Warning:

This episode has threat of sexual assult.

After my shower, Arkon carried me to my room and toweled me off.  He found a fresh pair of pajamas that were loose and comfortable, helping me in them.  I was in so much pain that I didn’t think about Arkon seeing my exposed body.  Once I was clean, warm, and dry, Arkon pulled out an ointment and rubbed it on my worse bruises. “My grandfather gave this to me,” he smiled, tenderly rubbing a bruise on my ribs.  “It helps bruises heal faster.”

Groggily, I nodded my head, not really hearing him.  He fed me a hot tea, which lessened the pounding and confusion in my head. When he was done, Arkon stood and sighed.

“You are all set for now,” Akron smiled at me.  “It is time for you to tend to Ruben.”

“What?” I asked, stunned.

“Bryan said you had to tend to Ruben’s cuts and bruises when you were clean.  You are now clean, so you must tend to Ruben.”

“But…”

“I will be with you.  You don’t need to worry about him or anyone when I am with,” Arkon smiled at me, offering me his hand. “I will protect you.”

“You will?”

“To the best of my ability.”

“Why?”

“Because you didn’t ask for this.  You shouldn’t be punished for protecting your family.”

I could feel that he was talking about something more than just the fight with Ruben.  Gazing at him, wide eyed, I took his hand.  It was soft and warm with calluses on his palm, making my heart flutter.

“Just keep being you, okay?  Brave, but stupid, you.”

Arkon teased me, squeezing my hand.  In awe of him, I didn’t realize he had called me stupid until later.  Carefully he led me downstairs to the kitchen, where Ruben sat waiting.  He had been mostly cleaned up, his scratches and gauges angry red.  When Ruben saw me holding hands with Arkon, he narrowed his eyes.  Placing me in a seat next to Ruben, Arkon retrieved a medical kit. Opening it, Arkon motioned that I should begin. Trembling, I took some gauze and poured hydrogen peroxide on it.  Ruben stared intently at me, his eyes never leaving my face.

“This is going to sting,” I warned timidly.

Grunting, Ruben signaled he heard me.  Delicately I pressed the gauze to the scratches on his face.  Sucking in air, Ruben hissed as the peroxide bubbled and fizzed.  Apologizing for some unknown reason, I worked quickly but gently.  One of his hands snaked to my knee under the table and squeezed hard.  Biting my lip, I glanced at Arkon, but he hadn’t seen.  Part of me wanted to say something, yet another part of me thought that would be like tattle-telling. So, I stayed quiet as Ruben crushed my knee in his grip.  Once I had cleaned all of Ruben’s cuts, I applied antibiotic cream and bandages where I could.  The whole process took over thirty minutes.  Men came in and jeered or made jokes about Ruben’s or my condition.  I could say nothing, only able to blush crimson. 

“Better watch your back,” Tiger half-laughed. “Ruben is a vindictive SOB, Eri. He won’t forget about this.”

“No, I won’t,” Ruben growled, still staring at me. 

Swallowing, I didn’t respond to either of them.  Arkon continued to supervise, a simple smile on his face.  When I was finally done, Bryan appeared to inspect Ruben.  He approved my work and told me to clean up.  Leaving the room, he called for Arkon to follow him; there was an important matter to discuss.  I assumed Ruben would leave too and turned my back to his chair as I gathered trash and the medical kit supplies.  Thick fingers wrapped in my hair, yanking my head back.  Already sore and hurt, I whimpered, closing my eyes.  I could feel Ruben’s breath on my face.

“You think you did something brave today, Kitty,” Ruben hissed venomously. “But you didn’t.  You did something very stupid.  I was only playing with your sister. I just wanted to see if she would kiss me and you weren’t even on my radar.  Now, it’s different.  Now you are mine.  Got that?”

I said nothing, keeping my eyes closed and praying Arkon would come back quickly.

“I asked you a question!” he shook my head.  “Answer me.  Do you get it?”

“No,” I replied defiantly. “I don’t get it.  Why don’t you leave me alone?”

“Leave you alone?  You won’t have a moment’s peace now.  They may have stopped me today, but, from now on, you are mine.  I will do as I please with you.”

“Go to hell!”

Ruben slapped me, but it was not as hard as before.  Compared to before, it felt like a playful tap.

“I’m going to teach you manners.  Not today.  I am tired and you aren’t so pretty right now. Just remember this is all your fault.  You had your chance to walk away but you didn’t.”

“I would never abandon Summer to the likes of you.”

“Well, now you won’t have to worry about that.  I’m done with her.  Its all about you…and me.”

A sensual finger ran down my jaw and neck.  Shivering, I kept my eyes tightly closed.  I didn’t want to look at him.  I couldn’t handle another fight. 

“You are a pretty thing under all those bruises. And I thought this was going to be a boring time, but now I think that this is going to be fun.”

Laughing softly, Ruben ran his fingers down my neck and then my arm.  His touch repulsed me. 

“Are you scared, Kitty?” he purred in my ear.

“No…”

“Liar….”

“You’re just a thug!  I won’t let you intimidate me.”

“Such a mouth.  I will have to think of ways for you to better use it. This will do for now.”

Lifting me roughly from my seat, Ruben bear-hugged me so tightly I gasped for air.  He then kissed me, his tongue violating my mouth. Wiggling, I tried to kick but I was too tight against his body and treading air. The rough kiss reopened the cut on my lip and his lip.  Dropping me, Ruben stepped back smugly.  I landed on the kitchen floor hard, eyes watering.

“You’re a bastard,” I spat, bloody spit hitting his shoe. 

“Oh, but I’m your bastard,” Ruben mocked, before kicking me with the dirty shoe.

