Resa stared as she watched him enter the room, her expression changing from surprise and relief to horror as she saw that his clothes were spattered with blood. Rat followed her gaze and his eyes widened. He pointed the machete at Nathan, who glared at him with a lowered head like a bull about to charge. "Stay away," the thief warned. Rat looked around and yanked Resa to her feet by her hair, pointing the blade at her throat. "I said, stay away," he spat. Nathan stayed, his gaze faltering. He couldn't risk Resa's safety.
Who says we're risking her safety? a familiar, growling voice spoke up. Nathan looked around, confused for a moment, before realizing with a shock that the voice was coming from inside his own head. Great, not only am I a murderer, I'm also insane he thought ironically. Just trust me, the voice spoke up again, sending with it a cold shiver of nostalgia. Nathan had heard it before, he was sure. "Who's there?" he cried, dread making him feel ill. Dear, dear Nathan. Don't tell me you've forgotten about me. We were such good friends before. Nathan gasped, feeling the darkness that now coated his blood vibrating with every syllable. Was it possible that the thing inside him had a voice?
"Are you playing games with me here?" Rat tilted his head. Nathan stared at him, uncomprehending. "I said, what did you do to Drench?"
"I…" Nathan was still reeling from the experience of having a conversation with himself. It was then that he took a closer look at the thief, and noticed for the first time the unusual carvings on the handle of his weapon. He had only seen that once before. Nathan looked into the face of the man and recognized him instantly. "You're the one from the alleyway." He recalled, "You helped me get away."
Rat squinted at him. "That was you? Well, what a coincidence." He laughed. "You get zydrate stolen from your pocket one night and your house robbed of it the next. It hasn't been a good couple days for you, has it?"
Nathan lifted up his hands in surrender. "Look, I owe you one. Leave now and I won't hurt you." What the hell are you doing? We should be skinning him alive! The voice sounded indignant and disappointed. "Go away!" Nathan shook his head, feeling helpless at another intrusion of the strange thing in his mind. You weren't so eager to say that when you needed me a moment ago, it pointed out.
"I'm not going anywhere," Rat said, mistakenly thinking Nathan was talking to him, "Until I find out what the hell you did to my friend."
"I busted his sorry brains all over the floor." The voice that came from Nathan was not his own again. It was deeper, more guttural, and it made Resa look at him with surprise. What the hell are you doing? Nathan protested, but the thing only repeated, just trust me. It spoke out loud again, transforming Nathan's expression into an easy sneer. "It's a pity, you know. It'll take weeks to get all that blood out of the carpet."
A cry of outrage roared from deep within Rat, and his face twisted in fury. He pushed Resa out of the way and charged at Nathan, who was ready for him. Rat took a slice at the other man but the machete sliced thin air as Nathan moved out of the way. Nathan aimed a blow at Rat but the thief was quicker than he expected and dodged it, thrusting the blade into Nathan's shoulder. He cried out and stumbled back into a cabinet, agony shooting through him. Scalpels and needles littered the floor from the impact. He barely had time to duck as the thief tried to decapitate him in one swing. He scooped up a scalpel.
The thing growled as Rat came at him again. This time he moved slightly to the left, and as Rat thrust the blade he struck out with the scalpel, slicing open his wrist deeply. The thief cried out in surprise and pain as blood shot from the open wound. Nathan took the split-second opportunity to aim a blow at his face. It landed squarely on Rat's nose, and he shrieked, staggering backwards. He tried to lift the blade to attack again but the severed muscles in his wrist did not respond. His fingers fell limp and dropped the weapon.
"I'm going to enjoy this." The thing in Nathan snarled. "I always do." It shoved Rat against the wall, kicking and screaming. Nathan tilted his head, smiling evilly. "What's the matter? You're not scared I'll do the same to you as your little friend, are you?" Then Resa was at his side, grabbing his arm and begging him to stop, but he shoved her aside. He was too excited now. There was no going back.
