House on the River

Chapter 11: The Morning After

As I lay here with you
The shame lies with us
We talk of love and trust
That doesn't matter

Though we may be the last in the world
We feel like pioneers
Telling hopes and fears
To one another

And oh what a feeling
Inside of me
It might last for an hour
Wounds aren't healing
Inside of me
Though it feels good now
I know it's only for now

The feeling is intense
You grip me with your eyes
And then I realise
It doesn't matter

-Depeche Mode

Kira and Na Na lay on the floor of her apartment, naked and wrapped in each other’s arms, their eyes both wide open, attempting to catch their breath. She looked at him with intense emotion, as hate and fear, lust and love shown in her eyes. A few moments past as he held her head to his chest, and then looked at her again. The shock of the realization of what had just happened between him and what should have been his natural enemy suddenly sank in.

“What do we do?” He whispered to her, resting his forehead on hers. His voice was shaking from a mixture of physical exhaustion and agonizing uncertainty.

“I don’t know,” she replied, pulling her face closer to his, so their noses were touching. The pitch in her voice echoed his anxiety. Though it felt almost too hot under the thick blanket against the warmth of his body, she could not stop shivering. Lying there together another five minutes, unable to move from each other’s embrace, Kira finally made an observation.

“We’re in quite a mess, aren’t we,” she remarked.

“Yes, I believe we are.” He shifted his position, as she buried her head into the curve between his shoulder and neck. Lying on his back, he stared straight up at the ceiling tiles, attempting to comprehend what had just occurred. Another ten minutes passed. They just lied there silently, not wanting to face the daylight where the reality of who they were would finally set back into place.

“Kira, I have to go. I will be missed if I’m not around.”

“I understand.” As much as she did not want to face the real world at this moment, she was fully aware this was coming.

He sat up, breaking their grasp on each other. In silence, he redressed himself, taking great care as he put back on his clothing, layer by layer, as well as his jewelry. Kira decided to do the same. She stood up from the make shift bed they had made on the floor, and led him to the side door of her apartment which he had not taken notice of until now.

“I didn’t see that you had another door.”

“Yes, all the corner units have them. It enters into the side hallway, across from the stairwell. Most people don’t even know it’s there. It will be safer this way. I’ll take a peek out first, to make sure no one is outside.” She opened the door, looked around the corner, and to her relief, the hallway was empty.

She motioned for him to come forward, coming back inside before he made his exit. As he made his way for her door, Na Na took her in his arms and placed his lips directly on hers. After about thirty seconds of unending, swirling emotion and jumbled thoughts, she finally broke the kiss. “You’d better go.”

“Yes, I’d better go.”

He entered out into the hallway, and she closed the door behind him. Leaning her back on the door, she inhaled a breath of air, and let out a huge sigh. Covering her mouth, she let out a small, almost inaudible breathless cry, as the awareness of what she had done finally came home. No clear or logical reason could ever explain what had happened on this night. She had just made love with her worst enemy, and she had not even a hint of suggestion of what to do next.

Io Jovi awoke late that morning from a rare deep and restful sleep. She got out of bed, and jumped in the shower, remembering the agreement she had made with herself the night before to return Andre’s call. Ah yes, Andre Linoge. Living a couple of floors below her, she had met him a few months prior at the local café, while she was with her friend Sydney.

Supposedly, as she had heard through the rumor mill, he had done unspeakable things to the folks of a community off of the coast of Maine called Little Tall Island, all in the hopes of gaining a child of his own. He had the ability to look into the soul of a person, instantly knowing every horrible misdeed or transgression that individual had ever committed. Yes, it was well known that Andre Linoge knew all the dirty little secrets of the Random House, without ever hearing them out loud from anybody.

Calling up to his room on the fifth floor, he picked up the telephone in the middle of the first ring.

“Hello Io,” he answered, before she even got a chance to speak.

“Hello Andre. You know it creeps me the hell out when you do that.”

“Caller ID. Don’t you know everybody has it nowadays?” He replied, overtly inflecting his voice in that condescending tone that he would use when trying to make a point.

“Whatever. I’m just returning your phone call. But I’m sure you already know that,” she responded, rolling her eyes.

“Perhaps. But that doesn’t matter. I was calling to ask if you would like to go out for a drink at Tambourines tonight.”

“I have told you already, Andre. I do not date demon spawn. If you want to go out as friends, that’s fine. But that’s it.”

“Whatever gave you the impression that I was from the nether regions of the world? I’m only asking you to donate your company tonight. I’ll gladly accept your friendship, if that’s what you have to offer.”

Io rolled her eyes once more. He always had this cockamamie way of taking something she said, and turning it to his benefit. “Whatever, you can spin your background however you like, if it makes you feel better about yourself. I’ll meet you out there, at say, seven o’clock. I’ve got nothing better to do tonight.”

“Glad to hear it, Io. See you then.”

They both hung up the phone. The truth was, she was interested in him, if only because of the challenge he presented to her. Yes, it was true, there was no man quite like Andre Linoge in all the Random House. She would have no better joy than putting a man such as that in his place, while having a hell of a time doing so. Most of her friends thought she should be committed to a mental institution for even giving him the time of day, but Io, the spitfire of a girl that she was, definitely was not most of her friends.

