.”

I moved my feet, making my toes play with each other. “But I’m homeless. I need a job so I can pay for a home.”

He put a cover on the pan, letting the food cook faster. “Did Janet not offer you a place to stay?”

“No, she didn’t.” I shook my head.

“What’s your name?” He stroked his beard.

I sat down on the chair, shivering. Goosebumps covered my skin and I was beginning to notice how cold it was in his apartment.

“Rapunzel.” I looked at him.

He chuckled and shook his head. “German lettuce? You’re named after German lettuce?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a vegetable. It’s food. You’re named after food.” He turned back to his pan and removed the cover, stirring. “I guess the only option is to let you stay here. If you live with me, you have to know that I work a lot of shifts. You will follow my rules. Respect my space and I’ll respect yours.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Inviting me into your home. I know I’m a strange little girl in your eyes and I don’t want to intrude.” I pulled my knees to my chest.

He looked at me. “Intrude on what? I work and sleep. I don’t understand what you’re getting at. You’re an adult now, not quite a little girl. You just have a lot to learn about the real world.”

“I know. Mother said the real world was cruel. I think it’s a bit of both cruel and wondrous. It’s something different from what I went through.” I tilted my head.

He snickered and finished the food, dishing both of our plates. He gave me mine and sat down, beginning to eat.

I looked at the food, taking a bite. There was so much flavor. This food was better than anything I’d been given before. “Wow. Roman, this is amazing.”

“I like eating healthy. I’m a nurse. I can’t tell people they’re unhealthy if I am as well.” He took more bites.

I looked at him and nodded. “There aren’t a lot of males nurses there. Why is that?”

“It’s normally seen as a profession for women. I didn’t want to be a doctor. I wanted to be an RN.”

“What is that?”

“Registered Nurse. Most nurses are older now but I knew what I wanted. I want to help people. They need to hear the truth.” He took a few more bites before drinking his water.

I continued to eat my food. I looked at Roman and smiled.

He noticed my expression. “What?”

I shook my head. “Janet warned me of you but she was wrong. You’re not a bad person.”

“Janet didn’t offer her home to you. I did. She’s a bad person.” He pointed out.

“Where will I sleep?” I asked.

He looked at me. “Oh, I hadn’t thought about that.” He finished his meal and took his plate to the sink. “You can sleep on my couch or I’ll make you a bed on the floor.”

My gaze lingered on my broccoli just a little too long. “I don’t think I could do that.”

“Do what?”

“Sleep on the floor.”

He sat down again. “Why not?”

“I... Mother made me sleep on the floor. It brings bad memories. I’ll sleep on the couch.” I nodded and finished off my food.

Roman folded his hands. “You just had a birthday, didn’t you?”

“I did. I’m eighteen now.” I straightened my posture.

He nodded and went to his freezer, getting something. “I’ll let you eat this for your birthday.” He put a container on the table and opened it. “This is ice cream. Have you ever had ice cream?”

“No. What is it?”

“Oh, you’re going to love this.” He grabbed a spoon and gave it to me. “Take a bite.”

I took a bite of it and widened my eyes. I took another bite. “This is so good! This is what ice cream is?”

“Yes, it’s literally as it sounds. Ice cream. It’s good stuff.”

I ate more.

“Slow down. Don’t eat it too fast or you’ll get a brain freeze. Why don’t I show you some movies? What would you like?” Roman grabbed some thin objects.

I looked at them, picking one out. It had a woman and a man on the front.

Roman nodded and put the movie into some device. He turned on a larger device and sat on the couch. I sat down next to him and continued to eat my ice cream as the movie started.

I was fascinated by the idea that there were people moving on a screen. I could see them but they couldn’t see me. How was this possible?

I jumped when someone was shot. “Oh my gosh. Someone just died. Oh my gosh. I’m watching people die.”

Roman furrowed his brows. “Relax, Rapunzel. This is acting. It’s fake. None of these people died. They’re pretending to die. It just looks real.”

“Are you positive?”

“Completely.” He sat back, stretching his arms along the back of the couch.

I watched more of this movie and swallowed my ice cream, coughing a bit. “Whoa. What’s happening?” I pointed to the characters. The man and woman were kissing a lot and taking off each other’s clothes. It was making me feel weird just watching it.

Roman glanced at me. “Sex. That is what two people do when they are attracted to each other. They get naked and have sex.”

“What happens? They just kiss and get naked? Why do people get naked?”

Roman shrugged. “Because humans have hormones. We aim to please ourselves. We’re a bunch of selfish assholes and sex allows us to express ourselves in that manner without being scolded much.” He looked at the movie, watching a new scene as the sex scene passed. “There’s more to sex than just kiss and naked bodies. Do you want to know what happens?”

“Yeah, I asked.”

He sat up a bit. “They kiss. They get naked. They kiss each other’s bodies. They rub against each other. They touch each other. But what all sex includes for sure is the organs. Men have penis’ and that goes into the woman’s vagina unless you’re gay and then sex works differently. But that’s the basic concept of it. People do it because it feels good.”

I looked at the screen, trying to understand what he was saying. It was a strange thing. I knew people kissed and cuddled but I never knew about sex. Mother must not have taught me that for a reason.

“Am I supposed to feel wrong while watching people get naked?”

“It depends on each person. Some people don’t like it but some people do. It’s probably normal for you because you’re new to all of this. Don’t worry about sex.”

I looked at myself. “Do you say that because nobody would have sex with me?”

He choked, giving me his attention now. “Uh, no. I did not say it like that. I just mean you’re young and you have a lot to learn. You have plenty of time to have sex someday.”

I nodded, taking another bite of my ice cream. “Okay. The world seems to become more unusual to me as time passes but it’s a marvelous place.”

“It’s selcouth.”

“What’s that?”

Roman smiled a bit. “It’s exactly how you view this world.”