Resa dashed out of the room, shouting something. He held up the scalpel to the youth's neck and pressed it against the sensitive thumb-sized area in the center of his collar bone. "You know what I like to do first," The thing said slowly, "I like to peel off the skin. Because it can be so agonizing, but it can keep you alive for so much longer than just simply ripping out a few organs."
Rat let out a string of curse words and spat in Nathan's face.
"I see you approve, then." Nathan said gleefully. "It's a thankless job, you know. But people like you make it all worthwhile." He trailed the scalpel down Rat's heaving chest, slicing open his clothes. As he saw the bare, sweaty skin of his victim he felt an overwhelming sense of excitement and pleasure.
"What the hell are you doing?" Rat's voice was mangled with fear and hatred, now mostly fear. He was losing a lot of blood from his wrist, and feeling slightly woozy.
"The second thing I like to do is peel off the muscles." Nathan said, as if he were teaching something to a particularly dense student. "You have to get to them quick, see, before rigor mortis does. Then it's almost impossible to make a good harvest. And then…" He split open the thief's skin from his collarbone to his belly in one shallow cut. Rat screamed. "Then, I leave the best part for last." He paused. "I take your organs."
Rat's breath had come in short, ragged breaths, but now it froze in his throat as a look of absolute terror and recognition came across him. "You're a Repo Man," he whispered.
"Nathan Williams, at your service." The thing sneered.
No! No, this cannot be happening! Nathan shrieked inside his head, panic and fear and denial clouding his brain. So did you miss me? The foul creature asked. There was no need to. I am always with you... In fact, I am you.
"NO!" Resa shouted, terror taking over her senses. She grabbed Nathan's arm again, trying to pry it from the man's throat. She'd snatched a Zydrate gun and held it squarely to his inner arm. It was the only thing she could find in a hurry, and would subdue him well enough need be.
"Nathan, stop!" she ordered, and he eyed the gun.
"Why should I?" And his voice was a low, thick growl. The change in his mannerisms terrified her, and she pulled at his arm again.
"Because he'll leave, and he won't come back. Will you?" she addressed the shaking man. He shook his head desperately. "We don't need another death here, okay?"
Resa was surprised she was dealing with the situation so calmly. It must have been shock, because her hand barely trembled on the gun.
"There's enough Z in here to take you down in about ten seconds," she pleaded with him, tried to soothe him. "Please, Nathan..."
His face turned on her, and the murderous glare made her heart stop. The short man screamed as the scalpel pressed into his skin slowly, as if whatever Nathan had become was testing her. She panicked.
"Nathan Wallace!" she screamed, not realizing her mistake, and used all of her strength to pull his arm away. His face became twisted, different.
"Get back, Resa," he warned.
"No!"
"Get - back-!"
And he hit her. The back of his hand came in contact with her face and she fell backwards, more out of shock than the strength behind the blow. Suddenly some kind of emotion crossed his face and he blinked in surprise, staring down at her. The rage was gone.
"Shilo..."
When the thing struck Resa and watched her hit the floor, all the missing pieces came together in Nathan's head. Oh, his beautiful, sweet, innocent Shilo. His daughter. He had a daughter. The thing in his mind squirmed monstrously and it only took a well-placed mental shove to free his thoughts completely. He was himself again, covered in the blood of his victims- no, Repo's victims. That was what had been inside him.
Resa ignored him, turning to the man who stood, blank terror on his face.
"Get out of here," she spat at him. "And you'll put back everything if you value your life."
He nodded shakily, stumbling past her and out of the room. The box of Zydrate lay scattered on the floor, and to control her anger and shock she began to gather the vials again. Nathan just stood there, watching her helplessly.
He watched Resa clean up the zydrate. Some bottles had broken in the struggle, and the neon blue liquid was spreading across the white tile. He almost apologized to her. That's how close he came. But instead he asked her, hurt and confused, "Did you know?"
She looked up from collecting the zydrate.
