Chapter Seventeen: Play Through the Pain
"What are you doing with your leg?" Dibbs asked Rosita through a mouthful of food.
Rosita ground the heel of her boot into the floor to stop her leg from shaking and muttered a quick apology.
Dibbs had barely finished swallowing when she asked, "Can I have your tart? It's kind of just… sitting there."
"Go for it," she replied. "I'm not feeling very hungry."
"You didn't eat breakfast or lunch either," Kalin noted. "Sometimes I get like that before a competition. But I eat through it. Go on, eat." She leaned forward and tapped Rosita's tray with her fork and said, "Dibbs, put her tart down. You know you shouldn't be overeating this close to the swim."
"I'm eating the damn tart, carbs make me swim faster."
Not feeling in the mood to listen to another fitness debate between her two friends Rosita's eyes flickered towards the doors of the mess. Still no sign of Spenc or any of the others. She was hit with another wave of nausea.
"I don't know why you're so worried," Dibbs said, nibbling away. "We've got this."
She was about to answer when Tagge appeared, very much hyped up and ready to spill something.
"You guys are not going to believe this!" she slid onto the bench beside Kalin with her datapad clasped between her palm and chest. "Guess who got discharged? Guess."
Tagge worked in the administration department, so it was no surprise that she was up to speed on things, but for them to get discharged so quickly? Tagge had been wrong before. It was possible her information was wrong now.
Rosita certainly hoped it was.
"Who?" Pedra asked.
"Uhm, let me see," She held up her hand and started ticking off fingers. "Boervox, Gimm, Azeus and Glouson, and Piles. Yeah! All discharged!" She threw her head back and giggled maniacally. "Can you believe it?"
"I mean, it's a bit overdue," Pedra remarked. "You didn't say Orbar though."
"No, he wasn't, just those five."
"That's too bad," Kalin muttered. She shrugged, looking unapologetic when Rosita turned to stare imploringly at her.
"That's two teams down," Tagge said. "Sounds good to me. If my team wins, I'm donating my share of the prize to Higher Skies. They help those who are less fortunate on the lower levels."
"I really doubt your team's going to win," Rosita said, spearing a piece of fruit with her fork and sticking it between her teeth. "But what a noble dream."
"Every one of us has a chance to win," Pedra retorted. "If my team wins, we're donating all 15,000 to Furbies. They're a charity that helps orphaned Wookiees on Kashyyyk"
'Furbies?' Rosita thought with a snort. 'How clever. They must love that.'
"I think I'm donating my share to Higher Skies as well," Dibbs said. "It's getting pretty bad down there."
"Who are you donating to, Turuy?" Pedra asked.
"A herd of Muuns," she drawled back. "Have any of you seen Spenc?"
"I saw him on my way here actually," Tagge said.
"Where?" she slung one of her legs over the bench and dragged her tray forward.
"Leaving out the main atrium."
"Thanks." Rosita got up and made her way out.
Spenc wouldn't answer any of her calls, but to get back to the dorms he'd have to go through the main atrium, so she found herself a seat with a good view of the entrances and waited. As time crawled on, she wondered if he was coming back at all. It wasn't like he was allowed to just go sleep off-campus without first getting a leave pass. Unless he did get one. Without telling her.
She shoved her hand into her pocket and yanked her comm out. She was about to call him again when, finally, he came through the front doors.
"Where'd you go?" she asked, marching up and stopping him in his tracks.
"For a walk," he said, his face and voice void of expression. "I knew I had to clear my head before I could see you."
"Okay…" she trailed off, dragging her bottom lip through her teeth. "So… Tagge told us at supper that—" she lowered her voice. "Were they really discharged?"
"I don't know. Possibly." He stared down past her at the ground. "I was ordered to be Thrawn and Vanto's third for the relay."
"No!"
He nodded and folded his hands up into his armpits.
"Will you do it?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Can we go somewhere to talk?"
"Yes."
She placed her hand on the small of his back and began steering him in the direction of the barracks.
"You were right," he said quietly. "We should've called it off. Had I known Gimm was a squealer I would have listened to you."
"Maybe he isn't."
"How did they know who else to go for? Why didn't they have to interrogate us as well? Thrawn must've told them there were four others and they made Gilroy say who they were."
