Chapter 1: Introduction
The musty house, with its creaking floorboards, seemed to house a lifetime of memories. A dingy, worn velvet cushion lay on a corner armchair, and a layer of dust coated the television's screen, untouched for months. The once bright wallpaper, now dull and fading, covered the cracked walls, patterns indistinguishable beneath stains and tears.
Bernard's snoring echoed from the master bedroom, vibrating the worn wooden floorboards underneath the girls' bare feet as they tiptoed towards the kitchen.
Mia led the pack, and the rest followed her, forming a line with every step they took.
"I can't believe the nerve of that old man," Alice hissed, voice low enough to keep from waking him. "I'm not even going to talk about physical violations—he doesn't even respect us as human beings."
"He's disgusting and has been taking advantage of us!" Rachel agreed, her cheeks still flushed from what they had discovered.
Her innocent young face twisted into a scowl. "I knew he was a perv, but this is just too much."
Abbie watched her with eyes narrowed and arms folded, leaning against the kitchen counter. "I can't believe we were all so blind! Going on about our lives, serving and caring for him while he schemed behind our backs."
Sophia edged closer to the group, eyes dropping to the still-clenched folder in her hands.
"What made you look through his things, Abbie?"
"Curiosity," admitted Abbie, avoiding addressing the familiar flicker in her gut – the same restless energy that had driven her to search Bernard's belongings in the first place. "I was always curious that he had a small chest full of old photographs. So I decided to look inside and saw those pictures."
As she spoke, Abbie's searing thoughts of desire and disgust interweaved.
She'd known there was something off about Bernard's fixation on them—couldn't quite place what she saw in his gaze, but deep down she felt a distinct, chilling knowledge.
He'd always seemed like a helpless old man, an obvious attempt to garner sympathy from his nurses-in-training. He'd offered his guests gifts and shared stories of his life, leaving nothing to arouse suspicion.
But earlier that evening, Abbie's gaze fell upon a hidden chest tucked away in his bedroom.
Contained within it, a most intriguing and shocking collection: photos detailing Bernard's sordid history of sexual affairs—each image featuring a succession of his young nurses.
A spark of anger ignited in her chest. How could he do this to these sweet women who'd shown him nothing but genuine kindness? What was it about these innocent young women that enthralled him, so much so that he would take advantage of them like this?
Mia, feeling a surge of indignation, broke the silence. "I propose we confront Bernard about this and make him answer for his actions."
Their agreement was unanimous. They all entered Bernard's house together, united in their outrage.
The moment they stepped inside, an awkward, heavy energy filled the air. Each woman was visibly tense, preparing for the confrontation ahead.
"Where is he?" Alice asked quietly, glancing around the dim living room.
"He's probably still in his bedroom," Sophia responded, her eyes darting nervously towards the hallway.
As they approached Bernard's bedroom, their footsteps quiet on the threadbare carpet, they noticed his door ajar. His snoring grew louder as they neared.
They found him fast asleep, wheezing softly, a thin line of drool trailing down his chin. His dentals was hanging askew, and his naked old frail wrinkled body twitched as he slept. The bones in his body was pertruding his skin, making him look like a human Gollum creature. His white coarse hair covering his thin, aging body added to the creature-like image. The air in the room was thick with his bad breath, and the smell of decaying memories mixed with the stench of sickness.
Mia swallowed hard and kept her gaze focused on the snoring old man in front of her. She could feel the underlying anger and disgust bubbling in her chest, threatening to boil over.
His disgusting body had been pleased by all the young beautiful girls in turn, and as she looked at his pathetich frail old body she couldn’t understand why she and the other young beautiful girls had given in to his advances .
Mia looked at her fellow nurses. Their faces were flushed with a mix of disgust and anger, and Mia knew that she wasn't the only one feeling a profound sense of betrayal.
Feeling her craving for justice intensifying every second, Mia stepped forward and cleared her throat.
The old man's snoring turned into a snort as he suddenly woke up.