"Did you know all along who I was? That I had a daughter?" The words spilled from him now in a rush. "Did you know I slaughter people for a living? Are you insane, trying to rescue me? I could have killed you! Why did you lie? My Shilo, oh God, Shilo..." He trailed off, clutching his bloody shoulder. "I have to see her!"
"I..." Resa's face twisted in pain. More emotional than physical, although her cheek throbbed where he'd hit her. "Nathan ... you have to understand. I was going to tell you everything in due time, I swear! You were in a delicate condition!"
She winced. "I knew that you were a Repo Man. I thought I could help you, make you better! Maybe ... maybe I was hoping you'd kill me. But then you were so kind, and I started worrying about you! I found your file. At GeneCo. There wasn't really anything, but ... Shilo was your daughter, Nathan. She's dead. She died seventeen years ago, with your wife. Your signature was on the papers. I'm so, so sorry."
Resa huddled into herself against the shelves, sliding the Zydrate back into its rightful place. She was frightened he would kill her. A few weeks ago she would have welcomed it, but she was scared of dying now. She hoped whatever had happened to him wouldn't happen again, because she knew she wouldn't be able to escape it if it did.
"No ... no." Nathan moaned, a sob catching in his throat. He sank to the floor. First his wife, and then his daughter. His beautiful Shilo, dead. Both of them, probably picked over by GeneCo vultures and left in some graveyard to be dug up later by Zydrate pushers. Half of him wanted to curl up and grieve for days and the other half wanted to go violently destroy something. He didn't have to be a genius to know which half was which. No matter what side he chose, he was angry, hurt, and looking for someone to blame. The SurGEN made an easy target. He stood up and advanced on Resa, and she warily scrambled to her feet.
"This is your fault." He pointed at her. "Why couldn't you just leave me in that body bag at GeneCo? Look what you've done!" He spread his arms out, indicating the mess around them and himself. "You've brought a goddamn monster back to life. And for what?"
Resa protested but Nathan didn't feel like he was getting through to her. He needed her to understand what he was capable of. He hated himself for who he was and he possessed some morbid desire to see her look upon him with disgust. Nathan didn't deserve her. He didn't deserve anyone. He was nothing, a childless empty husk, a killing machine.
He took Resa by the arm and pulled her out of the room. She was at first fearful, but she calmed down when he told her he just wanted to show her something.
She brought a trembling hand to her mouth when she saw the body. She tried to swallow back her revulsion.
"Look at me!" Nathan shouted, his voice shaking with agony, his face twisted in anguish . "Look at what you let live! I killed that man like he was a fly, and I don't regret it. I've killed countless times before." He gripped her by the shoulders and she let out an involuntary cry. "Do you understand now?" He shook her. "I am just like how you used to feel- better off dead!"
Nathan's voice buzzed in and out of her head as the horror of what she was seeing penetrated her. There was so much blood. So much flesh. Her breathing quickened and eyes widened as they flicked around the mess of a room, and she couldn't think. Resa tried to back up, but Nathan kept pushing at her back. She had to get out of there.
"What..." she whispered, shellshocked. "Nathan..."
That was her Nathan? Her Nathan that did that?
She couldn't stop herself. She was going to be sick.
Roughly she turned around and shoved past him, barely making it to the washroom. When the contents of her stomach had emptied, she slumped against the bathroom wall, white and shaking as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. It was ... so horrible... Thinking about it made her heave again, but nothing came up. She sobbed, feeling overwhelmed. What had just happened? How had the situation gotten away from her so quickly? What was wrong with her patient? She could tell he was still there, just underneath, confused and in pain. But it was like there was a hard shell over him now, a shell with a terrifying growl of a voice and hands experienced in killing. No, not just experienced. He'd enjoyed it.
She sat there for a few minutes, silently crying and trying to cope with what she'd just seen. Nathan didn't come in after her.
It was different, she told herself. It was so different.
But was it? She'd killed her own mother in cold blood, but this was a stranger. A thief. She didn't want to think about his smashed in skull. She shook a little harder.
