Everyone sat around the table, looking at the vial of serum, and processing what Loki and Sara had just told them. Her heart sinking as they stared at the promise of immortality, and afraid that they would reject the offer. Sara couldn't push her friends though, she couldn't force them into taking it. She cared about them, but it was still very much their choice. Loki had told them the effects the serum had on her, and she shifted on her feet, feeling even more nervous than she did before.
"What do you guys want to do?" Amy asked, her voice breaking the silence. Everyone blinked, and Robert cleared his throat.
"I am not taking it if Amy refuses, as tempting as it is, I'm not letting her go." Robert said, and scratched his short, brown curls. "I mean, immortality is pretty cool, but Amy and I are forever."
"I want to take it." Emily said, and Mark nodded. "I want to keep you out of trouble Bugs."
"I have a moody shadow that keeps that from happening now, his name is Fury." She joked, and Mark took her her hand in his and nodded. Amy nodded, looking at Robert and they all agreed silently.
"I will do it, should we dilute it first?" Amy asked, and Loki crossed his arms. "We only did that with Sara, because she was so weak from being sick for so long."
"I do not see how it would affect the serum at all, it worked for Sara. If you wish to, then we could try that." Loki said, and Sara shifted on her feet amd shrugged.
"What was it like for you, Bugs?" Mark asked, and she thought about it. Her hands folded as she remembered the darkness, and the squeezing in her chest and body, and how tempting it was to just stay in the warmth.
"It was weird, like I checked out of my own body. Everything went dark for a while, and there was this squeezing around my chest. It was warm, like floating in abaolutely nothing. Then I could hear voices, someone was talking to me, and I saw everything go bright again as I came back to myself." She said, and everyone nodded. They all took a deep breath, and Robert got up and dug four glasses out of the cupboard behind him. Sara watched Loki pour it, being careful to keep the dose even and Emily took a deep breath as she picked up her portion. She downed her share, tossing her head back and set her glass on the table. Everyone stared at her, and she belched loudly.
"How does it taste?" Mark asked, amd she shrugged as she wrinkled her nose.
"It does not taste bad at all. Kind of sweet really." She said, and her head fell back as she passed out. Robert and Mark grabbed her before she hit the floor, everyone watching as she slowly came back to the world. "It happened, just like Sara said. It was weird, but now I feel way better. My nagging headache is even gone."
"My turn. Past the lips, past the tounge, look out stomach, here it comes." Amy said, and slowly the whole group drank to their longer lives.
--‐--
Everyone sat around, eating pizza and laughing. Mark crossed his arms, and grinned as everyone got out their character sheets and notes. Robert had come up with a story line to introduce Loki to the Guild, and he placed his bag of dice on the table as Sara sat next to him and opened her notebook.
"We going to eat pizza, and play DD when we are a thousand years old?" Robert asked and Sara laughed as Emily tugged at her curls. She wrapped some around her fingers, looking at hos shiny her hair had become since the serum and sighed.
"You just became immortal, and you are worried about if we are going to be playing games?" She groaned, and Amy gave her a fist bump. They all laughed, and Loki gave a wide grin as Sara handed him his glass of soda. "We could travel, see the world and have amazing adventures. But you are focused on Dungeons and Dragons."
"We are so playing when we get that old, and our Guild will create even more epic War Crimes!" Mark exclaimed, and Sara laughed as they all sat around and began playing their game. Sara looked at Robert, and she smiled as she leaned over and gave Loki a half hug.
"I don't see why it is so bad, I am sort of excited to read all the books that have note been written yet." Sara laughed, and she took a bite of her pizza, she set her slice on her plate, and Robert rolled his eyes.
"Books? Why am I not supriesd by that answer." Robert laughed and he opened his notes, and rubbed his hands together. Shall we get down to business?" Robert asked, and he stood up and began to tell the story. "You are all traveling, across a gentle field when you see a Wizard standing at the crossroads. His cloak rippling in the wind, and he only moves to offer you a nod as you pass. You all stop then, and he raises his eye to see you all. He has a single question for all of you, and that is to join your party."
