Chapter 6 – Enter the Shadow

Lina cracked open her door a bit and peered down the empty hallway. It was late, probably about midnight, and shadows morphed the small apartment into a veritable jungle. Her mother was, of course, gone, and as far as she knew, Luna was still out "working." What bothered Lina was the sounds she had heard coming from the kitchen. Had Luna returned earlier than usual?

After nothing jumped out to accost her, Lina slid into the hallway, keeping her back to the wall. She was wearing a sheer negligee for a nightgown, having thrown everything reasonable into the wash. Her pajamas consisted of silk short shorts and a gauzy, strappy ensemble that seemed to work for a top. Not even remembering her state of undress, Lina crept down the hall. She clutched a baseball bat in one hand. Her grip was secure and, in spite of appearances, Lina could do serious damage if provoked.

The sounds in the kitchen grew louder as whoever was in there clanked a few dishes together and began humming.

If this is a burglar, Lina thought, He or she is the stupidest person I've ever met…

Peering into the kitchen, Lina sighed with relief and loosened her grip on her weapon of choice.

"Luna, you scared me. I didn't think you'd be home so early," she said, smiling abashedly. The figure standing in front of the fridge stood up and turned to her.

"I'm not Luna." The strange, disembodied male voice floated to Lina like a whisper in a nightmare. Shocked, Lina took a step back and began to raise her bat.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?!" she yelled. The stranger shut the refrigerator door, plunging the two of them into darkness. Lina could barely make out a hand reaching toward her. She swung blindly and heard the bat connect with the plaster of the wall.

"Relax, I'm just turning on the light," the intruder laughed, flicking on the light switch close to Lina's left elbow. The kitchen flooded with harsh light, and Lina blinked away the spots.

Standing on the cracked linoleum floor was a young man who looked remarkably like Luna. Short, cropped violet hair swished around a pale face that beamed in delight. Lina couldn't really see the stranger's eyes, as they were hidden behind violet bangs.

"You must be Luna's little sister Lina," the stranger commented, putting his slender hands on his well-dressed hips. "Aren't you a little firebrand tigress? Meee-ow."

"You haven't answered me, scumbag. Who are you?" Lina demanded.

"I'm Xelloss. Luna's new beau. Hope I didn't scare you too much," Xelloss intoned. He took a few steps forward and made a move as if to caress Lina's bare arm. She jerked away and glared at the strange man.

"You're Luna's boyfriend? You look just like her," Lina exclaimed, not stopping to think of her choice of words. A muscle in Xelloss's cheek jumped.

"Yes, well…" his voice sounded tight and slightly less in control than it had a moment before. After an uncomfortable silence, Xelloss laughed. "My dear girl, you're such a tease."

"What are you doing in my kitchen? Where's Luna?" Lina ignored the taunt.

"I'm in your kitchen because I'm absolutely famished," Xelloss replied. He took in an appreciative look at Lina, eyeing her from head to toe. He whistled. "Although you might be enough to satiate my hunger."

Lina glanced down at herself and blushed furiously. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest and hunched her shoulders.

"Shut up, scumbag," she grumbled. Without warning, Xelloss pulled Lina close to him, grasping her by her upper arms and pushing his face close to hers.

"Aw, you don't really mean that, do you? I'm really quite charming, once you get to know me," Xelloss whispered, his warm breath caressing Lina's face. She shied away from him, only to find his nose nearly touching hers. "What's the matter, baby? Don't you like me?"

Before Lina could respond, Luna entered the room via the front door, a bag of groceries in her hand. All three people froze. One second dragged on for eternity. Luna strode forward, let the groceries fall from her hands, and pulled her sister away from her boyfriend. Lina cried out in pain as Luna's death grip on her neck tightened.

"What the hell is going on here?!" she demanded. Tears of pain sprang into Lina's eyes. She opened her mouth to explain when Xelloss spoke up.

"I don't know, Luna," he began slowly, shrugging his shoulders and leaning against the wall. "One minute I was making myself a sandwich, and the next, little Lina's trying to seduce me. I mean, I know I'm great and all, but sheesh, have a little restraint…"
"No, Luna, that's not what happened…!" Lina tried to interject, but Luna had already turned her falcon gaze on the small redhead.

"You slut! I can't believe you!" With a frustrated growl, Luna slammed her little sister into the wall. The plaster cracked and Lina cried out.

"No, Luna, please…" The pleas were cut off as Luna shoved Lina to the floor and gave her a swift kick in the stomach. Words turned to a garbled mess. Xelloss went back to making his sandwich and humming as Luna continued to thrash Lina.

"You're always such a problem child! I wish you'd just die!" Luna screamed. Lina gave up trying to stand up and simply lay there. A massive headache throbbed in her temples, threatening to make her pass out before too long. A series of blows landed on Lina's face. White-hot stars of pain shot across her vision. This, too, shall pass… she thought, trying not to scream.