She thought about Nathan instead. His eyes. They'd still held compassion and pain and horror at what he'd done after he hit her. It was like he wasn't himself. He needed her. She was the only one there, the only one who could help. Maybe it was like the opposite of Stockholm Syndrome. She was falling for the monster she'd kidnapped.
But it was her fault. It was all her fault. He was right. And now she needed to fix it. She needed to talk to him.
Gathering her weak frame, Resa pulled herself up the wall and stumbled down the hallway towards the study. She wouldn't go in this time. She was a SurGEN, and was used to seeing blood and gore and death, but not like that. She couldn't handle it like that right now, knowing that Nathan did it.
"Nate..." she called down the hallway, voice wavering. "Nathan..."
He was inside.
Nathan was standing over the corpse as he listened to Resa's footsteps fade down the hallway. He hadn't gotten what he wanted- Resa had been repulsed, yes, but not at him. Just at what he had done.
He closed his eyes for a minute, pretending that when he opened them the body would be gone, the study would be back to normal, and Resa would still think the world of him. Nathan opened his eyes. The corpse hadn't disappeared. It was gazing up at him with one glassy eye, the mouth agape in a silent scream. Suddenly its hand shot out and grabbed his ankle. He shrieked, pulling away from the corpse as its eye rolled around in a bloody socket and came to rest on him. The mouth spread open in a wicked, half-toothed grin. Nathan stumbled back into the lamp, knocking it over with a crash. Stop it. The thing was back again, in his mind, taking control and slowing his pulse. Stop imagining things, for God's sake. You'll scare yourself half to death. Death- haha, get it? Nathan was in no mood for humor.
"The corpse is still alive!" he yelled, forgetting in his panic that he didn't need to speak aloud. No, it's not. The voice said, exasperated. Look again. And Nathan looked. The Repo thing was right; the corpse hadn't moved. It was as still and dead as ever. His imagination had gotten the better of him. See? The voice said, stick with me and I'll take care of you. We're going to get along just fine. Just then Nathan heard Resa's voice from outside the study.
"Can you please come out?" she asked uncertainly, trying to make her voice as soft and understanding as possible. "Nathan, please? I can't go in there again, not right now, please?"
He took a couple deep breaths to compose himself, hoping the voice in his head would stay silent so he could at least appear to be sane, and then he went out to meet her.
Resa looked ill. She had her arms crossed over herself defensively, and her gaze was distrusting, but not hateful. Nathan let out a breath and tried his best to look reassuring and contrite. He couldn't help himself- the words rushed out of him before Resa could say anything else. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what it is. I mean, I know what it is. It's the Repo thing. It's inside me. I mean, like, in my head. It wasn't me, killing that thief. Well, it was, but..." He trailed off. So much for appearing sane. Nathan sighed. "I know you don't trust me. I'll just get my stuff and leave. You won't ever have to hear about me again." He looked into her eyes, and her expression tore him apart. "I don't want that thing to hurt you." He whispered.
"I know," she murmured, sniffing. "That wasn't you in there. But ... please don't leave."
She began to cry again and Nathan just stood there, looking helpless and guilty. Resa put a hand over her mouth, feeling awful for crying again but unable to stop.
"I don't want you to leave. This is all my fault. I should have told you everything." She breathed deeply, trying to calm down enough to push the words out, words she'd wanted to tell him for days. "But ... you're my best friend, Nate. I can't make myself be afraid of you enough to let you leave like that." She shot him a watery, still disbelieving smile. "You're the only thing I have left."
Nathan let out a shuddering breath. Resa's confession tugged at his heart. She was right- he was the only thing she had, and he would be devastatingly alone without her. Nathan stepped up to Resa and gripped her by her shoulders. She looked at him with enormous, tear-filled gray eyes.
"I swear on my child's grave," Nathan said fiercely, "I won't let that Repo thing hurt you. Even if it means killing myself. It will never touch you."
Resa let out a sob. Nathan pulled her in close, wrapping himself around her and holding her tight. "I swear." He said again.