"You don't know that. They could have just put two and two together. Ludan would have vouched for us, so they must have assumed—"
"—People like us don't get expelled from places based on assumptions," Spenc shot across her. "Gilroy squealed." He wound his arm around her back and took over steering them in the right direction. "It's like I said, I should have listened to you."
When Spenc's room door slid shut after them Rosita couldn't help but stare longingly at it, kind of wishing she was on the other side.
"You know what," he continued from behind her. "I think I'm being hard on myself. I shouldn't have to shoulder all the blame."
She turned and stared at him, lifting her eyebrows in question.
"It was your idea to go after Thrawn in the first place, so in a way, this is your fault."
Her mouth opened but no words came out.
Spenc chortled softly and rubbed his hands down her arms. "Just a joke."
"Right."
He shrugged. "I should've gone to help them. I don't know why I let you make that promise to me."
"You should be grateful," she said, crossing her arms.
His bout of laughter ended as suddenly as it began. "Maybe I am grateful," he said. "Do you remember what you said you'd do for me for having to miss the fight?"
"Stars…" she groaned with a roll of the eyes.
"I believe you said I could go until I finished."
She backed up a step. "And you'll get to… one day."
"I want to now."
"We can't. I need to be in top shape for the race."
"After everything that's happened today, that's where your heads at? On the race?"
"It's still happening, isn't it? So I have to think about it."
He stared at her in silence, waiting for her to give him his way.
"Can't it wait, Spenc? It's not as easy as you just asking for it," she said. "I'm unprepared."
"I don't mind."
She frowned deeply and felt—not for the first time in her life—a bizarre mix of disgust and intrigue.
"Are you going to keep your word and finish this?" He placed a hand to rest heavily on her shoulder. "Or are you like Gilroy: a filthy, stinking womprat?"
"I want to finish it."
He leaned down to kiss her, but she dodged his mouth to say, "You said you'd be gentle."
He shrugged, his fingers moving to the buttons of her shirt.
"I need this win, Spenc. I really need it."
"I'm doing the dive for my team. I'm going to make it so Thrawn and Vanto don't get to touch the water. If you still feel you can beat everyone else, then the prize is yours."
Rosita was bombarded with an influx of emotions: excitement, guilt, fear, but now, most of all, arousal.
She was going to win!
It was a shame about Gimm and the others, but what happened to them wasn't her fault. She tried to call off the fight. Even Spenc saw that and took responsibility. She slithered up against him and brushed his lips with hers, nipping at them until he pulled back.
"Until I finish, right?" he asked. "Like we agreed?"
"As long as you're careful—like we agreed."
His mouth found her neck and she let him push her back towards the bed, relieving herself of her clothing along the way. She sat down and lifted her legs, spreading her knees and reaching down to stroke herself until her fingers were soaked.
"Our lube is in my room," she said, meeting his gaze and moving her hand so he could see her better.
"I'm sure Gilroy has some. A lot of his things are still here." Spenc disappeared behind the privacy wall that separated his side of the room from Gimm's, then he returned with a little squeeze bottle pinched between two fingers. "Here," he said, tossing it at her. "Put some on."
"Okay…" She, like Spenc, held the sticky bottle with as little of her hands as possible. He was only too eager to help lubricate her the other night, but given everything that had transpired that day it made sense that he wasn't completely up to his usual standard. She slathered herself up good with the lube before squirting more on her fingers and saying, "Now you."
"Now me," he agreed while unzipping his pants.
It was a definite surprise to see him soft, considering how she was on full display and totally game. But eventually she got him to stand at attention by using her lubed-up fingers, and she delighted at how he threw his head back with a heavy sigh.
"Leave it," he said when she went to undo his belt. "Get on your knees."
When she complied, he grabbed her by the waist to draw her in close, trapping his cock between his stomach and her buttocks.
"I wanted this so bad," he said, hooking his thumb in her asshole. "Remember all the times I've asked you for it?"
"Yes," she replied, groaning when he moved the digit around. The discomfort brought pleasure, as did the sound of his voice. She grasped for his pillow like it was jetsam and slid it under her chest as if she too was thrown overboard.
"You always promised me we would one day." Spenc took his thumb out and she immediately felt self-conscious about it, but he went on to press against her with the tip of his cock and stayed there without making any complaints, enticing her with his patience.
