A/N: Just a forewarning that this chapter may be a little…graphic towards the end. I tried to be as subtle as possible while still implying what I needed to. I'm just saying that if anyone's uncomfortable with suicide, then they probably shouldn't read the end of this chapter.
38
Neo awoke late the following morning in a sour mood. It had taken him ages to leave the temple last night since people had continuously approached him with ongoing questions about his speech. Once he had finally returned to his room and had fallen asleep, his dreams were plagued with disturbing images of Gina's death that were replayed constantly in his mind. Every time he had woken up, he had been too afraid to fall back to sleep again, so he had ended up missing out on some much needed rest. He finally managed to fall into a light doze when he heard a knock at the door. Trinity went to answer it, and after speaking briefly to whoever the visitor was, returned and knelt by his bedside, gently shaking him awake.
"Trin…" he mumbled in protest, pulling the sheets around him more tightly.
Trinity could resist a grin, knowing just how much he disliked being disturbed from sleep. "Neo, there are people at the door who want to see you."
Neo groaned in annoyance and opened his eyes, only to see Trinity grinning at him. He couldn't help smiling in reply as he answered, "Tell them I'll answer their questions later."
"I don't think you'll be able to shake these visitors that easily." Trinity replied, a hint of humor in her tone as she predicted how he would react to what she was now about to tell him. "It's Kid and Raven."
Neo's brown eyes first widened in surprise, then narrowed in pure irritation. Oh great, he thought sarcastically to himself, just who I wanted to see. He had planned on spending today with Trinity, filling her in on Lorena and hopefully getting the 'private time' with her that they both sorely needed. But unfortunately, it looked as though these plans wouldn't come to pass. He didn't think he would be able to get rid of Kid and Raven too easily.
After dragging himself out of bed and pulling on the tan coloured shirt and pants that rested at the end of the bed, he slowly made his way to the door and jerked it open. Kid and Raven jumped back in surprise when he appeared so suddenly, gawking at him with wide eyes. Neo stared back at them both calmly, running his fingers once through his bedraggled dark hair self-consciously.
"Hey, Neo!" Kid exclaimed in a tone that was a mixture of both awe and admiration once he'd recovered. His large brown eyes were transfixed on Neo as if he never wanted to let the older man out of his sight again.
"Hi, Kid. Raven." Neo nodded to each of the teenagers in turn, eyeing them curiously. Now that he was more awake, he couldn't help wondering what they were doing here, although he figured it had something to do with his speech considering the way Kid kept looking at him.
Raven merely shrugged, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the ground. Something told Neo that the younger teenager didn't want to be here, and he couldn't understand why he would come. When they had parted last time, Neo had been silently grateful that he would never have to talk to Raven again, and he had thought Raven would feel the same way. Besides, Raven had known that Neo was the One long before the public announcement had been made, and hadn't been terribly interested in it then, so why should he be interested now?
"Neo, that was an awesome speech that you made the other day!" Kid burst out in a tone of complete sincerity. "You probably didn't see me because of all the people, but I was there watching, and you were great! The way you spoke…like you were getting your words from somewhere completely different…it was so inspiring! You're my hero, Neo, literally, and to think that I actually have the privilege – no, the honor – of being able to tell people that I was unplugged by you!"
Neo gazed at Kid, dumbfounded, as the teenager struggled to catch his breath after making this short speech. Was this why Kid had come to see him? Did he plan on starting up his own personal 'Neo fan-club'? Neo felt himself turning red again, still unused to all this unwanted attention. Kid had always been especially attached to him, and seemed to look up to him as an older brother when they were on the ship, but Neo had never expected him to start acting like this.
Kid was now nudging Raven, prompting him to speak, but the younger boy's lips were pursed together tightly as if he refused to say a word – something which was highly unusual for him. When Neo had first unplugged Raven, he hadn't been able to get him to shut up. He remembered the long conversations he, Tank and Trinity used to have in the Mess Hall about how much Raven had pissed them all off and a small smile crept onto his face.
"Uh…thanks, Kid." He said awkwardly, holding the door to his room open a little wider. "Why don't you guys come in?"
"Yeah, okay." Kid said gladly, stepping over the threshold with Raven just behind him.
"You invited them in?" Trinity smirked when she saw the grieved expression on Neo's face as he led his guests to the table and chairs in the kitchenette.
"Just being a good host." Neo grinned back at her.
"So I take it the two of you are still together?" Raven said, looking from Neo to Trinity.
Neo began to rub at the back of his head nervously and nodded, while Trinity fixed Raven with an expression that clearly showed she was not going to discuss her relationship with a bunch of teenage boys. Kid seemed slightly startled by this remark, but didn't appear all that surprised. No one had ever told him about their relationship, but Neo gathered it must have been a little more obvious than either he or Trinity had thought.