"Hello, may I join this traveling band of miscreants?" Loki asked, and everyone laughed. Sara grinned, and she placed her hands on her hips.
"The Elf girl approaches you, and she stares you in the face." Robert said, and Sara giggled, as she tried to look tough.
"What sort of Wizard are you? We don't let anyone in just on good looks. How do we know you don't want to rob us, or murder us all?" Sara said, and everyone laughed. Loki drank some of his Pepsi, and began playing along.
"I would like to use persuasion, to convince the group to allow me to join. And flirt with the beautiful Elf." Loki said, making Sara blush, and Robert rolled his eyes. She giggled, and shrugged a bit as Emily made gagging sounds.
"Get a room." She moaned, amd Amy laughed as Robert gestured to Loki with an open hand.
"Roll for initiative, and let's see if they let you join." Robert said, and Loki took out his D 20, and rolled to begin the game.
--‐--‐--
She was nervous as he lay her back against the bed, but he was careful with her. His lips on hers, and his hands caressing her body. He pulled his shirt off over his head, and her hands roamed over his chest. His eyes on her as he kissed her deeper, and she gripped the sheets of her bed in the basement.
He kissed her neck, lifting her shirt off over her head and she held onto him. She opened her eyes, and blinked, wondering why they were not upstairs, but his hands caressing her breasts brought her attention back to him.
He did not speak, instead he lay her back and he undid her pants. The icy chill made gooseflesh rise on her skin, and the thought about being in such an odd place made her blink again.
Something was not right, why were they in the basement? Why not where it was warm, where the bed was softer?
"Whore." A familiar voice hissed and she sat up. She pushed him back, and saw Darla then. Sara covered herself with hands over her chest, Darla glaring, her perfectly manicured hands holding the extension cord. She screamed, but the blows started, and then the pain.
"Whore! Just like your mother! Whore!" Darla screamed, her perfect brown hair and perfect makeup turning dark as she beat Sara. She screamed again, and the thrashing became worse.
"You do not get to date! You are too ugly!" She screamed at Sara, and she kicked and tried to get away. A pressure surrounded her wrists, and she screamed again as she tried to get away. A voice cutting through the fear, the cold as her hands shook against the bed under her.
"Sara!" A male voice screamed, and she screamed back in terror. As reality came back to her, and the nightmare faded.
--
She jerked awake, shivering as a blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. She was in the basement, not remembering how she got there. She was shaking, her breath vapor as Loki held her shoulders.
"Sara..." he said, and she gasped for air and she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed. Amy felt her skin, and looked at Mark as Emily wrapped her in the quilt.
"Go get a hot bath ready in the room, she is freezing. Who knows how long she was down here." Amy said, and she shivered as Robert ran up the stairs. Loki lifted her, carrying her up to the bedroom as everyone stared in worry.
Sara hid her face in his chest, embarrassed by her sleepwalking, and wanting to cry harder. Emily rubbed her feet and hands to warm them up, and Loki walked up the stairs to get her someplace warm again.
"I'm sorry..." She whimpered, and Robert and Mark left while Loki helped Amy and Emily get her undressed for the bath. He held her, and everything ached from the cold as they stripped her down to her underwear and shirt. She was lifted up, and she wanted to pass out. She felt warmth surround her then, and it was so nice.
So comforting, and peaceful.
After a while, she was able to piece together what had happened. She embarrassed herself again, and went down to the basement room in her sleep. She hugged herself in the tub, wrapping her knees in her arms, and Emily appeared with a dry nightgown and pair of panties. They helped her into the cotton and lace gown, and walked her to her bed. She saw Loki fixing it, and they lay her down in the clean sheets. She curled on her side, and she began to wallow in her own misery.
"Its okay." Amy said, and smoothed her hair back. She lay under the blankets, and she wanted to cry, tears burning her eyes. "Hey, we found you, and brought you back. You know us, we will never make fun of you."
"Okay." She said, and she felt Loki take her hand as he lay next to her. He gave it a kiss, and she smiled weakly at him.
"Safe now, and much warmer." He said, and she nodded to him. He let go of her hand, and looked at Amy. They spoke too low for her to hear, and she fought the tears still.