Rosita reminded herself that she was going to be 5000 credits richer tomorrow and relaxed enough to take a bit of him, all by herself.
"I always had hope and all I wanted was you," he continued. "Why do you think that is?" he slid a hand over her back, up and down, but he didn't move his hips. Not one bit...
She turned to look over her shoulder and saw that he wasn't staring at her at all, instead he looked straight ahead at the wall above his headboard. That's when she knew this was all wrong. Spenc didn't like to talk much during, and when he did it was never to ask questions that required long-winded answers, so why now, when she was trying to swallow him whole?
"Spenc?"
He looked down at her and asked, "Why did you really want to end the fight?"
It was instantaneous—her muscles strangled him in guilt and she winced from the pain it caused.
"Tell me, Rosita, or I swear I'll make it so there isn't a doctor in this galaxy who can put you together again."
"Tell you what?"
His fingers tightened around her waist. "Why did you want to end the fight?" he repeated.
"I already told you."
"Rosita, might I remind you what's at stake here? I can rip you apart and I can get away with it, and if I don't get away with it, I'll take you down with me. I've kept a lot of your secrets over the years."
She opted to remain as still as possible, taking in a deep breath and willing herself to relax. To remain calm was the only way she would get out of this. She couldn't very well tell him now. "I had a bad feeling it would backfire, and it did," she said, trying to sound flippant.
"Hm. See, the thing is, Cormac told me Thrawn knew they were coming for him. How would Thrawn know that?"
"I don't know. He's smart I guess. And how did Piles know? Did Thrawn say something to him?"
"Rosita." Spenc made her name sound like a curse, and all at once she knew that lying wasn't going to work this time.
"All I told him was to be careful. That's it."
"Who? Who did you tell to be careful?"
"Thrawn," she replied. "That's what I said. Be careful."
"Tell me exactly what you said."
"I said…" she trailed off and sighed.
He pulled out, only to shove his way back in, forcing a loud glottal moan to pass her lips.
"Isaidbecarefulouttheretonight!" she said in a rush. "Okay? That's all!"
"And what did Thrawn say?"
"Nothing!"
"Nothing?"
"No!"
It felt like Spenc cut her on the way out, then he released her so suddenly and with such force that she fell forward onto the mattress. Never before had she felt so empty—it was a relief that came with a terrible price.
"So it's true," he began sneeringly, "You came on your knees with your mouth open, buttered me up with your little plan, then turned on me at the last second. Why?"
"I don't know," she muttered into the sheets.
He scoffed. "You may not know this, but not all of my friends are well off. Cormac and his parents worked hard to save up to get him here. And despite appearances, this fucking dung hole means everything to Gilroy!"
"It was a mistake!" she cried. "Thrawn was being so helpful. It felt wrong to go through with it!"
"You could have told me that in the change room!" he growled. "If you had, I would have run out there and put a stop to it. But you didn't, and now they're all gone because of you, and I have to go embarrass myself out there tomorrow!"
"I couldn't tell you, you would've been furious! For all I knew, you would have gone out and done something stupid to get back at me!"
He didn't budge.
"And I couldn't believe what I did, I couldn't even say what I did. It was an honest mistake—it just happened. Things just happen sometimes!"
"You're ruined now," he said flatly.
'Ruined?' she thought, getting up on her knees and facing him. "Excuse me?"
"You let him in your head and he ruined you," he returned coldly. "After everything these aliens have done to humans over the centuries, you decided to side with one, over us? I can't choose you over us." His top lip curled up at one side and he shook his head. "We're done."
She scrambled off the mattress and stood up. "What do you want me to say?" she cried out. "It happened. I tried to fix it but you wouldn't listen to me! Why should I have had to explain myself? Why couldn't you just listen for once?"
"Get out." He thrust his head towards the door and tucked his dick back in his pants.
It was his calm demeanor that undid her.
"Spenc, what-the-fuck?" she spat. "You're dumping me now? The night before the race?"
In hindsight, she shouldn't have mentioned the race. He scoffed, looking completely disgusted, then turned and head for the door himself.
…
Rosita understood her mother a bit better now. Here she was, on the day of the race, wrapped up in her blankets with no desire to move.