"Anyway, that's not we came here to talk to you about." Kid's voice filled the awkward silence, and he glared at Raven. "My roommate here has something important to tell you."
Kid nudged Raven again, who frowned at him and pulled his chair away, putting as much distance between them as possible. Feeling somewhat protective over Kid in a brotherly perspective, Neo had wanted to make sure that Kid had some familiarity when they left him at the academy, so he had ensured that the boy would be roommates with Raven – another one of the teenagers he had helped to unplugged. He knew that Raven and Kid would have similar experiences to talk about, but he had forgotten to consider just how different the two of them were in personality.
"I see you two have been getting along." Trinity said sarcastically, the look in her eyes telling Neo that she was thinking the same thing he was.
"Hey, none of it is my fault." Raven held up his hands defensively. "I try to be nice, but for some reason, Kid can't stick me!"
"That's not true, and you know it, jackass." Kid spat back at him. "It's all his fault. He betrayed you, Neo!"
"What are you talking about?" Neo stared between them both in bewilderment.
"He's just joshing you." Raven replied hastily, although he looked highly uncomfortable. "You know I would never shaft you, man."
"Liar!" Kid shouted. Raven shoved his roommate hard in the chest. Although they were both newly-unplugged, Kid was naturally a lot meeker and more gangly in build, and was sent staggering backwards.
"Both of you stop it, shut up, and sit down!" Trinity shouted, getting to her feet, her blue eyes glowing menacingly as she surveyed both of them. They had only been here for ten minutes and she already had had enough of them, eventually unable to stop herself from losing her temper. How anyone could stand sharing a dorm room with the two of them was beyond her.
Kid and Raven were so startled that they dropped into chairs next to each other at the table without another word. Neo stared at Trinity and saw the warrior's spark glinting in her ice blue eyes – the side of her he rarely got to see anymore. He had always loved that about her…the fire that seemed to burn inside of her…the way she refused to let anyone push her around or treat her differently just because she was female. It was one of the things that had attracted him to her in the first place, and he still had the highest regard for her quick-temper. Also, she was exceedingly good at putting moody teenagers in their place.
Neo lowered himself into a seat opposite Kid and Raven, looking at her thankfully. Trinity merely smirked and sat down again next to him.
"Alright, so tell me why you're here." Neo demanded.
"It's all his fault, Neo! He's been a total jerk." Kid began while Raven folded his arms defiantly across his chest.
"Kid, you can't expect me to fix all your problems." Neo said with a smile. "I may be the One, but I have a feeling that I wasn't given all these abilities just so I could help teenagers sort out their differences."
"It's not me, Neo, although he has been a total jerk to me." Kid said darkly. "He double-crossed you!"
"What do you mean by that?" Trinity asked sharply. "And you better give me a straight answer, Kid."
"I forced him to come here so he could tell you himself, but since he won't…" Kid exhaled a deep breath before he continued. "Neo, Raven is the reason why the whole city knows that you're the One! He's the one who started all the rumors."
Neo froze, staring back at Raven in shock. He had been so concerned with dealing with the publicity that he had completely forgotten about wondering who had caused it for him in the first place. And Raven…? When he had been thinking about all the people who could have started telling rumors, he hadn't thought of him, but now it all seemed to make perfect sense.
"Is that true?" Trinity said angrily, glancing wildly from one boy to the other.
"I didn't mean to cause all this!" Raven cried, speaking properly to Neo for the first time that morning. His dark eyes were wide with guilt, and it looked as though he was about to burst into tears at any second. "I was at the academy, and everyone was swapping stories about how they were unplugged. This one really stuck-up guy was telling me about how he was unplugged by someone famous, and I couldn't resist showing off – you know what a blabber-mouth I am – so I started telling them about how you were the One. Before I knew it, the whole city knew. I'm really sorry, man. I didn't mean to…I mean – "
He continued to babble a senseless apology, and Kid folded his arms across his chest, giving his distressed companion a smug 'I-told-you-so' look. Trinity glowered at Raven furiously. She had always disliked him, but that was out of pure irritation. Now, she suddenly wanted to cause him as much pain as possible for what he had put Neo through. She pictured the sickly look that had been on Neo's face the day they arrived in Zion and realized that all of it could have been avoided if Raven had kept his mouth shut. Neo, however, was now looking completely calm.
"Raven, it's alright." He said softly, cutting through his ramblings. "It was a big secret to keep, and you told me ages ago that you couldn't keep secrets well. I'm just sorry that I told you about being the One in the first place."
"You mean you're not going to tell him off?" Kid cried, outraged.