"Goodnight Bugs, we are going back to bed." Emily said, and Amy gave her a hug before they left her. She felt the mattress shift, and then her sense of safety returned. He was staying with her, and his arm wrapped around her waist. A gentle kiss was on her cheek, and she rolled onto her other side and held onto him.
"Tell me about it Sara, please. Give me your fears." He whispered, and she clung to him tighter.
"Darla, she beat me with a length of extension cord that she kept near my bed. After she died, I threw it into the trash as swore no one would ever call me a whore or a slut again." She said, amd he kissed the part of her hair as he held her. His hands soothed her, and he held her while she unburdened herself. She felt safe, he kissed her again, holding her in his arms as she rested her ear on his chest. "She always told that I would end up like my Mother, and she called her a whore too. She hated me, and all I did was be born."
"You will never be a whore in my eyes Sara, and I would be honored to have met your true mother. She sounds like a beautiful soul. And you did become her, you stayed kind, and far more beautiful than Darla ever could be. Because your heart is beautiful, and she was jealous of you." He said, and she kissed him deeper at his words. She held him, her hands on his stomach, and trailing down his body. He stopped her after a moment, and smiled. "Not yet, your emotions are too overwrought, and I do not want you to have regrets. I will love you the way you deserve soon, but not yet."
"Okay. Please stay tonight though." She said, and he held her while she slept. Her fingers tangled in his shirt.
--
She woke the next morning, turning to see him asleep next to her and she smiled. She liked seeing him like that, completely relaxed, and vulnerable. She touched his eyebrow, being gentle, and his face twitched as his lips parted and she traced down the bridge of his nose.
He was so different from any person she had ever met, such a puzzle. He gave her so much, and did not expect it in return, but was shocked when she did return his affections. He told her so much about himself, but she felt like she had only dipped her toes beneath the surface. She wanted to dive in, and never surface again, she wanted to know everything.
She traced his upper lip, and slowly she got up the bravery to kiss him as he slept and did so. She blushed and lay back down, her eyes blinking as he shifted in his sleep, and lay his arm above his head. She touched his finger tips, feeling the rougher texture of his hands, and she remembered how she had admired his hands before. It felt like years, but it was only a few short months.
His hand moved, twitched in his sleep, just the thumb, but she watched it. His expression stayed relaxed, and his lips parted again and he took in a deep breath. He let it out as he relaxed back into a deep sleep, and she traced her fingers up the line of his jaw.
He was so beautiful, so amazing to her. He was so cold to her in the beginning, but became so warm now.
She lay back on the bed then, staring at the ceiling and pressed her lips together. He had lovers before, and she wondered if she would compare to them. Would she be able to keep him happy, or would he get bored and leave her life he did the rest. She had so many fears, and she wanted him to be the only person she ever had sex with.
She didn't think she could take him leaving her, or finding someone else to make him happy.
It would devastate her, and she wanted to cry thinking about it.
"Did you sleep well?" Loli asked her, and she nodded as she looked at him. He propped himself up on his elbow, and kissed her forehead as he cradled her cheek. "May I know what has you looking so forlorn?"
"Anxiety." She admitted, and he frowned at her. He pretended to pinch something on her forehead, and he closed his fist. He then blew into the cupped hand, and opened his hand. She giggled, and she smiled at him as he moved some of her hair out of her face gently.
"All gone. I sent it away." He said, and she giggled again. He leaned over her, giving her a kiss and she held his cheek as he kissed her.
"I wish it were that easy." She admitted, and he gave her a sad smile for a moment. And he let out a breath, and caressed her cheek with his thumb. She looked up at him, and his eyes were warm and a soft shade if green as she looked into them.
"You are so very different from everyone else I have ever met, so unique." He mused, and she felt her heart almost stop at his words. She blinked at him, and she wanted to know what he meant. "I could search for eternity, and never find another being like you. You are that beautiful to me, and I think my biggest fear is loosing you."
He kissed her again, and she blushed as he leaned back. He touched her lips the way she traced his, and he then studied her nose with his fingers. His touch was gentle, just exploring the planes of her face and he smiled at her as his hand drifted away from her.
