>>69997429It wasn't until the sun rose above the horizon that I awoke and released Ciara. She lay still as the mattress dipped with me as I got to my feet and strode out into the hallway through the ruined door. Then, wincing in pain, Clara crawled off the bed and into the bathroom, dragging herself up to the tub. Her eyes caught on her hands seeing that she had broken all but two of her nails from clawing at the sheets trying to get away from me, and she cried at the bruising around her wrists and thighs.
While the tub filled, Clara forced herself to stand in front of the mirror, bringing a hand up to the bitemark on her shoulder, not sure how she would be able to hide it with her usual dresses. She could wear gloves to cover her wrists, and the others would be easy enough to keep concealed, but her shoulder...
The tub filled before long and Ciara slowly and carefully sank down into the hot water, quickly scrubbing every inch of herself until she was sure she had taken at least two layers of skin off. The heat took some of the ache from her, but she knew that it would be days until the pain would be gone completely. She would have to be careful about how she moved and what she did if she didn't want anybody to notice that she was hurting. She couldn't tell them what had happened, couldn't admit that she had been unable to stop it, that she had shut down and stopped fighting. What would they think of her then? What would those smelly loser orbiters on r9k think?
They couldn't know.
Clara got out of the bath when she washed her hair and cleaned herself. She pulled a dress on and fixed herself up as best she could before she crept from the room and down the stairs. Hurrying out the door, she went straight to Target. Everyone would be there.
Cuyahoga Lorris Norrack Corris Morris Gracie Lorris didn't look back. She would never tell anyone what happened, and she would never step in that room ever again without a bag of cheese.
