Immortal's End

Heat (26.)

[Lin.]

"Lin, you can't just chain her up like an animal. She's a woman, not a dog." I knew Oak wouldn't like what I did.

"If we're gonna leave her alone in there, I need to make sure she cannot leave from under our noses again. I'll keep her on a damn leash until Diggs is behind bars." I growl. Seeing her back so torn and bruised... something broke in me. "Whatever it takes to keep her out of that fucker's hands."

"She's not just going to waltz out of here. She can barely walk as it is." He tries to reason with me as we exit backstage, walking through the theatre with purpose. The police should be here soon.

"As her Owner, I'm doing it for her safety and my peace of mind-"

"And as her to-be husband, I'm not just going to stand by and let you treat her like that." He puts a hand on my shoulder, making me turn to him. Face to face.

"She needs it. Don't you see? She's breaking. He's breaking her down to a simple toy. Trust me, damnit. Yes, she'll be your wife, but right now I'm still the owner of her submission, and someone is abusing that gift." Now. Lemme just say. Oak may be the gentle giant, but man's still intimidating. Yet, here I am, standing up to him over his woman.

"I... don't understand why it's necessary. Lin, she needs gentle care and affection. She needs to be loved, not locked away.."

"Currently, she's still spacey. She needs grounding. She needs another's will to lean on. Yes, cleaning her and cuddling her is important, but she also needs space and time alone to recollect herself. Think, Oak. She's an introvert." I explain, turning away to continue towards the door. "At the same time, Daveed has influenced her mind, so she's drawn to him. We can't have her running off to find him."

"Well, we left her phone with her. So, she'll probably call him." He sighs.

"Great, we'll trace the number and have the cops pick him up." I say, speaking of cops, they arrive right on cue.

We take the time to explain the abuse and show them pictures of the original marks on her back (we hadn't gotten the new ones on camera yet). Darien returns with a copy of the video when she leaves last night. That doesn't help the cause much because she seemingly left willingly. No sign of a fight. The crate and note, on the other hand... yea. We talk with them for over an hour, pouring out every detail we could think of.

"We're going to need to speak to her, if possible." One officer says, writing the last details we spoke of.

"She's too fragile right now, she probably won't want to speak." Oak replies, his hands fidgeting. "She just got back. She needs to rest."

"She's here? How come she's not in the hospital? You described her injuries as rather brutal."

"I'm a trained physician, Sirs. I treated her injuries in house and thought it best she remain where she is most comfortable for her mental stability." Darien covers for that, though, I wouldn't be surprised if it was true.

"So where is she?"

"She's upstairs. She lives here at the theatre, and works here on staff." Darien takes over the finer details on who Eva is. Meanwhile, my phone rings. I step away to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey man, you know what's going on at the theatre? People are tweeting out pictures of cop cars parked out front." Chris.

"Yea, um. Lemme give the abridged version. Diggs took Eva last night, returned her this afternoon in a pet crate, and we're pressing charges because fuck that guy."

"Oh shit. Seriously?"

"Yea, he really did a number on Eva. We're trying to get him behind bars and out of our hair." I reply, glancing back over my shoulders as the officers, Darien, and Oak stand. Probably to go see Eva. "Hey, I gotta go. We'll check in later." Chris says goodbye, and I rejoin the others. "So, we're going upstairs?"

"Yes, just to see Lady Eva's back. They'll try not to disturb her long." Darien says, Oak leading the officers to the backstage door. Darien stays with me,  face starting to flush a little red.

"You okay? You don't look so good." He barely smiles to me, sweat forming on his brow. "You getting sick?"

"No. I'm... I'm fine." He stutters, but I don't believe it. However, before I can push further, he's clutching his chest and nearly dropping to the floor.

"Ah... so that's what happens." My head shoots up at the new voice. Well, not new, but certainly unwelcome. Daveed struts into view as if he owns the place.

"Diggs, what did you do?" I yell, kneeling beside Darien as he pants, nearly tearing off his jacket. Feeling his back, he must have been running a fever that didn't show signs of breaking.

"Now now, I didn't do anything. I just got here. Though, I did hear there's a little situation going on across the street." Daveed chuckles, and almost on cue, the police officers that went upstairs ran back through the building, yelling something about a fire nearby. "I was always a little curious what happens to the person if the theatre is damaged. Good to know there's a direct connection."

"Fuck you, Daveed. I don't care what.. what you do to me." Darien lifts his head enough to glare at the rapper. He spits angrily, gritting his teeth through the pain. "You will never earn the love of my Lady." Daveed laughs, stepping closer.

"Hahaha... oh, I never said I was going to earn her love. I'm going to take it. And really? Calling the police was such a tasteless move." He grins confidently. This motherfucker... I am on my feet in a hot second, my fist already colliding with his jaw.

"I'm so fucking sick of you, and you've really done it this time. How DARE you take advantage of her gift." I hiss, nailing him again in the same spot. He tumbles backwards, laughing even louder than before. "What's so funny, asshole?" Daveed shakes his head, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth as he looks past me. I turn around, Oak had come back with Eva in tow, dressed in her kimono. Her eyes watery and sad, staring right at me.

---------
08/25/17

Shut up im not crying you're crying. Well... you don't know why you're crying yet. But you will.