As someone who had studied Imperial interrogation methods for the last 4 years, Rosita felt she had to give Spenc some serious credit for his ingenuity.
Who needed a fully equipped interrogation droid, when you slung a pole between your legs and your perp had the mind to offer their asshole on a platter?
"Tell me, Rosita, or I swear I'll make it so there isn't a doctor in this galaxy who can put you together again."
What other choice did she have but to confess what she had done? The last thing she needed was having to take a trip to the infirmary to have her rectum pumped with Romayde Numbing Bacta Serum.
The buzz on her door's intercom went off. She buried herself deeper into her blankets.
"You in there?" Dibbs voice sounded through the speaker.
"Why aren't you dressed?" she asked when the door slid open. "Did Kalin already head down?"
"Yeah."
"You look like you've been crying."
Rosita hated how red and swollen her eyes got whenever she cried even just a little.
"Long story. Let me get my bag."
"Are your nerves acting up again?"
"No," she said briskly. "Spenc and I split up last night."
"You've never cried about that before."
"This time it's different. This time it's for real."
"Really?"
Dibbs could be trusted. Rosita went on to explain everything that happened, save for a few details here and there.
"You arranged to have Thrawn attacked?"
"We just wanted to level the playing field a bit."
"So then why did you warn him first? Did you want Piles and them out the way too?"
"No! I thought Thrawn would run for it, not lure them into some kind of trap."
"Hm. I guess he really screwed you over then."
"Yes, he really did. Why I thought I could trust an alien is beyond me. One momentary lapse in judgment and now all this."
Dibbs crossed her arms with a chuckle. "A momentary lapse in judgment? You mean like when I put Irithroxylace in his and Vanto's drinks?"
"That was not the same."
"Maybe not, but you of all people should know how persuasive Spenc can be."
"I do. Anyways, you've already gotten away with that one. I, however, am kriffed."
"It doesn't matter," Dibbs said. "We'll talk about this after the race." She reached out and grabbed Rosita by the shoulders and put her face right up into her own and said, "Let's go do this!"
Rosita rubbed a hand down her face and smoothed back her hair. "How do I look?"
"Like a fucking winner."
…
The energy in the shower was positive. Shouts of, "Good luck," and "Aww, you too!" echoed off the walls.
"Where's Muanung?" Tagge called out through the steam.
"Oxygen chamber," Dibbs called back.
"You guys are lucky to have her."
"We know," Dibbs said.
They really were. It went exactly the way Rosita expected it to go. Kalin had been the first diver out with all fifteen medallions accounted for. Dibbs dove in and made it to the other side of the pool before Hatseen even touched the water.
Rosita leaned forward on the starter block and watched as she cut through the water, getting ever closer. She chanced a glance up at Kalin who stood on the opposite end of their lane holding her knees and screaming intensely.
Dibbs maintained her lead for all four laps but Hatseen was getting too close for comfort.
"FASTER!" Rosita hollered, slapping her thighs. "COME ON!"
When Dibbs slapped the board, Rosita made the switch and drove herself through the water, the roar of the crowd sounded otherworldly on the other side and the pain of her loss was just nonsense now.
Pull, up, breath, down, pull, up, breathe, down, pull, up, breath, down.
Her fingers touched the wall and she twisted around and kicked off the side, putting it all back into her melodie kick. She flicked her legs like a whip again and again and again and chopped the water with her arms.
Pull, up, breath, down, pull, up, breathe, down, FASTER! FASTER! FASTER! WIN! WIN! WIN!
Rosita finished, her hand slapped the board and she could finally feel again. First the pain in her palm, then the searing one in her mind. She turned her head and saw Lighton, Lebsius, and Baseline were also at the wall. Had she made it there first?
When Dibbs helped pull her out, she stood panting heavily on shaking legs. One of the first-year volunteers held out a towel. She snatched it from his hand and wrapped it around her shoulders before turning to the scoreboard.
"We're nine seconds in the lead," Kalin said.
"Good," Rosita replied.
"It sucks to be in round two," Dibbs said. "We'll have to sit through seven more and watch them all claw at our bar."
"Let them try," Rosita looked up into the stands and found Spenc glowering to himself between Thrawn and Vanto.
Did he really think she was going to let him spoil this for her?