Resa couldn't help it. She let the sobs come, full and hard, pressing her face into Nathan's chest as he hugged her tightly. Every bit of stress and worry and shock and anger fueled the tears now soaking his grey tee shirt, and it felt like they'd never stop. But they did, and she let go, collapsing into a conveniently nearby armchair. Immediately she missed the warmth of the huge man's embrace and regretted her decision.
"We should clean ... the mess up," she said, automatically going to her rational defense system, curling up on the seat. "Someone's bound to have heard. If they come looking ... go wash yourself up first. I'll change."
xxx
Nathan stared hard at the man in the glass. The stranger looked like him, in some ways. The high, wide cheekbones, for example. The nose, thin and rounded as usual. The thick chin and jawline. But that man was not him. And Resa had to know that.
He reached up with one hand and pushed forward his graying hair. He'd slicked it back with water, but he had no idea why. The eyes were his again, now, but they'd been unrecognizable ten minutes before, seething with hate and rage and blood.
"Nathan?" a hesitant voice called from the hallway. "We should really get this … him … sorted out."
"Yeah – just a second," he said, straining to keep the growl from his voice, even when there was nothing left to kill.
"Are – are you okay?"
"Fine. Just a lot of blood."
He stared at his hands. Red. Red dripped freely from them, swirling down the sink in sickening crimson tendrils. The blood didn't belong to him, though he wished it had.
Resa. He couldn't believe he'd hit her. What the hell was this thing? He'd known he was doing it. He knew it was all his fault. Yet it wasn't him.
"Glad to be back," the thing suddenly went off, growling in his throat. Nathan jumped, hitting the left tap. Scalding water flooded over his hand and he leaped back with a gasp.
"Stop it," he told himself firmly, back in his own voice from the shock of the water, though he didn't know if it would do any good to command whatever this thing was. Swallowing hard, he started scrubbing at the blood that had dried into his skin.
He'd killed a man in there, and probably killed the other one too. He was a monster. Innocent blood – relatively innocent – stained his fingers.
How many others had he slaughtered? Gutted like pigs? What was wrong with him? He didn't even feel human. He was disgusting.
Resa said she still wanted him around. For how long? Until she realized what a horror he was? So much revulsion pulsed through him that he could barely stand it. He wondered what she was feeling. Her cheek had still been red where he knocked her down. A fresh surge of guilt plagued him just thinking about it.
And his daughter. His little girl he'd barely met before she was taken away. Why did he still … still feel like he had to protect her? Like he loved her? Like he … missed her. But that was impossible. He didn't even know her.
Everything was fucked up. Nathan was the lowest thing on earth. And every moment he spent around Resa was putting her in danger.
Bitch. She deserves it.
He didn't let the Repo thing get any farther. That woman in the hallway was the best thing that had happened to him since Marni. The best thing for him. A port in the storm. She'd saved his life.
She lied. She's still lying. You know she's lying, you coward. I can see it, every time you look into her eyes. You can't believe a w-
"Shut up!" Nathan exploded, knocking the contents of the counter onto the floor with a loud crash. He stared at the mess of glass, liquids and powders streaming onto the tile in bizarre, surreal blends of color. He breathed heavily, trying to regain control. A knock came on the door, but he wouldn't let himself react.
"…Nate? What was that?"
He couldn't. He couldn't let that thing out when she was around, or ever. He had to be the man she deserved to have around. She'd been right. He didn't have to be what he was. He could be who he needed to be. For her. For himself.
"I just … I slipped, I broke some things, I'm sorry…" he breathed, suddenly the one at the wheel again.
"Are you okay?"
He could have laughed. Was he okay?
He would be.
"I'm fine, but I should replace this stuff. Sorry."
The door creaked open and Resa poked her head in to observe the mess. She was still pale, and he winced at the blossoming purple bruise underneath her eye, waves of remorse crashing down on him all over again. But she smiled at him, a tight, hidden smile.