"Well, as Neo said, it technically isn't my fault." Raven grinned, showing off his startlingly white teeth. "He should never have told me about it in the first place, so –"
"Don't push your luck, Raven." Trinity said curtly. "I suggest the two of you leave – now."
Raven and Kid both said a hurried goodbye, and Trinity escorted them to the door, snapping it shut briskly behind them.
"You took that rather well." She said, struggling to keep her voice level. "I swear, I felt like pounding Raven into the ground for a minute there."
"I was angry with him at first too." Neo admitted. "But then…I realized that I didn't really care about that anymore. What's done is done, and there's no use getting angry at Raven now. Besides, I can learn to live with the publicity. I've got bigger, more important, issues to deal with."
"Like what?" Trinity said with concern. She could tell from the tone in his voice that he was thinking about something important.
Neo looked into her eyes, his own filled with pain and a deep sadness. "Lorena."
(o)
Trinity kept glancing at Neo as they walked down the crowded street. His face had turned pale, and he was moving with an anxious jaunt in each step. He clearly wasn't looking forward to meeting with Lorena again, and frankly, Trinity didn't blame him. From what she gathered, the girl had practically thrown him out of her house during the last time he had come over. This angered Trinity, since she couldn't understand why Lorena was acting the way she was. All Neo had been trying to do was protect her…
Even so, she couldn't be too angry with Lorena. When Neo had told her about the rape, she hadn't known what to think. It had become quite a sensitive topic for her ever since Charity's death, and an involuntary shudder always passed through her at the mere mention of the word. To think that it was happening in Zion…that someone was sick and twisted enough to do something like that here, where everyone relied souly on the support of one another…it was just disgusting to consider.
She crashed into someone, breaking through her reverie, and realized that if it wasn't for Neo leading her, she would have become completely emerged in her own thoughts. She was about to mutter an apology to the person in front of her, but when she looked up and saw Dwayne glaring down at her, she hastily bit her tongue.
"Where are you going in such a hurry, beautiful?" He sneered.
"Oh fuck off, Dwayne." Trinity said savagely, not at all in the mood for dealing with him now.
"Now, that's no way for a lady to speak." Dwayne said mockfully. "I see you're still with Neo, which certainly surprises me. Great speech by the way, Neo. I almost believed you…until I remembered you're really a sleazy son of a bitch. How can you still sleep with Trinity after what you did to her?"
Neo clenched his hands into fists, fighting with the urge to lash out at Dwayne. He was sure he would have if it weren't for the surrounding crowds. He didn't want to draw anymore attention to herself.
Trinity thought about telling Dwayne why she was still with Neo, but decided that it wasn't worth the effort. Instead, she fixed him with a cold stare before stalking off in the opposite direction, dragging Neo behind her.
The door to Lorena's room was open, much to Neo's surprise. Lorena was always so careful to keep the door locked, so why was today an acceptation to that rule? When he pushed open the door and stepped into the room, he instantly knew the answer to his question. The girl was curled up in the corner of the room, tears leaking freely down her cheeks as she toyed absently with one of her tattered blankets. She looked a mess: her face pasty and blotchy, her eyes blood-shot, and her long mattered hair pasted to her tear-stained cheeks. Her dress had risen slightly up her legs, revealing fresh bruises on her thighs.
"Was he here just now?" Neo asked in a hoarse whisper.
Lorena sniffed and slowly lifted her head off the floor. She stared at him unblinkingly, her huge green eyes filled with the constant hurt she carried. She wiped her eyes and nodded solemnly, still fingering the blanket unconsciously. Feeling his heart ache with emotion, Neo came and sat next to her, wrapping an arm protectively around her shoulders and drawing her close to him in a brotherly fashion. Lorena burst into a set of fresh tears, sobbing into his shirt.
Trinity watched on, her eyes suddenly filled with unexplained tears of rage. The first time she had met Lorena, it had been in a club on Neo's second night in Zion ever. At this stage, her relationship with Neo wasn't as strong, and she had still been worried about his attraction to other women. She had been infuriated with Lorena, thinking that she was approaching Neo with the hope of being able to seduce him. She could now see that this had been the last thing on Lorena's mind. All the girl had wanted from Neo was help, and she, Trinity, had scared her away just because she was afraid of losing Neo.
"Lorena, this is Trinity." Neo said when he noticed that the two women were now staring at each other. He felt Lorena tense beside him. "Don't worry. She's here to help."
"Lorena," Trinity said quietly. "I know you don't want to tell anyone about this, and I can understand that. It's hard to talk about these kinds of things. But if you don't do something about it soon…if you let all this inward turmoil continue…then you could end up doing serious damage to yourself. I should know because…" she swallowed, being sure to keep her emotions in check before she continued. "…because the same thing happened to my older sister, and she ended up killing herself."
