“I’m going out of town for a few days. I have a conference to attend.”

Never had words sounded sweeter to Aileen’s ears. But she had to work not to show her relief. She didn’t want Jeremy to change his mind and stay home. A few days without his presence, demands, and cruelty would be heaven.

She lifted her eyes from the mug of coffee in front of her to look across the table at him. Unlike her, who could barely stomach anything for breakfast because of her stress and nerves, he was scarfing down the biscuits he’d requested with great speed.

“I’ll miss you,” she forced out, just as he would have wanted; but she’d stopped missing him a long time ago.

He smiled. He placed a hand on her cheek and took all her willpower not to flinch away. “I’ll bring back a present just for you.”

The best present he could give her was never to come back, but she knew there was no hope in that. He’d be back. She forced a smile to her lips. “I’ll look forward to it.”

Time passed slowly for Aileen after breakfast was over. She wanted him gone and it seemed to be taking him forever to pack his bag. Finally, at eight-thirty, he slung a duffel bag over his shoulder, kissed her goodbye, and left. She watched from the window with a lightened heart as he got into his car, started it up, and drove away.

Free. I’m free. She cradled her broken wrist gently. For now.

It wouldn’t last, but she could at least relax and enjoy herself while she had the opportunity. Staying in bed to rest her injured body would probably be the wisest decision, especially since she hadn’t had the opportunity for the whole week since she’d returned from the hospital. But she’d been trapped within the four walls for too long. She knew better than to step outside when Jeremy was around, but with him gone, she could at least get some fresh air.

An hour later, after an excruciating process of changing into a turtleneck, sweater, and jeans, she left the house. As she stepped onto the porch of the house she shared with Jeremy and breathed in the fresh air, she glimpsed a patrol car pass by and disappear from sight. Then she made her way down the steps, looked around the mostly empty streets apart from some neighborhood children playing in their front yards, and then walked away.

For just a while, away from that house, away from Jeremy, she could pretend to be happy. Even that excruciating pain in her broken wrist and the agony in her ribs could almost be imagined away with the relief of freedom.

It was the first time she’d been as daring as to leave the house. Jeremy didn’t like her to leave. She would do something stupid that would embarrass him. Then he’d have to punish her. It would be safer to stay indoors where no one would see or know about the stupid things she did. But since her visit to the hospital, she ached to escape the four walls that had kept her prisoner for so long. Hopefully Jeremy would never find out; and if she did something stupid, hopefully he wouldn’t be told about that either.

She walked until she could no longer see the house behind her and could see a park several feet ahead. It was as good a place as any to be. It wasn’t the type of place Jeremy or his cohorts hung around. The only witnesses to her presence would probably be children and maybe some parents or guardians.

When she walked through the gates, it was still mostly empty. There was a small group of children playing on the slides, but her gaze skipped past them to the main attraction, as made evident by the stares of the parents in residence. Dr. Zakarîyâ, once again dressed in those foreign clothes, was with a little boy. As if the clothing didn’t attract enough attention, he was sitting on the see-saw opposite the boy, making “whee!” sounds as it went up down, while his young companion laughed and giggled.

She froze and stared. The man before her wasn’t even recognizable. The dignified doctor she’d met in the hospital room a week ago was nowhere to be found.

What a strange person he seems to be, she couldn’t help thinking to herself. Doesn’t he notice everyone is staring at him?

But at the same time, a small flicker of hope kindled in her chest. By mere chance, she’d come across the one who had promised he could help her. But can he really?

Dr. Zakarîyâ hadn’t noticed her. He didn’t seem to notice anyone or the attention he was attracting with his antics. So with slow, measured movements, she made her way to a nearby park bench and slowly lowered herself onto it, wincing with each movement. Then she turned her eyes in the direction of Dr. Zakarîyâ and his young companion, possibly his son, though their features appeared rather different. He probably resembled his mother instead.

For several minutes, she sat completely unnoticed by anyone. But then Dr. Zakarîyâ got off the see-saw and helped his son down; and as he turned toward her general direction, their eyes met and he froze. Surprise crossed his face before it settled into the same dignified expression she’d seen at the hospital—a calm, professional smile that gave away nothing.

Before she could prepare herself, he was leading the boy toward her. He stopped before he was too close for discomfort but was near enough to speak. “Ms. Byrne.”

She slowly nodded her head, putting a similar formal smile on her face. “Dr. Zakarîyâ.”

“How are you?”

She said what came automatically, despite how untruthful it was. “Fine.”

Dr. Zakarîyâ studied her carefully, as if looking for something in particular. What it was, she had no idea. “Are you?” he finally asked.

I should tell him, shouldn’t I? But can I trust him, really? Can he really help me?

Anything she might have said was interrupted by the little boy’s voice, tugging on Dr. Zakarîyâ’s sleeve. “Khâlî, who’s she?”

Dr. Zakarîyâ glanced down at him, his professional smile slipping to a gaze of warm affection. “This is Ms. Byrne. Say hello.”

Aileen never saw it coming. Suddenly, the boy grabbed her hand in an enthusiastic grip and she couldn’t control the shriek of pain that escaped. Instantly the boy jumped back, tears in his eyes. “Sorry!  Sorry! Sorry! I didn’t mean to.”

Dr. Zakarîyâ’s eyes sharpened as he stared at her. Without looking away, he placed a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault, habîbî. She hurt her hand.”

The boy sniffled. “Really?”

“Really.” Dr. Zakarîyâ’s attention fixed on her and he crouched in before the bench, holding out a hand. “Let me see your hand.”

She hesitated. She wouldn’t even be able to pay for whatever he could do for it.

