Coming Clean

Whicked:

*I shut the car door behind me, taking a step away from the kerb as the Mercedes driven by the Brotherhood’s Doggen drove off. I took a deep breath to clear my head and about-turned to face my building, wondering if Alanna was home or if I would catch a break and be able to get in and showered before she got home. I am sure that even she would have some questions about me coming home with a fleece on instead of my usual leather jacket and not to mention the blood in my hair and on my face.

I went to reach for my key’s before realising that they, along with my cellphone were still at the bar. Fuck! The bar! I was gonna take so much shit for this. I needed to call my boss as soon as I had a shower and clear things up, somehow.

I walked up to the apartment building’s main door and pushed, the door slid open clearly having not been closed properly when the last person left. I glanced around the inside hallway, seeing no one around I hot-footed it to the elevators and pushed the call button, grinning as the doors opened instantly. So far things were going my way…. I wondered if that would hold out.

The elevator clanged to a halt as it reached my floor and the doors edged open slowly, the scraping noise of the metal doors against the frame announcing my arrival.. I headed down the narrow hallway to my door and tried the door. Damn it was locked. I hoped Lana was home otherwise I was gonna have to head down to the bar she worked at and grab her keys. I gave the door a quick rap of my knuckles and prayed for an answer*

Alanna:

*Oh, did it feel good to be home from work! We’d been steady busy all night, so I’d been running around my whole shift. Plus, I reeked of liquor too, courtesy of a drunk idiot who’d ended up spilling his drink all over me when he’d tried to pick me up. He got pushy when I turned him down, and I had to get a little pushy in return to get the point across that I wasn’t interested.

I peel off my sweaty, boozy clothes and indulge in a long, hot shower, then change into some comfy clothes. Then I heat up some leftovers and put on a movie. Settling in on the couch, I watch as I eat, wondering when Whicked will be home. It feels like we haven’t seen much of each other this last week or so, and I’m starting to miss her! Then I hear someone rattling the doorknob, trying to open the door I’d locked automatically when I got home, then comes the knocking. I pause the movie and set my plate down, and walk over to look through the peephole. Seeing a flash of the red hair I’d know anywhere, I unlock the door and open it to find my best friend in the hallway, wearing a fleece pullover I didn’t recognize- and covered in blood.* Whicks!! What the fuck happened?! Are you alright?

Whicked:

The door flew open and I was greeted by my best friend and roommates worried face. Her delicate hand circled my wrist and dragged me inside our apartment before I could even get a word out.

“Lana….I am so glad you are home! What a fricken night. You are totally not even gonna believe that happened to me!” I swerved away from Alanna and headed into the tiny kitchen off of the lounge and grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and a bag of chips from the cupboard. I padded back to the lounge where Lana was sitting and I passed her one of the beers. “You eaten? Damn….I am hungry...Pizza...we need pizza!” I was too buzzed to tell her what had happened, I was struggling to believe it myself but her eyes were so worried, I had to sit down next to her and focus. I leaned over and grabbed the TV remote and hit the power off button. The room went silent. I popped the lid on my beer and took a long draw and sighed.

“So….it’s been a while since we umm talked. Uhhh you know I went to see about my trust fund right? Well…. what I didn’t tell you was that the meeting was at the Audience House, I uh met the King.” I left it there, knowing that if I didn’t pause that Lana would just talk all over me with her 10 million questions.

Alanna:

I just stand by as Whicked goes into her whirlwind mode, chattering on about food as she goes to the kitchen to get a couple beers. I’m kind of freaking out and desperate to know why the hell my bestie had come home covered in blood- and if she was really alright- but she tends to do things at her own pace. Plus, she seems to need to wind down a little. So all I can really do is wait for her to be ready to get down to the storytelling on her own. Then she turns off the TV and drops her bombshell. I feel my jaw drop as my train of thought goes completely off the rails* Wait, the KING King?! As in Wrath, the Blind King? The actual living breathing ruler of our entire freaking RACE?! THAT King?! *I find myself taking a swig of beer when I hold up my hand and pause for breath- apparently this story is going to require a lot of alcohol too!* So how did that happen? Exactly WHAT happened? And how the hell did that lead to you coming home all covered in blood?! And ARE YOU OK?!

*

Whicked:

I take a deep breath as Lana starts to pretty much hyperventilate, I take a long draw from my beer and then a deep breath. “It really is a long ass story Lana, a lot has happened clearly but pretty much, I met the King, did you know he is an absolute asshole? No? Well he is! And I met some of Brotherhood too and guess what, yeah they are assholes too!”

I got up and started nervously pacing the floor. “So…. yeah I am ok but I think I am out of a job now, the bar kinda exploded, well not all of it. Just the back end so Marshall is probably gonna fire me.

Oh Lana I don’t know how to say all of what I need to say!” *I raised the bottle to my lips and downed it one long pull. I wanted so bad to explain to my friend what had been happening with me, but I didn’t know if I had the actual words to explain.

