The vampire and the assassin

Chapter 18

After I got myself up the stairs without bumping into anyone, as luck should have it, I pushed open the door very tiredly in hopes that I wouldn't have to knock. As it opened, Sarah was sitting on her bed, looking at me. First confusion washed over her face, then relief, and then worry. I moved and grabbed the door with my right hand and shut it so that it didn't bang and no one got mad at me.

"Rosa, what the hell happened? The doctor came by with some painkillers for you but would tell me nothing." She got up, noticing Xander's coat as I fiddled one-handed to get it off me.

"It's nothing, I promise. I just ummm..." As I unbuttoned the coat, I looked up to see pure terror wash over Sarah. I wasn't sure what had upset her more—my arm that was bandaged in a slink or some of the blood from the cuts on my uniform.

"What the hell did you do?"

"Shhh!" I told her, not wanting either of us to get into trouble for being so loud. "Please don't freak out, it's not as bad as it looks, I promise."

"Rosa... Have you seen yourself?" She asked as she got up. "You... You... You look like a walking wounded."

"Please don't shout or be loud. I'm really tired, and I didn't realize just how fragile I'm feeling until now." Sarah helped me sit on the bed, and she then sat on her own bed.

"What the hell happened?"

"I went looking for you on the upper floor... Then I saw someone in Lord Xander's room... And then it kind of escalated from there. I didn't think about shouting or anything for help... I just kind of acted."

"And put yourself in the middle of it all," Sarah mumbled. She shook her head. "You know Glenda is going to be fuming when she sees you tomorrow."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I'm not working for the next few days; the doctor's orders..." I got up and stretched a little, but then winced as I rolled my left shoulder, as pain shot through it.

"She's going to be massively pissed at you." Sarah picked up the painkillers, opened the bottle, and passed one to me. "Take that, and... do you need help getting cleaned up?"

"I'm not showering tonight as much as I feel gross... I'm too exhausted, and I just want to rest."

"So are you going to tell me what happened then?" I bit my lip and looked at Sarah, a little worried.

"Promise not to mention it to anyone else, and if anyone brings it up, you have to pretend you don't know anything." I sat back down as I put the tablets in my mouth and then picked up the cup on my bedside table and took a drink out of it.

"I promise I know nothing, Rosa." Sarah shifted a little and then got up to help move my pillows so that I was more comfortable as I sat wedged up in the corner against the wall to keep myself upright.

I told Sarah the story of what had happened in Xander's room, how Marie had been, and most of all, how Xander had been with me. I also told her about how I'd passed out and how I'd woken up in his bed.

"Wow..." I saw Sarah frown as if she were unsure of what she was about to say.

"Please don't scold me for everything. Lord Xander has already made me feel guilty over doing it, and so did Dorian."

"I should have known he'd be involved in the story somehow. No drama story ever happens without Dorian being involved." Sarah looked at me. "You should get ready for bed, you don't want to be in those clothes any longer than you have to be, in fairness."

"I know. I was just trying to put it off with how much my back hurts and my shoulder hurts." I got up and managed to get the slink off with one hand. Once that was off, I unbuttoned the dress, pleased to be out of the dirty and bloody dress. I hadn't thought that my arms had been that badly cut; obviously, I had been massively wrong. I grabbed my cami top from under my pillow along with my pajama bottoms and turned my back on Sarah as I managed to wrestle myself into my cami top with one arm and then, after sitting down, managed to get into my pajama bottoms.

"I didn't think the scars on your back were that bad, Rosa." I'd forgotten that Sarah hadn't seen them, as I hadn't gotten dressed or even undressed with my back to her like that for that reason. "Were they all done by Lucian?"

"No," I told her as I got into bed, saying that I wasn't bothering with the slink as I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep with it on. "Before Lucian and the chaos... I had a boyfriend. It was pretty toxic in the relationship." I told her honestly. As soon as I'd said it, I regretted it, as I knew Sarah would ask more questions, not out of spite or to hurt me, but because she just simply wanted to understand me and help me in any way she could.

"Did he hurt you?" Sarah asked with a small frown.

"At first, no; that was when I went through the hardest time of my life. Then, when I didn't think I could hit any lower in my life... that was when he showed his true colors." I let out a breath, shook my head, and looked at Sarah with a smile. "I can only go up now, right?" I asked her despite the fact that I wasn't really trying to be on top; I was just simply faking it to let myself sink lower because of Lucian. Maybe after this, if I survive, I can pull myself out of the pit and start being myself again.

"That's right, you can only go up from where you were." She smiled sweetly at me. "So is that why you don't talk about yourself?"

"Yeah, I can't change my past, and all I can do is go up, so why go over history that won't help me anyway? If that makes sense at all."

"It makes every sense. All you can do is learn from your past to better your future. That's what my parents told me." Sarah laughed as I yawned a little. "You know, if you ever want to get anything off your chest, I'm here to listen. I mean, keeping bad memories locked up isn't good. Trust me on that one. I know firsthand." I just smiled at Sarah lightly. I really didn't deserve this amazing woman in my life. "You should get some sleep; it's been a long night for you, and it's only going to be longer if you can't rest because of your arm."

"Urgh, don't remind me," I muttered as I moved around a little to try and get comfortable. Eventually, I did manage to. As I started to fall asleep, I heard Sarah ask me a question.

"Dorian... he's not bothering you on purpose, is he?"

"I don't think so," I mumbled, half asleep. "I'm not sure, as I don't know what he's like."

"Just... be careful around him. He likes to use people." Sarah muttered. I'd gone to answer, but I hadn't managed to as my head felt heavy and my whole body gave into sleep. I was too exhausted to deal with whatever Sarah wanted to talk about. I just wanted this night to finish, as I had a feeling it was going to be a long one and that at some point in my dream, Xander would make a small appearance to tease me all over again. I really couldn't wait for this job to be over and for me to be free.