Lorena was silent, gazing up at Trinity with a knew kind of perspective. Neo tightened his hold on her, wanting desperately to envelope Trinity in his arms as well. He knew how difficult it was for her to talk about her past, especially to someone she didn't know or trust yet. But he was glad that she had decided to do this, because it was somehow getting through to Lorena. It seemed as if Trinity was speaking to her on a level she could understand better. Neo wondered, with a heavy heart, how many times Lorena had considered taking her own life.
"I'm not saying you're going to go to those extremes." Trinity added hastily when she saw the look on the younger girl's face. "But I am warning you that you need to look after yourself. Look at you – you're a mess. This simply can't go on. This guy has to stop hurting you, and if you tell us what you can about him, then we can protect you."
"I-I can't." Lorena eventually chocked out, close to tears again.
"I know you're worried about him hurting the people you care about. Old friends of yours, perhaps…other family? But I promise you that they'll all be safe. I'll do whatever I can to protect them until we catch this bastard." Neo said firmly.
"If you won't tell us, then at least come and stay with Neo and I. That way, he won't be able to get to you." Trinity suggested.
"He'll hunt me down. He always knows how to find me, and he'll kill you both if he finds me there." She whispered in distress. "Oh, God…I'm so tired…so tired…"
"Sleep." Neo instructed her, realizing that he would not be able to get any other information out of her just yet. "Trinity and I will stay here."
He was just about to move in order to allow her to lie down when there was a sharp knock at the door from behind them. Lorena gasped and clutched onto Neo's shirt, her hands trembling and her face white.
"It's him." She sobbed. "He's going to kill you."
The knock sounded again, even stronger and more demanding than it had been before. Neo and Trinity exchanged anxious glances, bracing themselves for the worst. Neo tightened his arm around Lorena and felt her trembling. He was hoping to bring her some kind of reassurance, but his own heart was thudding uncontrollably in his chest.
Trinity took a deep breath and moved slowly towards the door. If the bastard was really on the other side, then she wanted to catch him off guard. She planned to pull open the door quickly and knock him unconscious before he had a chance to react. Lorena had said he was strong, but she was sure she could overpower most of the men in Zion. Even so, her knees felt weak as she closed her fingers around the cold door wheel, ready to wrench it open.
"Be careful." Neo hissed, his voice filled with worry.
Trinity did her best to reassure him by putting on the smooth, emotionless expression she usually saved for jacking into the Matrix. Keeping her eyes on him and the terrified Lorena, she heaved the door open. The person behind it was so shocked by the sudden movement that they fell forward on the doorstep with a cry. It was a female voice. Trinity bent down and gripped the woman's shoulder, lifting her to her feet.
"Vivianna." Neo breathed with relief, feeling Lorena relax beside him. He took his arm from around her shoulders and stood up.
"What are you doing here?" Trinity asked irritably. She couldn't believe she had been fooled so easily.
Vivianna would not meet anyone's gaze. She kept her eyes on the floor, a curtain of long dark hair hiding her pale face from view. Neo knew that if she lifted her head, he would be able to see the red in her cheeks. He shifted awkwardly on the spot, realizing just how uncomfortable this was for all of them. Trinity, who knew nothing of the situation with Vivianna, was completely oblivious to this embarrassment, but shot Neo an odd glance when she noticed his awkward movements.
"I finished my shift at the hospital, so I came to check up on Lorena." Vivianna mumbled, chancing a quick glance past Neo to the girl, who had now collapsed completely from exhaustion. It seemed that all her sudden fear and then the giant wave of relief had finally spent the last of her energy.
"She's fine." Neo said, trying to keep his voice as normal as he possibly could. "Trinity and I are looking after her, so…"
"I know, but I still want to make sure she's okay." Vivianna moved quickly across the room and knelt beside Lorena, using it as an excuse to fix her eyes directly on one target. "She looks worse than ever."
"She said the guy was just here." Trinity said, shaking her head solemnly. "This is wrong. We can't let it continue."
"I know, but until she gives us more information, there's nothing we can do." Vivianna replied without turning to face the other occupants of the room.
"We were thinking that she should stay with us for a while." Neo said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand out of nervousness – an action which didn't go unnoticed by Trinity. "Whoever the guy is, he won't be able to find her there."
"That's a good idea, but it won't be necessary. I'll be able to look after Lorena and keep a watch on her here." Vivianna answered curtly, then added in a soft, pained voice. "I'm sure the two of you have other stuff you want to do."