Luna gave up shortly, all her rage used. She and Xelloss retired to Luna's room, leaving Lina curled up in a pitiful ball.

Seconds dragged into minutes, minutes into what seemed like hours. Eventually Lina dragged herself back to her bedroom, where she collapsed on the floor. She just managed to snag a soft blanket off her bed before sleep claimed her.

***

Zelgadis pushed open the door to the bookstore, whistling a silly tune he remembered from childhood. He wasn't sure why, exactly, he was in such a great mood. The trip to the zoo was several days ago, and school had commenced for the week once again. Normally schoolwork was a severe drain on his optimism, but today… today was different.

Zelgadis felt his heart flutter as he saw a familiar redhead disappear down an aisle. Maybe he DID know why today was going to be such a great day…

"Hey, Lina. I got a call saying my book was in," he said, following the petite girl down the row of bookcases. Lina didn't turn around or say anything. She simply stopped moving. Zelgadis came to a halt behind her. "Lina?"
"Hey Zel," The melancholy reply threw Zelgadis off. From what he had seen, Lina was usually incredibly energetic. Before he could even ask what was wrong, Lina turned around. She kept her gaze averted from his eyes. Zelgadis tried not to recoil at the dark shadows and bruises mottling the perfect contours of her face. There was evidence of the application of foundation, probably to cover the bruises, but the extent of the damage was still pretty obvious.

"What happened?" he blurted. Lina quickly flicked her eyes up at Zelgadis's face, but she turned away just as quickly.

"Nothing," she replied.

"Okay, I know it's none of my business, but why are you at work today looking like that?"

"I feel fine. There's no reason why I shouldn't work," Lina replied. She did, however, remember the gruesome and sympathetic looks her co-workers gave her when she walked into work that morning. Her boss had even tried to get Lina to take the day off, but Lina insisted on staying.

Zelgadis wasn't sure what to say. He barely knew this girl, and he was correct: he had no business prying into her private life. She had already told him that her home life wasn't great, but maybe it was even worse than what she had lead him to believe.

"Look, you wanna go out for dinner later, maybe?" Zelgadis offered. It was a risky step. It was pretty much like asking Lina out on a date, and Zelgadis wasn't even sure what the redhead thought of him. But he also knew that she wasn't one to turn down food.

"… Maybe."

"When do you get off work?"

"In about an hour."

"Okay, how about I pick you up?" Zelgadis knew he sounded desperate, but he didn't really care. For some reason, he was nearly possessed with the need to get to know this girl.

"Fine." The briefest hint of a smile lit Lina's face for a moment. "See you in an hour."

***

An hour later, after getting the book he ordered and wandering around town to waste time, Zelgadis returned to the bookstore. Lina sat on the steps outside, her battered face lowered in her hands.

"Ready?" Zelgadis asked, offering his hand. Lina looked at it, then took it and helped herself to her feet.

"Yeah. Where are we going?"

"I thought we might head to the Olive Garden for some Italian. Is that okay?"
'That's more than okay. Thanks, Zel."

He even let her get away with calling him Zel.

***

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Zelgadis knew he was prying, and his inner voice scolded him for being so nosy.

"Not really." Lina gulped down a glass of water and returned to her breadsticks and pasta.

"If you do…"

"Thanks, but I don't."

"…."

"So how's school going for you?" Lina changed the subject. There was no way she was going to tell Zelgadis how she let her sister beat her up. Not only did she barely know him, she didn't want to appear any weaker than she already looked.

"Fine, just fine. Boring and a waste of time, but at least I'll be getting a degree for it," Zelgadis replied, fiddling with his own entrée.

"Yeah, I always thought school was a waste of time. Degree or no degree," Lina added, chewing away savagely.

Silence fell across the table. Zelgadis contemplated how it was he had fallen for this crazy redheaded girl in such a short time. He did believe in love at first sight. After all, that's the way it had happened with her… But it did him no good to think about her. That was something he wanted to put in his past, where it belonged. That had been love at first sight, and perhaps that was the way it was with Lina. Or rather, love at second sight, because Lina looked remarkably so much like she did…

Lina desperately wanted to keep the conversation away from her home life. Sometimes Lina wanted someone to talk to, someone to share her life story with. At the moment, she just wanted to drown her sorrows in pasta and vinegar.

"Thanks for dinner," she mumbled into her plate.

"You're welcome," Zelgadis replied, equally distracted.

After the meal, Zelgadis and Lina walked along the sidewalk, not quite hand-in-hand, but close enough that their shoulders brushed together. Lina didn't want to go home. She knew exactly what awaited her there if she went now.

"So… wanna take a walk in the park?" she asked, feeling a faint blush cross the bridge of her nose.

"Uh… sure," Zelgadis replied, coughing and turning away to cover his own blush.

The duo linked hands, crossed the street, and entered the park.