MY LIONHEART – CHAPTER 3

Raped of her Heart

Squall awoke suddenly in the middle of the night. He sat up in his bed, his head hanging sleepily. He didn't know what caused him to wake up but he couldn't go back to sleep. He had a sickening feeling to his stomach and he knew that he didn't wake up without a reason. Suddenly he heard a scream coming from the room next door. It was a gurgled scream and he immediately felt fully awake and alert.

Rinoa? Squall thought and he bolted out the door. Upon reaching Rinoa's door, he noticed that the electronic door isn't working. It was halfway opened and he could make out two shadows in the dark.

"No! Stop! Get off me!" He heard Rinoa scream. Then her screams were muffled as if someone put his or her hand over her mouth and he heard her cry loudly.

"Rinoa!" He called out as he squeezed through the door. One of the shadows got up and immediately punched him in the face. He fell back and the attacker continued to approach Rinoa. She tried to fight back in the dark and she felt her attacker hold her wrists, pinning her to her bed. The attacker's hand made its way under Rinoa's silk camisole and it stroked her soft and tender flesh. She felt the attacker's hot breath scratch her face and she felt lips kissing her neck and moving its way up to her mouth. She screamed but she felt the lips pressing against hers. She cried, hot tears streaming down her face.

Squall pulled the attacker off Rinoa and they both stumbled in the dark. Squall punched the attacker hard and he heard him cough up blood. The smell of copper filled the room and the attacker ran out the door. Squall caught a glimpse of the attacker before he disappeared.

Suddenly the lights came on and Rinoa sat upright on her bed, holding the sheets to cover herself in one hand and she had her fingers over the light switch with the other. She looked pale, her hair messed up and she had tears streaming down her face. She wiped her tears, trying to look strong.

Alas, she broke down altogether. Squall walked over to her, not knowing how to handle the situation. He sat on her bed while she kept sobbing.

"H… Hey. Don't cry." He blurted out. Listening to himself, he thought he sounded stupid.

Rinoa still kept on crying, her hands cupped her face.

"Hey." Squall said softly as he put his hand on her bare shoulder. He stroked it slowly, trying to make her calm down. His action made her stop crying and she looked up from her hands. He hushed her and said "You… Can stay in my room. Your door's fused. It's not safe."

She sat quiet for a while and she nodded, trying her tears. She slowly got up from her bed but she found out that she can't walk properly. She tripped and fell towards Squall and he caught her. Rinoa found herself resting her head against his chest and she felt her stomach fill with butterflies. Her knees gave way and she almost dropped but Squall held her and she tried to control herself.

"Can you walk?" He asked her. She freed herself from his embrace, feeling rather awkward.
"I think I can…" She said weakly, trying hard not to blush.

Squall helped Rinoa walk to his room where he placed her on his bed and he pulled the sheets up her neck. She smiled and said thanks in a small voice and then they kept silent for a moment.

"That was Seifer, right…" Rinoa said; a distant sign of disgust filled the tone of her voice.

Squall didn't say anything but nodded, kneeling beside her.

"I'll report this first thing in the morning." Squall said with the same icy tone of his voice.

Even though it was dark, Squall could see Rinoa smiling at him. She lifted herself up from his bed and she kissed him on the cheek. Squall sat there dumbfounded and she giggled and pulled the sheets over her. In a matter of seconds, she was fast asleep.

Did… she just kiss me?

The next morning, Rinoa woke up with the memories of the night before stirring in her head. She took one good look at the ceiling and immediately knew that it wasn't her room. Then she remembered the events of the night before.

After she sat up in bed, she noticed that Squall was still sitting next to the bed beside her, one hand sandwiched between his forehead and the bed and the other hand was holding her hand firmly.

She felt that it was sweet of him to take care of her. She tried to move her hand away from his hand without waking him up. Suddenly she heard him groan and he lifted his head sleepily. He blinked twice and asked "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Rinoa said. She smiled sweetly and it made Squall blush a little.

"Well," Squall said, getting up. "I'm going to report to the headmaster about this. You can use my room to get dressed… Or something."

"Alright." She said. "And thanks."

Squall didn't say anything and exited his room. Rinoa sat at the foot of the bed, confused like crazy.

She picked herself up and headed towards the shower. Closing the shower door behind her, she opened the tap and cold water washed over her. She tried to block out the memories of the night before. She was soaping herself when she glanced at her body. Knowing that Seifer's hands touched her, she felt like she could vomit. She felt unclean and the cold water won't wash away that feeling. She kept herself from crying but she broke down, her tears mixing with the cold water coming from the shower head.

She cried long and loud until Squall came back. He heard her, but felt like it was inappropriate to approach her when she's in the shower.

He felt helpless for once. Helpless and vulnerable.

He shook his head and thought about getting her clothes from her room. Exiting his room, he could still hear Rinoa's cries. Even though he doesn't know how it feels like to be molested, he knew that it hurt her a lot.

Right now, he was focusing on making her feel better.

He opened her drawers and took out a pair of clothing and her towel and went back to his room. He laid he clothes nicely on his bed and he heard her sobbing stop. The shower door opened and Rinoa screamed, hiding behind the shower door.

Figures, Squall thought. She forgot about her towel.

He got up with her towel in his hand and knocked on the door. She poked her head out of the door.

"Here." He said simply. She smiled weakly, trying to conceal the fact that she was crying and took it. Before she closed the door, Squall handed her her clothes.

"Oh. Right. Thanks." Rinoa said in a tired voice.

Squall nodded and waited for her to get dressed. When she did, she came out of the shower looking paler than before.

"I need to bring you to the infirmary. Just to make sure you're okay." Squall said in a monotone voice but there was a hint of something more.

"Okay then. Let's go!" Rinoa said, trying to act cheery.