"You have built a home for yourself in the very center of me Sara, and if you were to open me up, you would find yourself there." He said, and she swallowed as her lips parted. He lay back, and streched, his arms releasing whatever tension that was in them. She watched, her mouth going dry, and she marveled at what he said to her. She had no words to give him back, and he lay on his back and stared at the ceiling for a while.
She became bold then, sitting up, and pulling the blankets off of him. He looked at her in shock, and she moved to straddle his hips and she kissed him. His eyes were wide, and his hands held her arms as he gently stopped her. She blushed, realizing that he was not aroused, and he looked at her.
"Did I do something wrong?" She asked, and she moved off if him and felt embarrassed at what she had done. She pulled the blankets back up and over herself, trying to hide under them. She wanted to be bold, sexy even, but he just stared at her in horror.
"Sara..." he started, but she ran from the bed and toward the bathroom. She slammed the door behind herself, looking it and she covered her head as she sat against the door. She heard a soft knock, and she rocked back and forth as she tried not to cry. She gasped for air, and she couldn't find it.
She tried to stop the negative voice of Darla in her head, but it made itself known as she felt her chest go tight. She rocked back and forth on the floor, her eyes burning, and her chest growing tight.
There was no air, and black spots danced in her vision. She crawled for her medications, standing up on shaking legs and she tried to open the cabinet. She felt the familiar numbness in her extremities, and she heard someone running outside the door.
She tried to open the cabinet, but her legs gave up and she heard the knob moving. The cool tile under her body met her knees, and she gasped for air that was not enough. She collapsed onto her side, and curled into a ball as she whimpered and begged her heart to stop pounding.
The darkbedd in front of her eyes called her though, and it was a better option. Her body went limp, and her entire being drifted as she saw it then.
People, all of them surrounding her, and Loki in chains. She recognized Odin, but she did not recognize the room she was in. Columns over her head, and Frigga standing on a dias of sorts as Odin pointed at the both of them. Men in shining armor of gold, and she wanted to run and hide in Loki's arms. She wanted his safety, and she looked at the red haired man with the beard, and she saw Thor. She turned around, and looked back at Loki, worry in his eyes as Odin pointed to a chair and ordered her to sit. She moved toward it, sitting down and she looked down at her lap as she normally did. Odin gestured, and Loki stared up at the King and she wanted to scream as he said the words that made her blood run cold.
"I will pass judgment on Loki." He said, and Sara screamed as she tried to get up from the chair. She couldn't though, and she fought against what was holding her back. Her feet kicked, and she tried to get her arms free and she screamed again. Her body going limp, and then nothing by blackness followed.
--‐--
She opened her eyes, and she found herself in her bed. Loki was talking to Amy, and Robert leaned against the fireplace. She was tucked in, and she blinked as she licked her lips. Mark was cleaning up something on the bathroom floor, and he shook his head.
"It was just a nosebleed, what could have caused it to get that bad?" Mark asked, holding a bottle of cleaner and some paper towels. Amy shook her head, and looked as confused as everyone else. She saw the paper towels, and she wondered what happened.
"What were you both doing that may have triggered her?" Amy asked, and Loki crossed his arms. He looked down, looking guilty and he let out a breath.
"I rejected her advances, I just worried that she was still too emotional to make a clear decision concerning her... her desires." He said, and Emily blinked at him. Amy raised her eyebrows, and Loki leaned against the wall. "I'm not a complete bastard, I don't take advantage of women. I have some morals, I wanted to be sure she was clear headed."
"Loki just made every man on Earth look like assholes." Robert sighed, and Emily patted his shoulder. Loki looked confused, and Amy shook her head.
"Is that all? That was a pretty bad anxiety attack, was there anything else said?" She asked, and Loki frowned. He swallowed and looked at everyone.
"I told her that I never though I would ever meet another person like her... I said she was unique in every way..." He said, thinking as his eyes darted from person to person and he crossed his arms. "I told her that I could never let her go, in a rather romantic and rather poetic way." He said, and ran his fingers through his hair to smooth it back. "Did I cause her this distress?"
