Champions of Serenity :Gathering the Circle
Chapter Twelve

Chapter 12

Debra wasn’t sure what she hated most about this holiday season. The fact that she wasn’t welcome at home or the fact that she had to work both Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. It was probably both of them, as well as the fact that the problems of this past summer were still not completely forgotten or forgiven by many.

As she unlocked her door and opened it, she heard something coming from her bedroom that made her freeze. Jason was still in jail awaiting his sentencing. But it could be your average burglar and she didn’t like the thought of someone in her apartment while she was gone at all.

Then she smelled something coming from the kitchen that smelled very good and heavily of garlic and chocolate. A vase with a dozen roses sat on her living room table and a box wrapped in bright blue and green and gold paper. She turned when she felt eyes upon her and met the deep blue eyes of someone she had wanted to see yet dreaded at the same time.

“I told the manager I was your cousin and I was here to surprise you. He let me in. I hope you don’t mind. I have chicken parmesan and a black forest cake for dinner.”

It took a minute for Debra to realize that Darin was uncomfortable because she hadn’t moved or said anything. She let her face relax and smiled at him, moving over to greet him with a hug and kiss. She felt him relax as her arms went around his neck.

“Of course it’s alright, Darin. I just wasn’t expecting anyone and you startled me. What are you doing here? I thought Emily said you and the family were spending the winter holidays in Aspen with Grant and his family.”

“We are, well, they are. I was there until this morning. I missed you so much, especially since you wouldn’t let us come and visit you this summer, so I just couldn’t wait any longer to see you. I told my dad that I had to finish up some reports before the first of the year and Mike backed me up. They let me leave without staying though New Year’s Eve.”

He held her close and wondered, for just a moment, why she felt so tense in his arms. In her last letter, she had said that she missed him and that she was still his girlfriend, but something was different. When he kissed her, there was a reserve there that hadn’t been before. What had happened to her this summer that had changed her so much?

“Debra, are you okay? What’s wrong? You are so tense.”

“I’m just tired, Darin. It was a long day at work today. Holidays are always hectic at work and we were one girl short, which made it worse. I’m really glad you are here, I’ve missed you as well.”

Darin let it slide, but he knew it was something more than just being tired. “Why don’t you go and shower and get changed and I’ll put the finishing touches on dinner and have it ready for you when you come out.”

With another smile and kiss of thanks, Debra stepped into her room and closed the door. She locked the bathroom door as she undressed and started the shower running. Her hands were shaking so hard as she slipped her work shirt off, that she popped one of the buttons off of the cuff and would have to sew it back before she wore it to work again. What was she going to do?

As the hot water from the shower beat down on her, she let the tears she had held back as Darin had touched her flow and get washed away. It hurt having him hold her and yet she wanted it so much. Why did that animal have to do what he did to her? She lightly traced the scar on her abdomen where he had stabbed her. Would she ever be whole again?

She took care when she dressed to look nice for Darin, and prayed that by the time dinner was over she would be more comfortable around him. It was Darin after all, and he had never done anything to harm her, in fact, just the opposite.

Just then, the phone rang. Debra picked up the extension in the bedroom as Darin came to the door to listen.

“Hey there, Beautiful. What’s happening this fine evening?”

The voice flowed over her with a healing and calming that no one but Jared could produce. That was another thing that always got to her, why he could do that when no one else could.

“Oh, hi, Jared. There’s nothing much going on here, how about there? It sounds like you are having a party.”

“Yeah, Grant and I are celebrating New Years a day early. Hey, I was wondering, did that scumbag Darin go there for New Year’s? He was supposed to show up here, but Mike said he split for parts unknown.”

With a wicked grin at Darin, she answered Jared. “No, he isn’t here, Jared. That isn’t to say that he won’t turn up here or there later, but I have to work tomorrow night so if you see him before I do, tell him that I can’t go out with him tomorrow night.” Darin grinned back at her, but didn’t say anything.

“Debra, you don’t lie very well. Tell him that the cheerleaders are missing him, but that I hope he has fun with you. And, Debra, whatever it is that has you tied up in knots, I hope that you will open up to one of us. If you keep holding it in, it’s going to kill that spark in you that we all know and love.”

“Thank you, Jared, and Happy New Year’s to you as well. Have fun and tell everyone hi for me. Bye.”

Debra’s smiled slipped for a moment at the last words from Jared. How did he know? He knew, she knew he knew, but he hadn’t said anything. But how could he know? She hadn’t told anyone and she knew that her family wouldn’t have told anyone either. It was the link again, the same one that caused the calming and healing.