“I wouldn’t recommend ignoring this,” he said quietly. “Let me see.”

“I can’t pay you anything,” she mumbled.

He shrugged. “That’s okay. I don’t mind.”

She eyed him doubtfully, but his gaze was sincere. She carefully placed her hand in the one held out to her. He was quick, methodical, and gentle; but it didn’t prevent the prodding and manipulation of her hand from being painful. She couldn’t help the cry of pain.

“Khâlî, you’re hurting her,” the little boy said, sounding close to tears.

Dr. Zakarîyâ placed her hand on her lap and then turned to his companion. “Sorry, habîbî. But sometimes I have to.” Then his eyes flicked to her. “It’s broken. You need to go to the hospital.”

Her first thought was what Jeremy would do to her if she made another visit to the hospital. She moved away from Dr. Zakarîyâ. “No, no, I can’t. He won’t let me.”

Though his expression didn’t change, anger simmered in the dark brown eyes that watched her. She recognized it. She’d seen it one too many times not to. She edged away from him, but before she could gather the strength and willpower to pull herself up off the bench and leave him, he caught hold of her arm.

She couldn’t control the instinctive jerk in response, but he didn’t release her. “Calm down and listen to me. You’ll only hurt yourself by doing that. I’m not going to hurt you, Ms. Byrne.”

She forced herself to still. He was right. Trying to jerk away only hurt herself. As soon as she stopped moving, he let go and moved back slightly.

“I don’t believe in coincidences, Ms. Byrne,” he said. “How long will you stay? Until he does worse than this? Let me help you.”

His words fed the growing flame of hope within. Jeremy was gone. He couldn’t stop her now if she fled. But then she remembered the last time it had happened. She’d trusted friends who couldn’t be trusted and they’d led him straight to her. This time she knew better, but it was those friends who had given her a place to stay. She had nowhere to go now.

“I have nowhere to go,” she finally said, staring at her feet. “I don’t have a job or money, and there’s no one I can trust.”

“I’ll help you,” he reminded her in that sincere tone. “Let me help you.”

Can I trust him? She didn’t know. But returning home to wait for Jeremy was worse than the risk of trusting this almost stranger. He couldn’t turn out any worse than Jeremy. She hoped.

“Why?” she asked. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” he said. Then he stood. “Let’s go to the hospital. Then I’ll take you someplace you can stay. We’ll have to walk. I didn’t bring my car.”

“I can’t pay anything,” she reminded him.

“I know. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it. Let’s go.” Taking the little boy the hand, he gestured for her to follow as she managed to pull herself to her feet.

As he led the way, she stared at the back of him, wondering if she’d made the right choice. Only time would tell if she’d trusted the right man or fallen prey to another predator.

Though she’d said she didn’t mind, the walk from the park in the direction of the hospital was excruciating on her ribs; and she evidently wasn’t hiding her discomfort very well, because both Dr. Zakarîyâ and his young son kept looking over at her every few minutes with worried expressions. They’d only been walking for about five minutes when a patrol car passed, slowed, and then stopped.

The window rolled down, and she recognized the face that looked out at them to belong to the same officer who had questioned her about her accident. “Where you headed?” the cop asked.

Dr. Zakarîyâ smiled with what looked to be relief. “José, do you mind getting us to the hospital?”

Officer Domínguez smiled warmly. “Hop in.”

Dr. Zakarîyâ got in the front with the cop, and Aileen sat in the back with the little boy. It was a little disconcerting to be sitting in the back of a police car, even when she knew she was just being offered a ride.

“You don’t think he’s going to take us to jail, do you?” the boy asked in a loud whisper that she was sure the officer could hear.

“Not if you sit quietly and behave,” Officer Domínguez said before she could think of a suitable reply.

The boy was absolutely still and quiet for the rest of the ride.

They trio was dropped at the entrance to the ER, and Dr. Zakarîyâ led her inside, spoke with the receptionist, and then stayed with her in the waiting room until she was called, the little boy between them.

It felt like an odd scenario to be a part of. Normally, it would be the boyfriend or husband sitting with his partner as she waited for the doctor. Instead, she was seated with her former ER physician and his son; and her boyfriend was far away.

The thought of Jeremy sitting in a hospital waiting room with her was laughable. In a perfect world, she wouldn’t have been here at all; because Jeremy wouldn’t have pushed her down the stairs or broken her wrist. But her world wasn’t perfect. She could only hope she wasn’t trusting the wrong man again.

“I’m bored, Khâlî,” the boy said to Dr. Zakarîyâ, interrupting her thoughts.

“I’ll take you home soon. Be patient for a little while.”

“Is he yours?” she couldn’t help asking, even though she knew it probably wasn’t her business. It seemed likely that he was, even though their features were more different than alike.

“Hmm? Oh, Jâsim, you mean?” Dr. Zakarîyâ nodded toward the boy. “He’s my nephew. My sister’s son.”

Dr. Zakarîyâ’s sister had to adore him for her to name her son after her brother. Aileen found herself caught up in wishful thinking for a brother who didn’t exist who might have been able to protect her from making so many mistakes. But there was no brother, and her only choice was to trust in a practical stranger who had promised to help her in the hope that he was as honest as he seemed.

“Aileen Byrne,” a nurse called.

“Go,” Dr. Zakarîyâ said. “I’m going to take my nephew home while you’re inside, but I’ll be back for you.”

She nodded and walked toward the waiting nurse. When she glanced over her shoulder once more before following the woman, she glimpsed Dr. Zakarîyâ exiting the waiting area with Jâsim and disappear from sight.