His beady eyes looked at them open wide, and the surprise on his pale, wrinkled face was unmistakable. He gazed up at the beautiful young girls standing around his bed.
The panicked look on his face was telling – what they had discovered had struck a nerve. Bernard sat up, trying to pull the sheets over his wrinkly body, only for them to fall away, revealing his jutting bones and his white, wiry hair. His limbs shook like twigs in the wind.
Emboldened, Mia stepped closer to the bed and met Bernard's stare. "We know what you've been doing, Bernard. You've been using us.
Taking advantage of our kindness and affecting our lives with your deceit," Mia said, her voice full and firm. "And now, we want to know why."
The weight of their words began to sink in, making it harder for him to breathe. Bernard averted his gaze and tried to think of a plausible excuse for his behavior.
In a weak attempt to explain himself, he spluttered, "I, uh, I assure you, girls, it wasn't like that. I swear..."
But the eleven girls surrounding his bed were not so easily fooled.
Rachel's bright blue eyes narrowed, staring him down. "We're not stupid, Bernard. We found those photographs in your room – and by the look on your face, you know exactly what photos we're talking about. You took advantage of each of us, and we just want to know why."
Bernard hesitated, his breath shallow. "You must understand," he whispered hoarsely.
Abbie's hands balled into fists at her side, her face turning scarlet.
Bernards eyes fill with tears. He is naked and frail. His body looks like a paper-mâché figure, with the bones pushing against his thin, sickly skin. His white, coarse hair springs up in all directions, giving him an almost mischievous look - but his eyes say otherwise. They dart nervously between the girls, knowing he's been caught.
The angry girls starts feeling empathy for the frail crying old man. Suddenly, Abbie's voice broke through the tense silence, filled with raw emotion. "Can you forgive him, everyone?" she asked, her voice cracking. She searched the faces of her fellow nurses, desperately seeking some form of understanding.
Bernard's crying grew louder, his thin shoulders trembling. "I never meant to hurt any of you," he whimpered. "I just wanted to feel young again."
The room seemed to grow even colder. The conflict between their disgust and the empathy for the broken old man had made a difficult situation even more complicated.
Abbie took a deep breath, trying to force back her own tears. "I understand if you all can't forgive him. I do. But I can't help but feel sorry for him.
Even now, he's just an old, weak man, bare and exposed," she continued, trying to convince both Bernard and the others. "We can choose to leave him now that we know the truth, or we can decide to stay and help him. It's up to us."
A moment of quiet contemplation passed before anyone spoke. It wasn't an easy decision; after all, they had been deceived and betrayed by this man. But the thought of abandoning him to face the rest of his days alone tugged at their hearts.
They all look at the very old naked man not understanding how he have been able to seduce them all. They shift uncomfortably in their positions as Bernard's body trembled and sob.
The girls gathered closer now, as if to protect him despite themselves. A palpable wave of empathy washed over the group. The smell of decaying memories and sickness from him still hung thickly in the air but it didn't bother them as much anymore. There was a strangely calming energy about Bernard now that the truth was out in the open.
Abbie reaches forward, hesitating briefly, and places her gentle and soft hands on Bernard's fragile shoulder.
The touch sends a shiver through his frail frame, but he gradually calms down as her hands begin to massage his old bones in a comforting motion.
The other girls remained in their respective positions, watching this display of vulnerability. This moment breaks the tension. He struggles to hold back a faint curling of the lips, aware of what he has let unfold. As Bernard's crying subsides, his vulnerability and weakness make it difficult to remain angry with him.
"Kiss and forgive?” Bernard asks. He can't help but take notice of their radiant youth and beauty. He is drawn to each of them like a moth is drawn to light - unable to resist.
As Bernard looks around the room, he sees the uncertainty in each of their eyes. This moment right here weighs heavy - heavy with the secret affairs, the betrayals, but also tinged with sadness and pity. These contrasting emotions left him in a tug-of-war of conscience.
They had all, in their time with him, served as his nightly solace.