Neo felt horrible, knowing full-well that Vivianna was still hurting because of him, and yet there was nothing he could do to make it better for her. Part of him wanted to be her friend…to hug her, and reassure her that everything would be okay. But he was too afraid of making it worse. This was the first time they had seen each other since the 'incident', and a lot of 'healing time' was obviously still needed if they were to ever rekindle their friendship. At this stage, Neo doubted that things between them would ever be able to go back to the way they once were. He couldn't stand the idea of Vivianna hating him…of their once unbreakable friendship being lost forever, and all over something so small.
Trinity could feel the tension in the room between Neo and Vivianna and was highly confused. What had happened to their close friendship? Last she knew, Neo and Vivianna had been able to joke and laugh together. Now, they couldn't look each other in the eye. What had gone wrong? As much as she wanted to ask, she knew it had to wait until later, and quickly pushed these questions aside.
"If you're going to look after Lorena, then Neo and I should go." Trinity said, deciding to save Neo from this apparently awkward situation. "Um…shouldn't we put her in her proper bed?"
Neo shook his head gravely. "She hates that bed. It's where it, you know, happens."
"Oh…" Trinity mumbled, immediately wishing she could take back her words. "Well, uh, take good care of her, Vivianna. Neo and I will come back tomorrow."
(o)
"So what's between you and Vivianna?" Trinity asked the moment she and Neo returned to their room and closed the door securely behind them.
"Huh?" Neo said, blinking himself back into reality. During the walk to their room, he had been completely emerged in his own thoughts. Worrying about Lorena…wondering how he was going to handle things with Vivianna…
"You know what I mean." Trinity said with a small smile. "I could tell something was wrong. Last I heard, you two were good friends. Now, you can't even look at each other properly. So what's changed?"
Neo gulped, having partly known that Trinity would have found out somehow. He wished he could have kept her oblivious to it forever, not because he doubted she would believe him when he tried to explain that the kiss had been completely hers, but because he wanted to prevent her from hurt. Trinity had been through so much pain in her life, and as a result of this, was prone to being effected greatly by this type of thing. Even if she didn't admit it, he knew that this would effect her.
Then again, he also knew that he would have told her sooner or later. He had been so preoccupied with other things that Vivianna had completely slipped his mind. But now that it was fresh in his memory, he realized that the guilt of keeping it secret from Trinity would eventually have eaten him up from inside. He may have not initiated the kiss, but it had still been a kiss, and Trinity had a right to know about it. Therefore, there was nothing for it. He would have to tell her.
"A lot has changed, actually." He began softly, averting her eyes. "I-I don't think things between Vivianna and I can ever be the same. I can't picture us, you know, joking around anymore. It's too…awkward."
"What's wrong?" Trinity said, her tone now filled with concern. She reached out and took hold of his arm, squeezing it tightly and urging him to speak. "Neo, tell me."
Neo took a shallow breath and finally looked up at her. Her blue eyes poured into his own, filled with deep concern and worry, as well as a more profound sense of love…the kind he always saw when he looked into her eyes. He was so afraid of seeing her in pain again. She'd had more than enough pain to deal with in her life. He tried to think of all the reasons he had for telling her this, but they all seemed stupid and selfish now. How could he possibly tell her about Vivianna?
"Neo, I'm worried about you." Trinity admitted. "You have so much to deal with right now, and I can tell that all the pressure is really getting to you. I want to know about this problem with Vivianna so I can help you."
He wasn't sure she would feel that way once he was finished explaining. He now thought of another reason for keeping this to himself – her infamous quick-temper. He didn't want Trinity to end up hurting Vivianna, since it really wasn't her fault. She had simply misread the signs, and was acting upon her own instincts. But what if Trinity didn't give him a chance to explain this? He still considered Vivianna a friend – even if she didn't see him that way anymore – and he didn't want her to get hurt. He didn't want anyone to be hurt in any way. He was so annoyed with Vivianna right now. Why did she have to kiss him in the first place?
"There's no other way for me to say this than to just…" He trailed away, realizing that stalling was only making it worse. He locked his eyes on her steadily and took a deep breath. "Vivianna kissed me."
Neo watched painfully as her concerned expression turned to shock. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open slightly. She shook her head firmly in denial. "What?"
"I-I didn't kiss her back." He said quickly. "We were just talking, and then the next thing I knew, she was kissing me. Trinity, I didn't mean for it to happen. I didn't want it to happen. I pushed her away from me straight away. I – "
"What the hell did you do?" she said through gritted teeth. While Neo had been babbling, her expression had changed yet again into one that was unmistakably full of rage. Not just rage, Neo thought to himself with a stab of pain, she's fuming.
Trinity wanted to keep calm, but she couldn't deny the emotions that were lurking inside of her. Mostly, she was still in a state of shock. She had always suspected that Vivianna thought of Neo as more than a friend. But kissing him? When she knew that he was in another relationship? How could she have sunk so low? Already, the anger was beginning to boil beneath her skin.