"Don't worry about it, I never use that stuff. We have more important things to deal with right now, anyway."
Nathan nodded and set his jaw. "I'm still … so, so sorry about that," he said again, gesturing uselessly at her face. Resa looked down, and when she caught his gaze again there was a genuine smile in hers. Small, granted, tiny, but still there.
"Mention it one more time, and I'll give you one to match," she said. He chuckled in surprise, and felt slightly better. Resa set her expression back to one of determination, and turned from the washroom. "Now, c'mon. We have a lot of work to do."
xxx
"So, what should we do with him?"
Nathan and Resa stood looking over the body. Nathan held a bucket and leaned on the mop he clutched in his left hand. Resa carried a tarp. She'd taken half an hour to compose herself, and as long as she forced herself to think about how the corpse had ended up in the room, she was okay. 'He was just a thief, a Zydrate rat, he probably didn't care about anything, he deserved it…' she told herself repeatedly until she almost believed it.
"I'll dispose of him like the bodies I take home from GeneCo," Resa said, "No one will know the difference. The GeneCollectors don't even look at them until they're ready to be harvested."
"Of course," Nathan said, feeling stupid. He could always count the SurGEN to come up with a plan, no matter how obvious. "Look," he tried one last time, "I made this mess. It should be up to me to clean it up."
Resa gave him a look as if to say, 'Hello, I'm a SurGEN. I deal with this all the time.'
"Right, then." Nathan suddenly felt awkward. "Well, we should roll him up on the tarp, I guess."
They spread the plastic canvas on the floor and rolled the body up in it, and then carried it down to leave it by Resa's garbage outside. They stood over it for a moment, looking at the makeshift coffin. Finally Nathan spoke up.
"It doesn't feel right to just leave him like this," he said. Resa agreed. "We should say something." He hesitated, unsure of what to do. He finally said simply, "I'm sure he was a good guy at some point. I do feel remorse, and I wish it hadn't come to this."
They shuffled back inside and got to cleaning, not saying much to each other, preoccupied with their thoughts. Other than a beat of excitement at smelling the blood as he scrubbed it from the floor, Nathan's Repo side stayed quiet. He was grateful for that. Although he knew it was unlikely, he couldn't help but hope that one day the voice would leave him completely and- and what? What would his life be like, ten, twenty years from now? He looked over at the woman across from him, her jaw set in determination as she worked out a particularly stubborn stain. She stuck her tongue out between her teeth, and he smiled at the comic image despite everything. Who knew, really? Anything was possible.
Resa tried her hardest to keep a professional mind while scrubbing the old hardwood floor. The rug was completely ruined; she just decided to trash it. Blood was beginning to seep between the cracks in the wood, though, and she'd have to buy a new carpet eventually to cover it.
Nathan seemed back to normal. It was easier and easier to push the frightening image of the Repo Man out of her mind with every soft-spoken word he said, every careful joke as he tried to lighten the mood, every apology for getting brains in the curtains.
"At least your laptop is okay," was the first comment he'd made. Maybe it was just everything getting to her, but she'd gone into hysterics at that point.
"I could have bought a new laptop," she wheezed, trying to stop the inane laughter. He'd smiled tentatively.
They scrubbed for hours. Resa knew if GeneCo found one speck of blood outside her lab on their six-month inspection, she'd have her home-working license taken. She could probably think of some believable lie, but it was safer this way.
"Nathan," she addressed gently, looking up at him over the bucket of suds. He looked up a little too quickly. "What was your wife like? Do you remember much about her?"
At his slightly pained look, she glanced back down quickly. "Sorry, you don't have to. I just ... you listened to me ramble on about my sister for ages. I thought I'd return the favor, since we're here anyway."
It was still a moment before he spoke again. "Yeah, I remember her. I know I talked about her a little bit already, but I didn't want to bore you anymore than necessary." He received a look from Resa and smiled. "Okay, then. It would be my pleasure. One of my favorite memories of her was the day when she picked me. We knew each other well; I made sure of that. When Rotti and I were friends, we often went to the same parties and hung around the same places. I always found a way to bump into her.
