Onyx

Chapter 14: In Which She Senses Danger Too Late (Onyx)

"Sa'at nas! Onyx! It's been too long since you've I've seen you!" Lana's attempt at an upbeat voice rang through my ears as she rounded the corner from the back of the shop to the lobby. Her ethnic drawl wasn't as thick as it once had been. She always spoke those same words to me when we saw each other.

Weird, Ren and Lana's thick accents were similar.

It sounded like she was holding herself together mentally, but her appearance revealed what her words never would. Yet, she still was trying to give off the impression of being aloof. As if her body was made of steel.

It was a shame women felt compelled to take a vow of secrecy to protect their abhorrent husbands. Of course, I knew all too well about this.

I had been that woman for Khalan. The picture-perfect couple. From the outside of course. On the inside, a malignant hate had been festering between the two of us for God knows how long. Although Khalan had never dared to hit me. Instead, his preferred method of abuse was manipulation.

My husband was always a man of exquisite taste. My nose wrinkled in disgust.

He still hasn't called you... How does that make you feel, Onyx?

Shut.Up.

"Where have you been hiding?" Lana repeated herself as I was lost in an argument with myself.

Ren was stiffly following behind her with a scowl on his face, his movements almost robotic. He had not looked up at either of us as he trailed in. Instead, his eyes focused on the checkered floors as if he was in a trance.

Scary.

I'd never seen Lana look quite like this. Usually, her glowing face was clean of makeup, her short tresses falling in waves above her shoulders, and her apron covered in flour. Now, her hair was cut into an even shorter bob that was currently disheveled, wisps of hair clinging to her face in the places where her tears had partly dried. Her apron was missing, clothes were wrinkled, and her sneakers scuffed up.

Those almond eyes were bleak today, no evidence of light like in that photo that proudly hung just mere feet away from us.

A shell of her former self.

My eyes zoned in on the faint purplish-black bruise that was beginning to form under her left cheek.

Steel doesn't bruise.

"Lana! Are you okay?!" I rushed to her instantly transforming into an on-duty nurse. I began by quickly trying to assess her vitals, pressing my index and middle finger against her radial artery to feel her pulse. "How is your head feeling? Is your vision clear? Maybe we should—" It seemed steady enough. She lightly brushes me off, her cheeks turning red, clearly embarrassed about what had happened to her face.

I was wary. My instincts were telling me to keep looking her over, just to be sure everything was okay. People tended to make things sound better than they were. I'd witnessed countless individuals succumb to avoidable injury and illness.

"Lana, are you sure your head is feeling alright?"

"I—I'm fine Onyx. It's fine." She swiveled so her bad cheek was out of my sight, although it was now clearly visible to Ren, which evoked a low snarl in his throat that sounded like it came from the deepest depths of hell.

"Well...I—It's never been this bad until... now." Her voice came out in a hushed whisper in the tiny room.

As my mother would say, it was so quiet you could hear a mouse piss on cotton.

The only thing to do was solemnly nod my head in understanding. My mouth moved of its own accord to clear the awkward silence that held all our tongues.