"I didn't do anything, Trinity, I swear." Neo pleaded with her. He looked so distressed she almost feared he would break down at any minute. "And please don't be mad at Vivianna. She just misread the signs. She thought – "
"Don't tell me how I am supposed to feel, Neo." Trinity scathed, her words curt and sharp. "I want you to tell me everything about what happened. Every single detail, from start to finish, and don't leave anything out."
Neo blinked at her, having not expected this. He didn't think that she would be willing to hear what he had to say. But she stood in front of him with her arms folded protectively across her chest, anger lurking dangerously in her eyes, and ready to listen.
"I went to the hospital." He said quietly, seizing the opportunity to explain. "Vivianna had called me there so she could tell me about Lorena. S-She took me into this empty ward and started to tell me what she had discovered. When she was done, she told me these things…"
"Go on." Trinity prompted him. She wanted to hear everything before she came up with an opinion on the entire thing, but her emotions were making it difficult to focus on what he was saying. For once, she was glad she had practiced suppressing her emotions so much. Otherwise, she probably would have stormed out of the room long ago to go in search of Vivianna. She still would like nothing more than to do that, but obviously Neo still cared about his 'friend'. And since she cared about Neo, she was prepared to listen for his sake, and the sake of their relationship.
Neo had stopped himself, not wanting to tell her what Vivianna said in case he make her even more mad. But she had asked for the truth, and it was what she deserved. He sighed and continued, "She told me how much I meant to her, and that she cared about me, and would always be there for me. I thought she was just talking about it in terms of our friendship, and I was about to thank her for being such a great friend. But the next thing I knew, she was kissing me."
He stopped again when he heard her take in a sharp, painful breath, and cringed upon seeing the hurt in her eyes. He had done it again. He had hurt her. It was enough to make him go insane with guilt, even though he really hadn't done anything wrong…
Trinity lowered her eyes to his lips, trying to imagine the scene in her mind. She could see Vivianna, dressed in that short white nurse's robe that showed off her figure. She was pressed against Neo's body. Her Neo. Threading her fingers through his hair…grabbing onto his shirt to narrow the space between them…locking her lips on her own. Just knowing that she had kissed his lips was enough to make her want to scream. By some miracle, she still managed to hold it together…to wait…to listen…
"I pulled away from her straight away." Neo only managed to continue by reminding himself that the worst of it was over. "She was really surprised. She started to cry and told me that she loved me. I told her that she couldn't possibly because I loved you. I couldn't stand to be there any longer, so I left the room. I hadn't seen her again until today."
"Bitch." Trinity was unable to refrain from muttering, just loud enough for Neo to overhear.
"Really, it's not her fault." Neo said defensively. "I just wish…I wish it was different. I've lost her as a friend and I didn't even do anything wrong. Now I've had to put you through this and I hate the idea of hurting you."
Trinity couldn't deny that she wasn't hurt by this. Not so much by Neo, but by Vivianna, even though she had never been close to the girl. She felt as though she had been betrayed, in a sense, and that made her even more angry than she already was. But the angrier she became, the more she realized that none of this anger was directed at Neo. After all, from what he had told her it seemed as if he hadn't done anything wrong. It was not his fault she had suddenly decided to kiss him. And she believed his version of this story unquestionably. Not just because she wanted to, but because she trusted him, and because of all the sincerity she could see in his soulful brown eyes. She could tell that in hurting her, he had been hurting himself as well.
It seemed the soul source of all her anger was Vivianna, and she doubted that she would be quick to recover from this. She looked at Neo, and realized how possessive and protective she had become over him. She would do anything for him, even if it meant putting her own emotions aside and resisting the strong temptation to hurt Vivianna, which was a very strong desire of hers at the moment. But her anger wasn't want he needed from her at the moment….
When the Oracle had first told her that she would fall in love with the One, she had also been told that this love would change her. The Oracle had been right yet again. Trinity had changed more than she could ever imagined. She used to be cold and unfeeling…unable to open up and show anyone how she truly felt, even her closest friends. She was suffering from the scars of her past…too afraid of being hurt by another person to allow anyone in. She had paid the price of this behavior when Switch and Tank had died before she had the chance to tell them how much they meant to her. But then somehow, miraculously, Neo had opened her up and helped her to cleanse the wounds that had dwelled inside of her for so long. He had helped her to feel again.
Without another thought, Trinity wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her, attacking his lips with her own. At first, he cried out in surprise, but eventually sunk happily into the kiss. She could feel him starting to relax again…the tension in his muscles leaving him. When she broke away, however, he was still looking highly confused.
"Trinity, what – I mean….I…" he shook his head in disbelief, unable to tear his eyes away from her. She had to fight hard with herself to keep from laughing. "…aren't you mad?"