"'My, what a coincidence seeing you here again,' Marni would say, a smile playing across her lips.
"'Oh, it's more than that,' I'd say, keeping my face neutral in case Rotti was watching. 'Coincidence is the word you use when you can't see what's happening behind the scenes.'
"Marni would chuckle lightly; the sound was like music to me. 'Are you flirting with me, Nathan?' She'd say, her eyes sparkling.
"'If I was, would that be so terrible?' I'd reply."
Resa smiled, imagining a younger Nathan sweet talking a gorgeous young woman. It was easier now.
"The day she came to me was a storm in October," he continued, still looking down at the floor. "I remember because when she knocked on my door she was soaked from head to toe, but she was wearing a smile of pure joy that lighted up her face. I can still remember her voice, breathless with excitement and glee. She told me she'd broken it off, and flung her arms around me. I stuttered and stammered like an idiot, but I remember her words perfectly.
"'Rotti. He tried to set a date for the wedding; I told him I couldn't. I told him there was someone else. Someone who could make me a million times happier.' She pulled away, sliding her hands up to my face. Her hair was dripping wet, and I still can't believe how beautiful she was. 'That someone is you,' she said obviously, because I was still shellshocked. I couldn't speak, actually, I think I was just staring at her for ages. At first she took my disbelief for rejection, and she suddenly looked so disappointed. She asked if I was happy, and then everything made sense and I got my voice back. I couldn't bear to see the light fade from her eyes. I told her she'd made me the happiest man on earth, and she had."
Resa had stopped scrubbing, completely enthralled in his story. Nathan blushed to see her staring, as he realized how lost he had become in the tale as if he were reliving it, his voice rising and falling in a tide of emotion. "And... so, we got married pretty soon after that." He returned to scrubbing, feeling even the tips of his ears grow hot.
The smile fell from Resa's face as Nathan looked uncomfortable. "She sounds amazing," she murmured, glad for the happy sentiment from him instead of the tragic one she'd expected. "So that whole thing really was over a woman? I thought that was just tabloid stuff."
Suddenly the image of Nathan taking Resa in his arms in the pouring rain, and her brushing his face with her own fingers, danced through her head innocently. She suddenly sat up, face turning red.
"Something wrong?"
"No, nothing!" reassured Resa, quickly turning and focusing on a dark smudge so that he couldn't study her flushed cheeks. She shouldn't be thinking about this right now! Or at all! But the image wouldn't leave her mind. It stayed resolute, replaying over and over. She tried to force herself to think about what had just happened, but after the hours spent with Nathan, not Repo, she couldn't.
"So that was your whole relationship, then?" she smiled, trying to get him to talk some more to distract her. It became her whole mission not to look at him. "A bit of flirting and one kiss in the rain, and boom, you're married?"
Nathan laughed. "It wasn't quite that simple. You of all people should know, it takes a long time to get into someone's heart."
"What?" Resa looked up guiltily.
"With your sister. You said you didn't like her at first, but you grew close after a while."
"Oh." Resa looked relieved. "Yeah."
"The thing is, I know people say this all the time, but I knew. Before we even started going out, I knew. Rotti didn't talk to me a whole lot after that. Our friendship sort of fell apart. But that's okay. I would rather have had Marni anyway."
They finished scrubbing out the stains and then Resa went out to get a new carpet. Nathan wanted to come with her, but she told him it was safer not to. He could still be recognized.
When she got back and then installed the new rug, it reminded Nathan of something that happened earlier.
"Oh, by the way..." Nathan said with a sidelong glance in the SurGEN's direction. "I owe you some hamburger."
The confusion on Resa's face was evident.
"Don't even ask." Nathan smiled. "You don't want to know."
a/n: ah the romantic things that happen while cleaning blood out of the carpet from the vicious murders recently committed on it. no no, go on you two.
