Blaze

by Priscilla West

  He pauses, looking at it carefully, then brings it in. I can tell from the look on his face it’s not good.

  “You don’t need to see this,” Mark says, placing it on the table by my door. It’s my purse from this evening, dripping wet.

  “I need to know. We are in this together,” I respond and look at the purse. At first-glance everything seems fine. Soggy, but fine. Then Mark pulls out the one dry thing inside the bag. It’s a picture of me on my knees in front of Blake, my mouth open, his hand on my head. You can tell by the pixels it’s a still he made from a video camera.

  Across the photo he wrote in marker: “You’ll pay, bitch.” As a piece of punctuation, there is a white glob of ejaculate right over my face.

  “Oh my god, Blake,” Mark says, the disgust evident in his voice. “Julia, I— ”

  He stops as he sees the tears pouring down my face. I pull away from him, wondering if he feels that disgust from what Blake did on the picture or what I almost did with Blake. Mark leans over and takes my hand.

  “Come on,” he says pulling me toward my bedroom. We cross in front of the bed and head straight for the bathroom. He reaches in and turns the shower on; the room fills with the warm mist of the steam. “There is nothing of him on you. There is nothing of him about you. He is scum and you are beautiful.”

  I feel him unbuttoning my blouse and I reach to help him. Undressing myself, I imagine my time in Blake’s office falling away from me like scales. I step in the hot shower and let the shame, the guilt and everything wash off me. As I release my feelings, wracking sobs pulling from body, I see his arm enter the shower, and the rest of Mark soon appears.

  He stands behind me, holding me, kissing my neck. I stand still and luxuriate in his healing touch. He takes the soap from my hands, and begins to run it across my arms, back, breasts and body – washing me then kissing each area he has washed before. We stay in the shower, hugging and licking and loving each other until the water begins to cool.

  Stepping out, he wraps me in a robe, dries me off and puts his arms around me. We end up in my bed, my head on his chest, as he holds and kisses me. He doesn’t seem to expect anything. He just wants to love me. I feel myself falling asleep, the warmth and safety of his love healing my deepest wounds.

  Chapter 7

  The sun streams bright into the window, promising me a new day. A day filled with hope, justice, and most of all – love. Today’s the day the wrong is made right. Today is when Lynx begins again. I will be at court at one o’clock and free from this terror by two.

  Mark is setting the table for breakfast, has coffee brewing and smiles when I walk out – disheveled in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt all sleepy-eyed.

  “Hello, beautiful you,” he says with a smile.

  “Hello, Prince Charming. Can you tell me where reality is? I seem to have left it some time ago.”

  “No evil wizards here,” he looks around the kitchen. I contemplate kissing him, even with my morning breath when a knock at the door shatters the moment.

  “Oh god,” I say wondering what special package Blake has left us this time. Mark moves as if to answer but I reach it first.

  I look out the peephole and see a face this time. Two faces actually, each wearing a frighteningly familiar hat.

  “Yes, officer,” I say, opening the door just wide enough to see their badges.

  “Are you Julia Sharp?” The front one asks, the one behind him taking something from his back pocket. Mark walks toward the door.

  “Yes,” I answer. Did they catch Mr. Clank’s friend stealing my car?

  “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

  “What?!”

  The second officer began pulling out his zip tie.

  “Julia Sharp, you are under arrest.”

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