"We don't think it was you, maybe it was just a random thing." Amy sighed, and she noticed that Sara was awake. She walked over, and took her hand and she blinked at her friend. "Hey Bugs, you okay?"
"Yeah." Sara replied, and Amy took her pulse and checked her eyes. She held Sara's hand, giving it a squeeze and she smiled at her. Loki stayed back, his arms crossed as he watched everyone.
"You had a pretty bad Anxiety Attack, you should stay in bed for the rest of the day. Maybe just read a book, or watch YouTube on your tablet." Amy said, and Mark tapped Loki's arm and pointed at the door. They left, leaving only Amy with her, and she swallowed as Amy patted her hand. "I will bring you up some food, you do way too much, so maybe a day off is what you need?"
"Okay." She replied, and she lay on the bed. Amy got up, handing her her tablet and pointed to her phone.
"If you need anything, text me. I will be downstairs with Loki amd Robert, okay?" She asked, keeping her voice even and Sara merely nodded. She tried to remember what had sent her into the attack, but couldn't. She could remember the weird dream she had though, and she chewed at the pad of her thumb as she curled under the blankets of her bed.
Amy got up to leave, but she stopped her, shooting up and grabbing her friend's wrist.
"Does he want us to break up?" She asked, and Amy saw her eyes widen a bit. Sara held onto her wrist, and she shrugged. "If he can't deal with this, it is fine, but just tell me."
"That is a question for him,Bugs. But only when you get some food in you and a little more sleep. I can tell you this, he is worried about you, he wants you to be okay."
"Thanks." She whimpered, and curled under the blankets. Her knees drawing up to her chest as she tried not to cry, and she turned over the strange dream in her head.
--
"I made a pretty bad mess, didn't I?" Sara asked as she lay back on the bed, still in her fresh nightgown. She fidgeted with her fingers, and stared at her hands. Loki stood in the door, a lunch tray in his hands, and he shook his head.
"No. I was just suprised by your sudden eagerness, especially after the evening you had." He replied, and set the tray over her lap. She couldn't look at him, he could see the shame and fear on her. He wanted to offer comfort, but he was not sure he would not make things worse. "Do you want me to leave? You can text me when you are done eating."
"Could you stay?" She asked him, and he sat on the foot of the bed. Sara poked at the cut fruit, pushing it away and shook her head. "My stomach can't handle food right now, I can't eat it."
"Please try, even a tiny bite." He asked her, and her eyes lifted to look at him. He wanted to plead with her, beg her to eat a single bite, she looked so pale. There was a lack of the soft blush to her cheeks, and her eyes looked a bit dull. Her nightgown was clean, and the one she collapsed to the floor wearing, was being washed again to get the blood out of it.
He remembered the scene when he got the ring of keys, the blood coming from her nose, her screams, the way she collapsed in his arms. He was terrified that she was dying, and Amy almost screamed as he carefully lifted her from the growing puddle from her nose. Amy was able to staunch it, but there was still so very much of it.
He got up to leave, and he saw her hand reach out for a strawberry, she picked it up, taking a bite of it and chewing slowly. He let out the breath he was holding, and returned to the foot of the bed.
"Thank you." He said in a whisper, and she ate the berry silently. He looked at her, giving her a smile and she watched him. "I am so glad you are better, it frightened me, what I saw in the bathroom. Please, tell me that I did not cause it."
"You didn't, I swear. I... I really don't know what made it happen. It just did, and then I had some weird dream, and then I woke up in bed." She replied, her eyes on him as she picked up a slice of apple and looked terrified of something. "The cancer, could it be back? This happened before, when I got sick. I need to see my old doctor, I... I may be sick again!"
--‐--
She lay on the examination table, Amy with her as they put the braces and tape over her head. She looked straight ahead, nervous about what would be found on the MRI Machine. They put the contrast into her IV, and she felt the sensation, like she was urinating herself.
Loki was watching from the next room as the tech adjusted the table, and she lay still in the blue hospital garb as her hands clenched and released. She was scared, and she did not want to think about what they were going to find. The machine began to pull her into it, and she remained as still as she could. It was loud, and she closed her eyes as she trembled a tiny bit.