Shægnek watched for a moment as the First spoke to the heart while the Wer looked on. The links were getting stronger, yet at the same time, new chasms were being created. This would be tricky because she needed both to heal and that healing had to come quickly, before the final pieces were brought together. How could she help without getting caught at it?

The goddess clipped back another small branch from the bush she was shaping. It was a lovely multicolored rose bush that grew in her library. It had begun its life the day the prophecy was born and now it was almost ready to open the tight buds that filled its many branches.

A thorn pricked her finger and a small drop of her blood fell into the soil of the rose and vanished in the moist dark earth. It wasn’t the first time she had bled while tending this rose, but it was the first time it had any effect on the rose. As the tiny drop of blood fell, one of the deep red rose buds turned a silvery blue.

Shægnek took another look at the First and the Wer. She then blinked with surprise at the rose and the small change that one bud had been here and the huge change it had wrought there.

“Something wrong, Dear?”

“Uh, no, Chaos, nothing.” She stammered, still a little shaken that there was a change she had nothing to do with.

“That is a lovely rose bush, Shægnek. Isn’t that the prophecy bush that Father planted that day in his chambers? What a beautiful colored bud.”

Chaos caressed the newly changed bud and watched as Shægnek paled. He hadn’t seen the change happen, but he knew that there hadn’t been a rose of that color on the bush before. Something was going on and it was enough that it shook up his sister/daughter to make him curious.

“What’s happening with the prophecy?”

“Nothing much, the First is healing with the help of the Wer, but it still needs some work until it’s complete.”

“Ah, well, I’m glad she’s healing. Keep me informed if there are any changes, Shægnek.” He left her alone to finish her pruning and care of her plants. He hadn’t learned much, but what he had would come in handy in the future.

“What is it, Debra? Did he say something he wasn’t supposed to?” Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ Find ɴøᴠel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Debra took a deep breath and brought herself back under control and then laughed at Darin. “No, he just said to tell you that the cheerleaders were missing you.”

Darin chuckled softly and guided her from the bedroom into the living room. He had lit candles on the table and had set two places for them. Dinner steamed on the plates and the glasses were frosted and filled with a bubbling golden liquid.

“It looks wonderful, Darin. Thank you.”

Darin held the chair for her and then took his place next to her. They spoke of how things were going while they ate, laughing at some of it, showing concern for some of it. A couple of hours had passed before either of them knew what had happened. Then Darin cleared away dinner and set up a movie and they curled up together on the couch.

Once again, Darin wondered what was wrong. Debra had relaxed during dinner and had been genuine, and now that they were cuddling on the couch, she had tensed up again. Something had happened, something she didn’t want to talk about, but something that had hurt her more deeply than he could imagine. He simply held her while they watched the video, hoping she would relax as the movie progressed. If not, then he would be finding a room for the night in some hotel nearby.

“Darin, I need to ask you something. But I don’t know how to ask it.” Debra’s voice was soft, almost scared. She hadn’t turned to face him as the end credits scrolled on the screen.

He could feel her trembling. “You can ask me anything, Debra, you know that. And you don’t have to be afraid of me, ever.”

Debra turned to face him then, and what he saw in her eyes made his stomach turn. He had seen that look once before, when a friend from school had been gang raped during a party. “Debra, what is it?” His voice was hushed, he was scared now, and not sure he wanted to know what she was keeping so secret.

“I want you to do something for me, Darin. I need to know if…I need…” She couldn’t say the words; they locked up in her throat. She knew it would only help her if she could learn to trust again and it wasn’t that she didn’t trust Darin. She had always been a little shy when it came to men, mostly due to her older brother and his friends and their pranks and talks about other girls. She knew she didn’t have the figure most boys wanted when it came to girlfriends and it didn’t bother her that much. It was only for Darin she wished she were prettier.

He didn’t want to know, but he had to. This was a woman he had come to love more than he thought he would when he first met her. Darin could see that there was something special about Debra and that someone had done something to hurt that in her. It made him angry enough to actually want revenge on someone he didn’t know.

“Debra, what happened last summer?”

They both ended up crying as she told him, slowly with many stops and false starts. He held her gently, caressing her hair as she sobbed against his chest, wishing he could kill the man who had damaged such a wonderful woman so badly. His hands shook when she showed him the scar from the stabbing.

“Darin, please, I need to know if I can ever handle a man’s touch again. Will you help me? Stay tonight and help me.” She looked up at him, her eyes filled with unshed tears even as tears dried and stained her face.

For an answer, Darin gently kissed her again. Then he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. Tenderly he made love to her, showing her that not all men were monsters who stole what they wanted from the unwilling. He gave her as much pleasure as her body could handle, holding her when the memories became too painful and kissing away the tears as she let the pain go. When the first rays of morning sun crept into the room, they both fell into an exhausted sleep, wrapped in each other’s arms. A small smile rested on both of their lips as they knew that she would be okay with a little more time. She would still shy away to some extent until she was fully healed, but she would be able to handle the touch of a man again.

