Little Lightning

Chapter 17

"You." Kalypso snarled. With a cry, she leaped at Lyrical. 

Lyricals body hit the ground with a loud thud. 

"You little turd!" Kalypso cried, punching Lyrical in the stomach. Lyrical gasped in pain. "You freaking left! You didn't even try to come rescue us!" She yelled, accentuating each word with a punch. She paused and slapped Lyrical hard enough that Lyrical's head snapped to the side. Blood dribbled out of the side of her mouth.  Kalypso lifted Lyricals by her collar and shook her. "YOU LEFT US!" She screamed, her eyes narrowed in anger, her breath coming out hard and fast. 

"You're ok," Lyrical whispered, her busted lip bleeding. Tears welled up and spilled down the sides of her head and into her hair. "I'm so relieved you're ok." 

Before Kalypso could do anything, she was torn off of Lyrical and shoved back. 

It was Kirtash. His eyes were narrowed, his body in a low fighting stance, hands up. It was clear that he was ready to defend Lyrical, even at the cost of his own life. He glared so harshly at Kalypso she had the urge to look away. Fear rose up in her, and she shrank back slightly, her anger dissipating just as quickly as it had risen.

Lyrical sat up, and wiped away the blood on her chin with the back of her hand. She tottered to her feet unsteadily. Kalypso could already see a bruise start to form on her cheek where she had slapped her. Regret rose up in her, nearly choking her with guilt.

Kirtash turned and slipped her arm over his shoulder, his arm wrapping around her waist to support her.

She limped over to Kalypso and offered a weak smile. Kirtash only glared and ushered Lyrical forward. Lyrical looked like she wanted to say something, but Kirtash moved her away. Kalypso watched them go, guilt making her stomach churn.

                            *                                    *                                    *

Kalypso walked down the halls of the ship, tracing a hand over the long familiar grooves.

She sighed and leaned against the wall, sinking down to the floor. Tears burned at the edges of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She had long since taught herself not to cry. Burying her face in her hands, she sucked in a breath, pressing her palms to her eyes to help suppress the tears.

"Hey." Kalypso's head snapped up. She winced at the pain that exploded in her neck. It was Zyan. He sat down next to her, stretching out his lean legs. She struggled not to stare at them, or his gorgeous face.

"Hi." She muttered, looking down, her hands clasped tight enough her knuckles were white. She was hyper aware of how close he was to her, his legs only a few inches from hers. 

"You wanna explain what happened  back there?" He asked gently. She could feel his eyes on her. She looked away, her cheeks heating.

"Not really." She mumbled. After a moment of silence, she couldn't take it anymore. "I mean, she left. She disappeared. I thought she was dead." Kalypso inhaled deeply. "So to see her appear, looking just like she did four years ago, looking like she was perfectly happy and jolly and had never felt lonely, that made me so mad." Kalypso let out a breathy laugh, looking up. "I mean, I lost count of the times I almost gave up. I've lost count of the times where I've laid in bed, and just didn't want to get up. Didn't want to do anything, deal with anything, even myself. Sometimes especially myself. And then she shows up, just so happy and dandy." Kalypso threw up her hands. "The fact that she didn't have to go through that made something in me just... snap." Kalypso looked at him. He was looking at her, his beautiful blue eyes trained on her face. "A-and that's all there is." Kalypso finished, loosing nerve when she saw how much he was looking at her.