"I'm furious, Neo. But not with you. I believe you when you say that it wasn't your fault." She said, running her hand along his back soothingly.
"It's not Vivianna's fault, either." He replied, although right now he was so relieved that she wasn't mad at him that he hardly cared what she thought of Vivianna.
"That's probably true, too. But I'm still going to be mad at her for a long time." Trinity said. "As for you, I don't see any point in wasting time fighting over something so stupid. This is a war, and we don't know how much time we have left."
Neo hadn't considered this very real possibility before, and it terrified him. His hands automatically tightened around Trinity's waist as if he refused to ever let go.
"So things are okay?" he asked her. "Between us, I mean."
"Of course they are. I love you, Neo." She didn't say it quietly or embarrassedly, but loud and confident, as if she didn't care who overheard her…as if she was making a claim on him.
"I love you, too." Neo beamed, thrilled that she was no longer ashamed of her emotions.
I'll wipe that smirk off his face, Trinity thought to herself as she grasped him by the shirt and pulled him towards her. The anger she still felt against Vivianna somehow fueled the passion and intensity of their kiss. She could tell Neo had noticed this, for he groaned against her lips almost instantly, pulling her even closer to him so that the space between them became nonexistent. It wasn't long before she could feel his tongue against her lips, and eagerly parted them, allowing his tongue to slide into her mouth and clash against her own. He slid his hands up underneath her shirt, fingers massaging the flat stomach beneath and slowly itching their way downwards. Trinity moaned into their kiss as she felt his hands ease under the waistband of her skirt…
A sharp knock at the door brought them both crashing back to reality.
"Damn it!" Neo muttered as he reluctantly pulled away from her.
Trinity grinned and kissed him softly before sliding out from his arms. She checked to make sure that she was presentable before making her way to the door.
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything." Said a cynical voice from outside, catching Neo's immediate attention as he listened from within the room.
"Dwayne!" Trinity exclaimed in surprise, then narrowed her eyes skeptically. "What do you want?"
"You ask me that question so many times. But every time I answer you truthfully, you just push me away." He said mock-sorrowfully. "Do you really want me to answer you again?"
"Just tell me why you're here." Trinity snapped impatiently.
"Your precious captain sent me. He wants you to meet him in his room. There, happy? I was straight to the point."
"Very happy." Trinity replied. "But I would be even happier if you would get out of my face."
"Fine, if that's what you really want. I've got other things to do."
"Sure you do." Trinity murmured sarcastically, but closed the door on him before he could say another word. She turned to face Neo again, only to see him deep in thought and looking troubled. "What's wrong?"
"Why didn't I see it before?" Neo said quietly, sounding highly irritated with himself. "It was so obvious…"
"See what before?" Trinity asked worriedly. "Neo, you're not making any sense."
"Dwayne." He replied, as if it were simplest thing in the world. "Dwayne is the one who is raping Lorena."
"Dwayne?" Trinity gaped at him in disbelief, wondering what could have caused him to reach this conclusion.
"Of course. Who else do we know that would sink low enough to do something so terrible? He wasn't getting any, so he decided he would take advantage of an innocent girl. And we saw him this morning, remember? He was walking in the opposite direction to us…away from Lorena's room! He had just been there."
Trinity's mind was racing as she tried to put this theory into perspective. She always hated Dwayne, and considered him to be one of the lowliest human beings she had ever met in her lifetime. But rape? She didn't think he could sink that low. All evidence pointed towards him, but something about it just didn't feel right…
"Neo, I don't think it's Dwayne." She said softly.
"What do you mean?" Neo retorted. "Of course it's Dwayne. We saw him walking back from Lorena's room!"
"We saw hundreds of people walking in that same direction, and there are millions more people in Zion who it could have been. It could have just been a coincidence."
"It seems an unlikely coincidence." He argued. "Why are you so reluctant to consider this as a possibility?"
"I've known Dwayne for years, Neo. I've put up with him longer than you have." She replied. "I know he can be a bastard at times, but I don't think he's capable of something like…rape. Something about it just doesn't seem to fit."
Neo was frustrated with her. How could she make excuses for Dwayne? After all, hadn't she always hated him anyway? In his mind, he had already convinced himself that Dwayne was the one who was doing this. How could she not see that Dwayne was the one making Lorena suffer?
"Well, Dwayne's our most likely suspect right now. We'll have to bring him before the Council…tell Lorena we know and convince her to make a statement. If she shows the Council her bruises, then – "
"Neo, this isn't like you. You're not thinking this through!"
It was only when he paused to consider this that he realized she was right. He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Trin. It's just…I hate seeing people suffer, and I want Lorena to be protected and safe. I want to find this guy."
