Revenge So Sweet

Terrible Something

The two women laid next to each other on the small bed facing one another, both content and exhausted.
"Did I hurt your shoulder?" Danielle asked worriedly.
"No." Rani said "but to be honest if my shoulder had hurt I would not have been able to notice it.  You were distracting me too thoroughly."  She grinned and Danielle blushed slapping her playfully on the arm, then her hand flew to her mouth.
Rani gasped.
"Well, it hurts now." She said her voice strained.
Danielle broke out into giggles apologizing as she laughed.  Rani just smiled and shook her head, but then her face became serious, and Danielle wondered what had come over her.
"What's wrong?"
Rani took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"In your time," she began "is this, what you and I share...normal?"
Danielle processed the question and then her face broke out into a wide smile and she lit up.
"You finally believe me?" She almost cried.
Rani just smiled back staring at the joy that simple question had brought out of Danielle.
"Yes.  It is normal.  In my time, it's much more acceptable.  People all over the world are free to love who they love."  She answered.
Rani cocked her head to the side,
"And what man do you love Danielle?" Rani asked her face serious again.
Danielle's smile turned to confusion, and she shook her head not understanding.
"How far along are you seniorita?" Rani asked her jaw flexing.
Danielle sat straight up still staring down at Rani.  Her heart raced in utter shock.  She was quiet for a moment,
"How did you know?" She asked a lump in her throat making it hard for her to swallow.
"You get sick many mornings.  At first I thought you were not used to the sea.  But just today I saw you.  You also almost fainted when you stood too suddenly.  And just now, you confirmed my small suspicion."  Rani explained her eyes dark again with mistrust.
"It's not what you think." Danielle said her voice trembling.  Rani had said out loud what even she could not say since she had found out.  She knew though, that it was only a matter of time before she would start showing and her secret would reveal itself.  But she never imagined that Rani, whom she knew she would have the most difficulty telling, would discover it on her own.  The truth was that Danielle was falling deeper and deeper in love with Rani.  She lowered her head and unshed tears spilled out of her.  The pain she had felt for all of the tragedy she herself had suffered.  Her hand flew protectively to her stomach.
"Do you love him?" Rani asked, her face and tone more gentle now.
"I don't even know who he is."  Danielle sobbed.
Rani was taken aback at that bit of information.  She sat up too and grabbed Danielle's hand.
Danielle's breathing was becoming heavy as she cried and she her heart racing.
Rani simply squeezed her hand to get Danielle to look at her.  She breathed deeply counting upward and then downward and Danielle followed along.  Her breathing finally becoming more controlled.
Rani allowed her time to compose herself then pressed on,
"Tell me."  She said simply.
Danielle took a final steadying deep breath and the events of the terrible something unfolded before her eyes,

Michelle, her best friend and her new boyfriend had been making out for what seemed like the hundredth time.
Danielle sat beside them, ever the third wheel.  She was feeling down again and called Michelle to meet her at their favorite bar "Tiki's" near the beach on the Miami strip.  Michelle was always down for a good time but of course, Kyle showed up at some point interrupting Danielle who was pouring out her sorrows to Michelle about her loneliness and struggles since her parents died.
It's not that Michelle was a bad friend, but she was young and horny and sometimes selfish.  She didn't even know Kyle.  He was just Michelle's new beau of the month.  So when he had arrived, Danielle didn't feel comfortable talking about her private feelings around him.  None the less, the trio had drank deep into the night with Kyle buying a round of shots every 20 minutes.  Danielle had lost count of how much she had to drink but she knew she was drunk.  Any more alcohol and she wasn't sure she could walk.
"I'm going home."  Danielle finally said to the back of Michelle's head.
Michelle broke from her slobbery kiss and turned.
"One last shot!" She yelled.
"No I really can't."
"Oh c'mon.  It's just one more for the road.  And then Kyle and I will drop you off."  Michelle insisted.
They clinked glasses one more time and downed the shot in one gulp.  Danielle's face screwed up from the direct hit that last drink had on her.
She turned back to Michelle.  Kyle was already trying to undress her.  But Michelle pushed him off telling him no not tonight, they needed to take Danielle home.  He didn't like that.  The pair began to argue.
"I'll walk."  Danielle said a little annoyed placing cash on the counter.
"Wait." Michelle said placing a hand on hers to stop her, but Kyle had gotten up to stalk off at the same time. 
Michelle looked at Danielle "You'll be ok?"  She asked pleadingly.  And Danielle nodded shooing her off to go fix things with her boyfriend.
Danielle stumbled out of the bar.
Her blurred vision allowed her to just make out the little sandy isle that led to the beach.  In her drunken stupor she decided it was a good idea to walk on the beach under the stars.
She stumbled so much she needed to grab on to anything she could to keep herself from face planting.  Peaking up and down the beach she saw no one.  It was dark, and the moon was mostly covered by clouds, but along the beach were yellow lamps that lit every few yards.  She was completely alone.
Sighing to herself she pressed on, the sand making it even more difficult to walk in her drunken state.  But she was able to make her way to the edge of the water, which she noticed was extremely unusually low tide, she bent over to feel the water and ended up falling straight in with a splat.  Gasping as she came up for air her hair a tangle of wet curtains covering her eyes, she scurried on her hands and knees back up on to the beach and collapsed.  She was pretty sure she was just about to fall asleep when she heard something.
It rushed up behind her, breathing heavily.  Before she could respond she was forcefully twisted around.  Her eyes couldn't focus on who it was but she felt panicked by the stranger who was now mauling her.  He was struggling and fumbling with her shorts.  She kicked at him as hard as she could and the man hit her so hard in the face she literally saw stars.  She heard a rip and felt her bottom half exposed.  He flipped her over and held her head down with her face turned to the side uncomfortably.  In the dim light of the nearby lamp she saw his outstretched hand next to her.
"'I'll finish what I started with that bitch, on you.  Vengeance is oh so sweet."  He growled at her.
She stared at the thick forearm.  The one that she saw was badly wounded.  And she could just barely make out a faded half skull face tattoo.  She couldn't breath.  He was cutting off her air supply.  She could have sworn she heard someone calling her name before blackness consumed her and she passed out.
When she woke up the next day in a hospital bed.  She made the police report with the only details she had of the man.  Danielle secretly suspected who it might be, and was relieved to find out that Michelle had completely ended it with Kyle that night, and he never contacted her again.  The doctor released her and asked that she return in 3 weeks time.