Pounding on her front door woke Debra a couple of hours later. She looked at the sleeping form of Darin and smiled softly. She had never dreamed that loving could be so wonderful, so tender, so caring. Her one and only time had been that beast who was now locked up for attacking her. In that moment, she couldn’t imagine loving anyone else, ever, as much as she loved Darin. But the pounding continued and she knew it was time to get up.

Wrapping her robe around her waist, she went to answer the door before whoever it was woke Darin. She closed the door behind her softly and crossed the room to the front door. As she turned the lock, the door burst open before she could open it.

“What took you so long to answer, Debbie? What are you doing still in your robe? I thought you had to work today.” Eric barged in and looked around the apartment for a moment then narrowed his eyes and looked back at her. On the table were two glasses and the remains of two desserts. “Are you alone? Did you have some guy sleep over last night? Is that why you are still in bed at this hour?”

Without waiting for her to answer, he moved passed her to her bedroom door and opened it, looking in. He turned a confused look at her as he found an empty room.

“Yes, Eric, I am alone. I was still in bed because I worked late last night. Yes, I had someone over after work and as you can see, he went home before I went to bed. I just didn’t have the energy to clean it up first. What are you doing here so early?” The anger in her voice masked the relief of finding that Darin had somehow slipped out without being seen. “And since when have you become my keeper to see if I’m sleeping chastely alone or not? What business is it of yours?”

Eric turned to her and looked her over a couple of times. “I came over to invite you to breakfast tomorrow morning with the family. I’ve talked with mom and dad and they’ve agreed as long as you promise to behave yourself in their home.”

Anger burned through her hotter than the pain of what that man had done to her. The rage must have shown on her face because Eric took a step backwards, his hands up. “Now, Debbie, don’t go getting angry with me. I’m not the one who slept around and got pregnant last summer.”

“Get out, Eric. Get out and don’t bother coming back. If you aren’t going to believe me about what happened, then I don’t need you to keep offering me false branches of good will. It isn’t anyone’s business but mine if I sleep around or not, but for the record, I don’t sleep around. If it hadn’t been for the rape last summer, I would still be a virgin. Now get out of my home!”

Another knock on the door sounded and Debra was starting to get really upset. She didn’t know who it was, and at the moment, there wasn’t anyone she wanted to see at all. Moving to the door and throwing it open, she was a little surprised to see Darin standing outside, his hair wet as if coming from a shower, fully dressed, and with breakfast rolls in his hands.

“I thought I would come over and help you clean up from last night before you had to go to work, Debra. I brought you breakfast as well…” His voice trailed off a moment. He knew she was angry, he had heard it all, having hidden in the shower and pulling the breakfast rolls from his car which he had left there overnight. “Did I come at a bad time?”

“No, Darin, you didn’t. My brother was just about to leave. And thank you for thinking about me this morning. Last night was kind of late and I didn’t expect you up for another couple of hours at least.”

Eric looked at them both, tried one more time with his sister. “Debbie…it isn’t too late…”

“Yes, Eric, it is. And the name is Debra. Now leave.”

Debra watched in silence as Eric left. Darin stepped in and closed the door behind him.

“Debra?”

“Don’t, Darin. I don’t want to talk about it right now or deal with it. But thank you anyway.” She turned to him and smiled. “Thank you for last night, it was beyond anything I could have imagined. I just wish that I could do more for you today to make up for it.” She moved closer to him and gave him a long, lingering kiss. “Would you care to join me in the shower?”

Darin declined, saying he would clean up from last night and heat up the rolls. Debra took a quick shower and dressed for work in a clean uniform. Tonight would be long and rough. At least she only had to work until 11:30 and not until midnight or beyond. Things wouldn’t be too crazy for her that way.

“I’m off at 11:30, Darin. So if you want to do something after work, I would be happy to. I didn’t have any other plans.” She smiled as she came out, tucking in her blouse.

Darin greeted her with a kiss and a rose. “I’m sure I can come up with something to do tonight.” He said mischievously.

“I can’t wait.” She whispered in his ear as she said good-bye to him, leaving him with her spare key.

Shægnek smiled as the scene played out. It went better than she had expected. Although with the rage that the First had shown, it made her wonder if maybe a little of her counter hadn’t begun to seep in through the link. She would have to watch that closely. It wouldn’t do for that link to be known yet, or to even have a flow between them. She would have to be careful. But until then, things were moving along perfectly. It would soon be time for the prophecy to be complete and for the game to be set in motion.

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