The second floor communal room always seemed to be fuller on Sunday nights, with everyone attempting to wind down from the weekend, engaging in whatever conversation was available. This evening was no different. Vera and Marty stood in the center of communal room’s large kitchen area, sharing their knowledge of all the latest news and gossip.

“So Vera, what exactly happened last night? I saw some shit go down between you and Na Na. What was that all about?” Marty inquired of her friend, always wanting to get in on the latest chitchat.

“Oh yeah, that. I caught him picking on poor Kira. I saw him push her down by the bathrooms. I just thought I would let him know there are bigger people than him that reside here. You know the Skeksis. They always think they’re top of the food chain wherever they go. I love reminding them that they are not.”

Marty laughed out loud. “Oh Vera, always trying to start something. Well, if you were looking for a fight, Na Na is usually the right place to start. Well, either him or SkekUng, usually. They’re two peas in a pod.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Vera replied, opening up the refrigerator and pulling out a beer. She turned, and looked Na Na, who happened to be accompanied by Ung, straight in the eye as he entered the room.

“And look who we have here now! Good evening, Na Na! You’re looking particularly bright and chipper tonight.” The truth was, he did look much more well-rested than usual, as well as having gained a sparkle in his eye that was never there before. Vera, as witty and observant as she was, instantly picked up on this.

“Sure, in spite of present company. Isn’t there some squirrel you should be chasing out in the park, Vera? ”

Tapping her meticulously painted toenail on the linoleum, the human velociraptor smiled broadly, exposing all of her pearly white teeth. “Now why would I want to do that when there’s far better entertainment here? You’re not still sore about what happened at the club last night over that gelfling, are you?”

Kira’s name was instantly brought back to Na Na’s mind at the mention of this. Not that it had ever left his thoughts, really, but at this instance, the memory of her scent seemed to hit him like a cyclone. Despite these new and strange feelings, however, he was fully aware of the ramifications if their little secret ever got out. Putting the best facade he could come with, he grinned widely back at Vera, in the most condescending way he knew how.

“Oh, you’re talking about that little misunderstanding you and I had last night over something that didn’t pertain to you. Yes, I remember,” he replied, glancing towards Ung out of the corner of his eye. He could only hope that the former Garthim Master had not seen the shift in his demeanor at the sheer mention of Kira.

“She’s talking about that stupid little kelffink you beat down at the club last night, isn’t she,” Ung chimed in, using the Skek term for gelfling. Although all of the skeksis had fluently learned English since arriving here, they still had a habit of throwing in words from their native tongue here and there. “She got exactly what she deserved. Her mere existence is an insult to all of us!”

Na Na looked down towards the floor, staring at the multiple straps attached to his black leather boots. He could not bring himself to look at his comrade at the moment. Although Ung had absolutely no reason or cause for suspicion, to Na Na, it felt as if all eyes were on him.

“So exactly why are you suddenly her lord and protector, Vera?” The former slave master suddenly inquired, looking back up at her, attempting to sound as genuine as possible. “Maybe you should reconsider who you decide to defend.” Masking his true feelings was not exactly pleasant, but it also wasn’t difficult either. Like any Skeksis, lying and deceit were second nature, and Na Na had plenty of previous experience.

“Who I decide to defend is my business. I answer to no one, especially you. Now if you’ll excuse me, my favorite show is coming on.” Vera turned and sat down on the sofa in front of the television. The opening credits for Survivor began to roll.

Half grinning, Marty looked at the two Skeksis, and shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t look at me! You know I don’t have any input on what goes on in her head.”

The three of them followed Vera into the living area. Yes, they all had to admit it. Survivor was indeed a damn good show.

Striving to focus on the program in front of him, Na Na’s thoughts of course were anywhere but where they should have been. He looked at Vera out of the corner of his eye. She was smiling almost ferociously, enwrapped in the drama of what she was watching. As much as he tried to help himself, he was actually appreciative of her presence here. Of course, he couldn’t be sure exactly what her motives were for wanting to protect and defend Kira last night, or now for that matter. All in all, it was probably just another excuse to pick a fight. Nonetheless, he was thankful she had someone like Vera to stick by her, while he could publicly not.

Shortly after Na Na had made his exit from her apartment, Kira had gone back to bed. She knew she had to go to work later that day, as her boss had a couple of small assignments for her. She could only hope she would have just a fraction of the focus needed to complete the tasks assigned to her. It was clear that would not come to her on only four hours of sleep, not counting what else was on her mind.

She awoke later that afternoon, 3 hours longer than she had anticipating sleeping. For the first time in how many months she could not count, she awoke refreshed and rejuvenated, actually feeling alive once again. As much as logic told her she should have been a complete wreck this morning after what had just occurred, the feeling that washed over her was a dazed euphoria.

Looking at the clock, however, she gasped in shock. She should have been at work an hour ago! She briefly jumped in the shower, washing off the club’s smoke and sweat, as well as Na Na’s forbidden touch. She threw on something decent to wear, and ran out the door, sifting through the confused and disordered melee of her thoughts. At this moment, thinking of a good excuse as why she was late was indeed the least of her problems.