The kick sent me sprawling across the floor. As I caught my breath, he left.  Arkon appeared a moment later and ran to my side, helping me up.  Shaking his head, he apologized and admitted he had been concerned about leaving me with Ruben for even a moment.  Escorting me to my room, Arkon put me to bed. 

“I’m going to lock the door,” Arkon informed me.  “No one will come in while you are sleeping.”

Too tired and hurt to speak, I merely nodded and pulled my covers tight.  The door shut and the lock clicked.  When I was sure I was alone, I cried.   I cried for my pain, for my pride, for my family, for my future, for Summer, and I cried to feel better.  Once I could cry no more, I fell asleep.  Sleep did not last.  Like a waking nightmare, I found myself sitting up in bed, not sure what had woken me, but knowing it was something bad.  A clicking noise caught my attention. 

Slowly in a horror movie fashion, my doorknob turned.  Holding my breath, I waited for my door to swing open.  It didn’t.  I remembered that Arkon had locked it for me.  Swallowing hard, I crept to my door on my tippy-toes.  Pressing my ear to it, I listened for who was on the other side.  A soft, hair-raising laugh drifted through to my ear.

“Eri…Eri,” a voice I didn’t recognize crooned.  “Sweet Eri…I know you are there.”

Gulping, I said nothing.  I tried to think about who it could be. Only Ruben came to mind.

“I know you are there,” the voice repeated.  “I can smell your sweet, innocent fear. You are so close…why don’t you open the door and let me be there with you.”

“Go away, Ruben!” I hissed, my body trembling in fear.

“Hmm…such a sweet smell your fear has,” the voice sighed. “But I am not Ruben.  He is a puppy compared to me.  I did love seeing you two locked in battle.  The blood lust in your eyes was exciting…the pure defiance even when you knew you were going to lose…intoxicating…he doesn’t know how to hurt you though…I do…let me show you.”

Vomit coursed up my throat to my mouth.  He talked about Ruben’s beating and his own intentions as if he was trying to woo me, as if he spoke of chocolate, flowers, and love.  Skin crawling, I backed away from the door, covering my mouth and shaking my head.

“My pet, don’t go.  Let me in,” he said tenderly, almost lovingly. “Let me in…”

Reaching my bed, I pulled my knees to my chest and shook my head. The door handle rattled.

“I said let me in!” his voice became a harsh bark, suggesting his true nature. “Let me in, Eri!”

Biting at me, his words made me feel sick. Silent tears trailed down my cheeks again.  I had never cried so much in one day.  Something slammed against my door and the handle rattled harder.  My mind screamed for the man to go away, but my instinct kept me silent.  After about fifteen minutes the noises stopped.  He didn’t speak again.  Waiting, I rocked back and forth. 

“Soon, my pet,” the voice sighed in concession.  “The door won’t be locked, and I will return to continue this conversation.  Dream of me.”

Then he was gone.  I stayed in the tight ball and rocked.  Nothing else happened.  No one else came.  I silently prayed to God, but I got no answer.  At some point, I fell asleep again and was awoken by my alarm clock.  Friday.  School. 

Groaning, I stiffly got out of bed.  Taking a long shower, I didn’t care if I was late for the bus.  Stepping out of the shower, I looked in the mirror and had to squelch a scream.  My lip was swollen and split.  Black and purple circled my right eye, which swelled with bruises.  The bite mark stood out starkly against my pale skin.  Hickeys that easily passed for bruises lined my neck.  Forcing my eyes down, I saw large bruises cover my torso.  Not sure how I would explain these injuries at school, I missed the knock on the bathroom door.  Summer entered and gasped when she saw me.

“Oh, Eri,” she sobbed.

Touching my right cheek, Summer grimaced as I flinched, hot needles shooting into my eye.  Quickly she grabbed her make-up kit.  Adeptly, Summer began applying concealer to my face.  Jerking away, I growled at her.

“Eri, let me help you.  You can’t go to school like this,” she begged.

“Why the hell not?  Let them all see what he did!” I snapped. 

“Eri, please…”

The begging in her eyes made me feel guilty for snapping at her.  It wasn’t her fault I looked like that.  Sighing, I allowed her to apply make-up.  It did not make a huge difference, but it helped a bit. When she finished, Summer grimaced.

“Let’s say you were in a car accident with dad,” Summer said, thinking quickly. “You were on the side that got hit.  That will explain your injuries.  You will need to wear a shirt that covers that though.”

Summer pointed to my bite mark.  Nodding, I numbly left the bathroom in a towel and changed.  Luckily the weather permitted a long-sleeve shirt.  Dressed in loose and covering clothes, I trudged downstairs.  The kitchen was full of men, all who whistled when I entered.  Blushing, I ignored them and ate a bowl of cereal.

“If it makes you feel better,” Tiger told me kindly. “I saw Ruben this morning and he did not look much better.”

“Wonderful,” I replied sarcastically.

As if drawn to the kitchen by our conversation, Ruben appeared in the doorway.  His eyes flickered to me and I saw Tiger was right.  Purple colored his face around the scratches and gauges.  Someone snickered and Ruben snapped his eyes in their direction.  I took that moment to swallow the last of my breakfast and run out the door.  Escaping that house was all I could think about.  Reaching the bus stop, I panted hard, my bruised ribs screaming at me.  Summer arrived shortly after.

“Well, Ruben looked as colorful as a field of flowers,” Summer tried to joke.

The look I gave her told Summer I was not in the mood.  She could joke because it hadn’t happened to her. A rumbling told me the bus was near. Dreading the impending questions, comments, and stares, I tried to breathe deep.  Taking my hand, Summer gave me a comforting smile.

“Together,” she whispered as the bus pulled up.

“Together,” I repeated weakly.