"I know you do." Trinity said, resting a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "It'll be alright Neo, you'll see. We'll find the guy, and Lorena will be fine."
"I hope you're right." Neo said softly, looking down at her with sad eyes. He desperately wanted to believe her, but he couldn't get the image of Lorena cowering beside him in fear out of his mind. Something told him that it would be a long time, if ever, before she was 'fine' again.
(o)
"Finally." Morpheus sighed in relief when he opened the door to his two crewmembers sometime later. "I was beginning to wonder if Dwayne had delivered my message to you at all. Come in."
Morpheus' room was slightly larger than Trinity's, with more seats at the table in the center, giving the impression that Morpheus had frequent visitors. Someone else was already sitting at the table, dressed in a lose Zion attire with dark braids of hair dangling on his shoulders. He stared at the newcomers with worn, sad dark eyes.
"Link!" Neo exclaimed, trying and failing to contain his surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"So I take it the two of you already know each other?" Morpheus said, looking from one man to the other. "Good, that should save some time. Have a seat, Neo and Trinity."
Neo dropped into a chair opposite Link with Trinity just beside him. Morpheus remained standing, keeping his arms folded across his chest as he observed the immediate relaxation between the three of them when they exchanged a greeting.
"Neo, Trinity, I'd like you to meet our newest crewmember." Morpheus said. "Link came to me this morning and volunteered to be our new operator."
"What?" Trinity gasped. "Why?"
Link swallowed, the same grief that had crossed his face during Tank's funeral now returning to him. "When I married Zee, Dozer made me promise that if something ever happened to him and Tank, I would have to take over as the operator on board your ship. I've kept to my word."
"But what about Zee?" Neo couldn't help asking, picturing the look on Tank's younger sister's face when she discovered her husband's intentions. "What does she think about this?"
"We talked about this last night. She's fine with it." Link replied. "I swear I'll be a good operator. I've had fourteen years of experience working on other ships. I know what I'm doing."
"It's not as if we have much choice." Morpheus said. "Link is the only one who has applied to work on our ship, and we do need a new operator."
Trinity could understand why no one else had volunteered for the job. After what had happened to the rest of the Nebuchadnezzar's crew, she knew that people in Zion would be inclined to think that the ship was cursed. In fact, she was surprised that Link had kept his promise to his brother-in-law, since he seemed like the sort of person to believe in superstition. The fact that he had put this aside and volunteered away just proved the strength of Link's character, and Trinity was therefore more than happy to welcome him into their crew.
It was different for Neo. He didn't know Link well yet, and he was afraid of being on a ship with a near-to-complete stranger. It had been hard for him to be the 'new guy' on the ship – not knowing anything or anyone in this strange new world. The idea of Link joining their crew frightened him a little because he really had no idea what the new operator would be like. This also seemed to point out Tank's death to him yet again in a very blatant manner. Link's submission to the ship was like reminding him that Tank would not be coming back.
Later that evening, he asked Trinity to tell him what she could about Link. He had spent time with Link before – even going out with him and Tank once for a drink – but they still were more acquaintances than friends.
"He's a nice guy, Neo, you'll like him. He and Tank used to be good friends." Trinity said, smiling slightly when she detected her companion's discomfort. "Are you worried about him working on the ship?"
"A little." Neo said uneasily. "I mean, I'm not very good with new people. But it doesn't really matter at the moment. We should be focusing on Dwayne and Lorena."
"You haven't proven Dwayne is guilty." Trinity reminded him.
"Yet." Neo replied. "I'm going to visit her again tomorrow. Maybe when I mention Dwayne's name, she'll tell us the truth about him."
(o)
Neo approached Lorena's door the following day and knocked, excepting Vivianna to open the door. When she didn't answer after a solid five minutes, Trinity pushed in front of him roughly, her eyes glowing with impatience.
"Lorena, Vivianna, it's Trinity. Open the door now!" She shouted. When there was still no reply, she gave the door and half-hearted push, only to discover that it was unlocked.
"It's open..." Neo said anxiously. He was worried why no one was opening it, especially after Trinity had voiced her name. Lorena was sure to have heard that…and why was the door unlocked in the first place?
Trinity entered the room first, with Neo only a few steps behind her. He could tell something was wrong just from the look on Trinity's face. Her face turned a ghostly shade of white, and she was wide-eyed with shock and pure horror.
"Oh my God." She breathed.
"Trin, what's – " Neo froze at the sight before him, and it felt as if time itself had stopped completely.
Lorena lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, her face twisted with anguish and pain. A knife lay in the palm of her limp hand, its blade wet with fresh blood – the same blood that leaked from twin slits in either wrist and onto the metallic floor below...
(o)
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