Presque Vu

Chapter 15

Raina had decided that maybe the best thing to do was sleep on all this but her brain wouldn't shut off long enough for her to drift off. It wasn't supposed to be this way. She had only set out for a good time, a little something to distract herself from reality. Now she was tangled up in lovers, with feelings leaking out everywhere, and second guessing every decision. She hadn't thought Jared was hurting her at the time, so she hadn't stopped him. So who's fault was that? And what did all of this say about her anyway? What must Shannon be thinking?

She threw off her blankets, went into the kitchen and started the kettle. Time for more tea since sleep seemed determined to elude her. As she stood at the counter and waited for the water to heat, she had a thought. It didn't seem right that she was the only one wrestling with this. She grabbed her phone and went back into her room.

There was one sure way to find out what Jared would think of the mess he had left. Stripping down, she took up position in front of the mirror again. There were other marks beside the one on her back, though they were smaller and lighter. She snapped a quick picture and messaged it off without any commentary, then redressed.

Just as the night before, Raina settled herself on her sofa, mug of tea in hand, craving peace and sleep. As she snuggled under the quilt she always kept there she wondered if maybe she wasn't overreacting. It was just some bruises, bruises that would fade soon enough. It wasn't as if she had actually been injured. No one had done anything they weren't thoroughly enjoying in the moment. She was just starting to doze off when she heard the doorbell ringing followed by loud pounding. She sat up with a start. In her grogginess, she was momentarily alarmed at the urgency of whoever was on the other side of her door at 2 a.m. Then she realized it had to be Jared. He must have seen the pictures by now.

Warily she got up and opened the door. As predicted, Jared stood in the hallway, still dressed from whatever fete he had been attending. He looked casual but handsome in that odd way that only Jared could pull off, his hair still shiny and perfect. His face, however, was anything but composed. He stepped into the apartment, looking around wildly.

"What happened?" he demanded.

Well, that wasn't any of the responses she had been anticipating. "What do you mean what happened? You were there. You're what happened," she pointed out.

Jared looked back at her in confusion. "Those can't be the marks I left Raina. There was one bruise but the rest were just little pink and red marks. I was careful. I know I didn't bite down that hard."

Raina was angry now. She had at the very least expected him to take responsibility for his handiwork. "Well, I sure as hell didn't bite myself."

Jared drew his hand over his face, trying to maintain his composure. "Raina, you shouldn't have bruised up like that." He reached for her as if to examine her for himself but she pulled away. Her trust for him was on shaky ground, but when saw the stricken way he was looking at her, she stopped. If she thought there was any possibility that he would be pleased with the severity of the trail he had left, it was smashed into dust. He was very obviously upset. He reached for her again and this time she didn't pull back, but let him lead her back to her bedroom.

"May I?" he said, his hand resting on the hem of her nightgown. Nervously she nodded and he pulled it carefully over her head. Slowly he drew his fingers down the sides of her spine, coming to rest just over her hip. "Can you see this one?" he asked.

She moved to stand in front of the mirror, turning slightly to the side so she could see the mark he was referencing. There was a wide green and purple bruise just behind her hip.

"That's the one that was there before our little session the other night. That's the one your other friend left for you," he said, hitting the word friend a little too hard. "It wasn't nearly that big then."