Chapter 12 – Till Death Do Us Part: Part 1

Lina lay curled up in her bed, staring at the wall opposite. She pulled her fuzzy blanket tighter around her and sighed.

It had been how long now? A week? Xelloss hadn't bothered her again, although Luna had given her a pretty good thrashing a few days ago for forgetting groceries. Lina hadn't even left for work; instead, she called in sick for every shift she was supposed to work. Hearing her, nobody would doubt that.

Lina knew she was being emo but she couldn't get over how thoroughly screwed up her life was. She tried to ignore the creeping feeling that there was nothing worth living for. Suicide was for losers, for quitters, and if Lina was anything, she was a winner.

At least, that's what she had always told herself before. Now, she spent every night worried about someone breaking into her room and assaulting her, and every day worried about what she was supposed to do with her life. She didn't feel safe. She didn't feel free.

Mostly, she just felt lonely.

She was still pissed off about Zelgadis and his secrets, but she missed him acutely. It pissed her off even more that he hadn't even bothered to come back for her. No phone call, no stopping by, not even a letter.

So that's all I was, she thought, tears welling in her eyes. A fling. I can't believe I even thought for a second he'd choose me when he had Miss Perfect Teeth and Perfect Hair.

Lina rolled over so she was facing the wall and willed herself to sleep, wondering if she could force herself to never wake up.

Zelgadis sat on the couch in his parents' living room, eyes lackadaisically locked on the wall behind his mother's head. His parents were talking to him, he was vaguely aware of the nondescript buzzing in his ears, but he couldn't will himself to listen or care.

His parents' chairs were pulled up close to the couch, all three of their pairs of knees practically touching. Elena Graywords' hand came down on Zelgadis' knee, and he shifted his gaze to look at it.

"… so what do you think?" Elena's words suddenly made sense again, although Zelgadis was still lost as to what, exactly, the topic of conversation was.

"Huh?" he replied. He caught the look that exchanged between his parents and felt the sharp sting of his anger rising.

"As your mother was saying," Maxwell continued, putting one of his hands on Elena's free hand but not extending the physical gesture to his son, "We think it might be in your best interest to get away from here for awhile. Take a vacation. Clear your head. I've arranged with some of my colleagues to have you tour our West Coast operations. I really think you'll like what they're doing out there. I'd hoped that it might-"

"Yeah, that sounds like a vacation to me." Zelgadis scowled. "Being brainwashed by your staff into coming to work for you. No thanks, I'll pass."

Out of the corner of his eye Zelgadis saw his father's face turn bright red and his mouth open. Elena's hand quickly left her son's knee and frantically patted her husband's. Zelgadis hid his smirk by turning to glance down the hallway on his right.

"No, of course not," Elena cut in. "Of course not. No, you don't need to think about business while you're out there, sweetheart, but I really think it would do you some good to get out of town. What do you say?"

"I say I've still got classes to attend, so, again: No thanks. I'll pass."

"Actually," Maxwell spoke up, "We've already contacted your professors and they've given us the go-ahead to send you on vacation for a week or two."

"You're kidding." For the first time since the conversation began, Zelgadis looked his father in the eye. "You cannot be serious."

"Once I explained the situation, they were very eager to – "

"Situation!" The skin around Zelgadis' knuckles tightened and turned white. "What sort of 'situation'?"

"Sweetheart," Elena broke in gently. "We know you've been really haunted by this whole Mika thing and that's why you've been… fraternizing with this Lima girl, and-"

"It's Lina." Zelgadis turned his fierce gaze on his mother, wondering how long he could keep his rage in. At the rate it was building, he gave himself about 30 seconds.

"Yes, of course, that's what I – "

"And it's not a 'Mika' thing."

"I know that, dear, but-"

"And if there is a 'situation,' as you said, it's not about Mika and it's certainly not about Lina. It's about both of you pushing me into being someone I don't want to be."

"Zelgadis, you listen to me." Zelgadis found himself staring into his father's eyes, as Maxwell had leaned forward in his seat to grab his son's wrists. "We only want what's best for you because we love you, and we have a lot more experience than you do. You just need to trust that."

Zelgadis closed his eyes, counted to ten, and was still pissed off when he finished.

"If you loved me, you'd let me live."

Zelgadis got up, pushed past his astonished parents, and left the house.

Lina didn't even raise her head when she heard her door open. It occurred to her that she may have forgotten to lock it the last time she came back from the bathroom. Her muscles tensed as a cold sweat took hold of her. Her body felt ready for a fight, but somewhere deep inside her a voice said, "Why bother?"

And Lina let go of her adrenaline.

"Hey there, Pussycat."