“The King…. there was an explosion.'' I took a deep cleansing breath and sat down. “I was closing up the bar, restocking the shelves and there was a huge explosion. I don’t really know the full story, but the King was in the alley behind the bar with a Brotherhood trainee after some Lessers and something exploded, he got trapped under a lot of rubble, he was really badly wounded. I saved him Lana, I got the Brotherhood to come collect him. I, I fed him my blood Lana. I brought him back from the Fade.

Lana:

*I just blink as all of what she’s saying sinks in. The bar damaged, her character assessment of the King and Brothers, the fact that she gave Wrath her vein and literally saved his life. I clear my throat as I stand up to hug her.* Oh, wow! It sounds like you had an… extremely eventful night! I’m just so glad that you’re alright.* Then I go into Mommy Mode, wanting to take care of her* Now, how about we get you cleaned up a little bit? *I wrap an arm around her shoulders and lead her towards the bathroom. I nod at the laundry basket in the corner as I reach to turn on the shower to get the hot water going* Come on, Whicks. Strip. You’ll feel better once you wash off all that blood and stuff…. *I pull off her hoodie and toss it into the hamper*

Whicked:

Typical Lana, she goes straight into overprotective Momma Bear mode, which is partly why I love her so much. She knows all about my past and still takes time to look after me even though her scheduling kinda sucks. I let her push me along the hallway toward the bathroom we share, which thanks to her is clean and ordered. The adrenaline I had when I stepped into our apartment and found her home is waning and I can feel a bone deep exhaustion washing over me. As we reach the bathroom I sit down on the edge of our small bath and let her tug the black lightweight fleece over my blood soaked locks and I watch her toss it into the basket. “I saved the King, Alanna. He was clinically dead but I brought him back. He had some Chosen blood too but mainly all mine. Did I save him? How could I save him?” A tear dropped from my eye and rolled down my cheek as I recalled Wrath lying there in a pile of rubble, bleeding from his wounds, not moving and I wiped it away absently*

Lana:

*I sit next to her on the edge of the tub and rub her back, thinking that this is not the Bestie I know. Whicks is always so confident and fun, not this shaken and unsure female I’m sitting next to. And she never ever cries! Not knowing what else to do to help her, really, I decide to continue with my caretaking* Ok, how about this: I’ll make you something to eat while you shower, and then you can tell me exactly what happened. Maybe getting it all out will help settle your mind? Then you might feel a little better. *Whicked nods and undresses before stepping into the tub, and as soon as the curtain closes I head for the kitchen. I put the kettle on for tea, warm up some chicken and dumplings soup I’d made the other day, and make a grilled cheese sandwich to go with it.

Whicked:

Lana always knows what to say to soothe my soul. I stripped out of my bra and leather pants, kicking off my boots as I peeled the leather from my legs. I reached over the bath, holding my hand under the spray pausing for a few seconds to let the water reach temperature before stepping in and tugging the curtain closed behind me.

The spray was hot and its heat seeped into my bones easing off the stress and strain from the last few days. Feeding Wrath so much had drained me entirely, although Blaylock had fed me in thanks for saving the King, I hadn’t taken too much from him and the effects were growing apparent. I felt weak and exhausted and overly emotional. I hoped the shower would help clear my head and talking to Alanna would help. It always did.

Feeling somewhat refreshed I stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around my slight frame. Droplets of cooling water tricked from my hair down my back sending a chill through me. I slipped my robe off of it’s hook on the back of the bathroom door and slipped it on, tugging it closed tying the belt tight around my waist. I pulled open the bathroom door and my mouth instantly watered as my nose scented Alanna’s homemade Chicken & Dumpling soup. I padded through to my bedroom and derobed, drying myself off quickly. Crossing my bedroom I snagged a pair of batman pjs from my dresser, towel dried my hair and scrapped it back into a loose ponytail and returned to the lounge, curling up on the sofa I waited for Lana to finish.

Lana:

*As Whicked comes out of her bedroom and curls up on the couch, I bring over the tray with the food and tea on it and set it down on the coffee table. I sit down next to her and hand her half of the sandwich. I watch as she eats and then, when she’s done and sits back, I wrap a throw blanket around her and keep an arm around her shoulders. I give her a gentle squeeze, letting her know without words that I’m here, whatever happened, and she can tell me anything.*

Whicked:

*As Lana wraps a blanket, followed by an arm around my shoulders, I relax against the back of the sofa and recant the events that lead to me arriving home covered in blood: Working late at the bar, the explosion, finding Wrath and the Female trainee in the rubble, pulling Wrath free, calling in the Brotherhood, my unexplainable need to defend and protect the King. The compound, the human doctors, the Warriors, the Chosen. Everything.

By the time my story had come to its conclusion, the day had almost arrived and I felt utterly exhausted. I was going to need to see Axhton to feed tomorrow but for tonight I just needed to sleep and put the King and this whole nightmare behind me.

As if reading my mind, Lana tugged me off the sofa and let me to my room. Pulling my comforter back she nudged me and I climbed into bed, my eyes closing as I laid my head on the pillow. My last thoughts were of Wrath and his beautiful blind green eyes as Lana pulled the comforter over me and left me to sleep.*