Chapter 8 – Diseased
Lina slammed her bedroom door shut, her heart thudding painfully inside her ribcage. She leaned against the wood and took a deep breath. At the light knocking on the other side of the door, Lina pushed the lock in.
"Lina-chan, I didn't mean it," the deceptively silky voice oozed through the door. Lina cringed as though the words congealed in her ears. "Let me in, please? Let me explain…"
"No," Lina whispered. She left the door and went to stand in front of her window. She slid up the glass and stood shivering in the wind. Unclean, she thought. I feel unclean… The breeze did nothing to ease her troubled mind.
The doorknob rattled.
"Come on, Tiger, let me in," the voice grew more insistent and impatient. Lina didn't blink, didn't budge, barely breathed.
How did it happen? It wasn't her fault… was it? Of course not, but somehow, she imagined there was a way she could have prevented it.
Lina entered her apartment and was greeted with the sight of Xelloss lounging on the couch wearing only a pair of silk boxers. His odd-colored eyes slid up and down Lina's figure, but he remained immobile in front of the TV. Lina felt her blood begin a slow boil. She knew Luna wasn't home, yet Xelloss was here anyway.
"What are you doing here?" Lina demanded, unable to help herself from snapping at the greasy man before her.
"Waiting. Resting. What does it matter to you?" was the reply. One thing Lina was grateful for was his apparent lack of interest in her. Xelloss had resumed watching the TV. Lina hastily kicked off her shoes by the door and made her way into the bathroom without answering the question.
She stared long and hard at the shower curtain, debating whether or not to take a shower with the strange man in the house. She felt terribly grubby and definitely needed one, but the lock on the door was notoriously flimsy and she most certainly did not trust Xelloss to stay away.
No, she was not going to let her fear of Xelloss control her life. Besides, she had a date later that evening with Zelgadis. There was no chance in Hades she would go without taking a shower. Making sure the door was as securely locked as possible, Lina undressed and quickly washed up. She could not, however, stop herself from peeking out from behind the curtain to glance at the doorknob every few moments.
Her shower went without incident, and Lina sighed in relief as she clambered out of the tub and grabbed her yukata. She took a half-step in the direction of the sink and slipped on a puddle formed in her hurry to dress quickly. Down she fell, uttering a curse sharp enough to cut steel and banging her head on the rim of the tub.
"Dammit," she breathed as the world swam in blacks and reds.
Lina didn't realize she had passed out for a while until she was aware of subtle differences in the room, such as the dark figure next to her, or the bathroom door ajar, or the cold hand moving up the inside of her thigh. Lina's eyes snapped open and she swung her fist out, hoping to connect with someone's jaw.
"Shit," came the satisfactory grunt.
"Don't touch me," Lina exclaimed, climbing to her feet and backing out into the hallway. She meant to sound tough and scary but her voice betrayed feelings. Her words were only half-whispers, laced with fear and disgust. Xelloss, rubbing his jaw lightly, grinned from his position on the tile floor.
"Sorry, Tiger, I was worried you might be hurt," he replied.
"You… don't ever touch me like that again," she continued, as though the words themselves would prevent him from doing so. He must have heard me fall… she thought. He must've broken the lock on the door… and he… touched me… How long was I out? How long was he in there with me…? Without waiting for another reply, Lina retreated to her room.
"I only wanted to make sure you were all right, Lina," Xelloss explained, voice muffled. "I heard the clatter and though you might've seriously hurt yourself."
"Go away!"
"Look, I'm sorry if I offended you –"
"Offended me?! You damn near violated me, you son of a –"
"I didn't do anything like that, I swear-"
"Like your word means anything to me! Get the hell out of my house!!"
There was silence on the other side of the door. Lina tightened the sash on her yukata and crawled into bed, fearing the worst had happened.
How long was he there? What did he really do? Oh, Zelgadis…
Sometime later, there was another knock on the door.
"Lina, open up or I swear I'll kill you!" Luna. Such a loving, caring sister.
She's already going to kill me, Lina thought, especially after hearing Xelloss's side to this story.
Taking a deep breath, Lina prepared herself for what was to come and opened the door.
Zelgadis looked at his watch, glanced down the street, and looked at his watch again. Okay, so maybe being five minutes late isn't a big deal. Ten is definitely pushing it. But when you hit twenty, something has got to be wrong.
"C'mon, Lina, where are you?" he muttered under his breath. He paced up and down the sidewalk and, out of habit, checked his watch again. They had planned to meet in front of the downtown Starbucks, on the corner of Cherry and Miller, at 7:00. It was now 7:21 and counting.
At last a figure clad in black approached the coffee shop. Zelgadis, relieved but too stubborn to admit it, held out his wrist and tapped his watch.
"You're late, Lina. Something up I should know about…?" Zelgadis began his admonish but trailed off when he caught a glimpse of Lina's face. It had, until she walked within a few paces of him, been tilted down, but at his voice she lifted her face into the light. Her left eye was badly bruised and her lips appeared unnaturally swollen. Zelgadis couldn't see flesh beneath the soft black turtleneck sweater she was wearing, but he was willing to bet it held more unpleasant surprises.
"Who did this to you?" Zelgadis asked softly. He folded Lina into his embrace. The small girl did not resist, nor did she speak. "Please tell me."
"It's nothing." The normally energetic voice was tired and withdrawn.
"Nothing? Heavens, Lina, you were sucker-punched! I don't think that's 'nothing' at all!"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"That's not healthy, and you know it."
"Can we just go now?"
"Lina…"
"Please?" It was the soft plaintive quality of her voice that finally made Zelgadis concede. He was terribly unhappy with this, and he had every intention of finding out what had happened before the night was over.
Digging in his pockets for his wallet, Zelgadis pulled out a picture that had been stuffed in his jacket. It was the one Briar had taken at the zoo, of Amelia and Zelgadis laughing when the elephant sprayed water all over them. Guilt settled like a vicious snake in the pit of Zelgadis's stomach. He really did look happy. And while he was having so much fun, what was happening to Lina? Was she being accosted by some mysterious, malignant force? Was she crying, was she hiding, was she running from the ghosts in her life? Zelgadis hurriedly tossed the offensive picture into the nearest trashcan and led Lina away to dinner.