"Ms. Pruitt, stay as still as you can. This will be over soon." The Tech said, and she felt herself moving slowly. Before she knew it, Amy was helping her sit up, and she was being helped back to an exam room. She sat on the table, a blanket over her legs, and tapped her fingers. Loki sat on a stool, and the On Call Oncologist entered the room and smiled at her.
"Ms. Pruitt, everything is clear. Bloodwork, Urine, even the MRI, I wish I had that potion they gave you, because you are as healthy as a horse." He did, his gray hair neat, and he looked at her over his glasses. "As for the
Anxiety Attack, it was probably just that. You are under a lot of stress, from looking at your file, you have had one major blow after another in the span of a year. It is perfectly normal for any person to... at lack of a better term, break under all the pressure."
"Do I have to take any more medications? I am on so many now." She asked, and the Doctor sat down and opened her file on the computer. He read everything, and shook his head.
"Jesus, this is excessive. Excuse my language." He said, reading the notes from other doctors. "Yeah, any of these could have caused the sezures, or your attack. I am going to advise that you slowly wean yourself off of them. Start some by taking half doses, the Zoloft, you can just quit taking that. Cut your dose of Paxil to half a tablet for the first week or two, then skip days for the next week, and then quit taking it. Quit taking a Xanax completely, and I have no idea why they have you on Ritalin. You don't even have ADHD, so go ahead and quit that one too."
"What about the rest of them?" She asked, and the doctor turned his stool and looked at her. He gave her a serious look, and shook his head.
"I honestly don't think you need any of them, some of these can give you Anxiety if you are on them, and don't need them. Others can cause sezures in normal functioning brains, to be honest, yours is fine. "He said and held up his hands evenly. "Think of your brain as a set of scales, you are able to function, keep everything balanced normally. We add a chemical to it, things fall out of balance and you start having issues. Sara, I don't think you were ever needing any of these medications. Your bloodwork, the tests that were run, they all came back normal. You showed no signs of Mental Illness." He said, and he took off his glasses and gave her a serious look. "Have you ever heard of Munchausen by Proxy?"
"Isn't that where parents keep their kids sick by feeding them drain cleaner and stuff?" She asked, and Loki sat up. His mouth fell open and the Doctor gave her a nod.
"That is one way of describing it. I have a feeling that your Step Mother wanted you drugged, maybe to get some sort of attention from you being sick." He turned the screen, and he pointed to several notes. "She insisted that you be medicated, said that you were schizophrenic. She fought to get you prescription, upon prescription, none of which you needed."
"She was poisoning Sara?" Loki said, his mouth open in shock. The doctor nodded, and looked at Sara.
"In a way, all her Anxiety, this sezure, from what was described, could be caused by being over medicated. You are not sick at all Sara, let's get you off all that medication." He said, and offered her his hand. She smiled, shaking it, and her mind reeled at what she had learned. She watched the Doctor leave, a smile on her face. "You can go ahead and get dressed and head home, you look like you need some rest. Doctor's orders."
"Thank you, I mean that." Sara said, and watched him leave. Loki looked at her, and she shivered at what she learned. She was never crazy, she was just a victim of Darla and her abuse.
"Do you need help?" Loki asked, and she shook her head. She stood up, and pulled her panties on under the exam gown, and then put on her jeans. She then began to laugh to herself, leaning over and shaking her head. "Sara?"
"Just finding alot of stuff funny, that is not funny at all." She said, and got dressed. Loki walked over from his chair, his arms surrounding her from behind and she let him give her the comfort she needed then. "Please, don't ever let me go." She said, and he held her tighter. He fumbled in his pocket for his phone, and scrolled through his contacts then. She saw him select the one he was looking for, and the phone rang.
"Hello Claire, remember how you offered me the entire day off? Yes, I am going to accept that offer. No, Sara is still healthy... If you wish it, I will extend your joy. Thank you, and I agree, you are not a slave driver." He replied, and Sara smiled and leaned against him as he helped her get her bra back on, and then her sweater. He then kissed the part in her hair, and he turned her and lifted her chin gently. "I am never going to leave you Sara, I am yours... eternally."