Reece's Faith (39 page)

She stood there for hours, coiled tightly. If not for the sporadic twitching of her fists, she would have been immobile. She had to count between breaths so she wouldn't hyperventilate, she was that pumped. Waiting for him to come downstairs to start the morning drills, her eyes concentrated on the highest step in her line of vision. The dark rings around her irises made her eyes appear the color of ice. She'd waited rigidly, all night, backed up against the pipe, not daring to move a muscle for fear he'd sense her freedom. Then who knew what he'd do. No, she had to be far away this time. She'd wait.

The sound of footsteps nearing the basement door caused her heart to pound faster. The door creaked open. Excited beyond words, she was taking in huge gulps of air as he approached.

"Morning, soldier. Are you ready for your combat drills?"

"Yes Sir!" She nearly shouted. The adrenaline pumped through her body so quickly she felt a sense of euphoria. Just like before a fight, she welcomed the feeling.

"Well," he chuckled. "Someone's mighty eager to get their ass kicked this fine morning."

She spoke, unable to control herself.

He slapped her across the face. Her eyes burned angrily into his, she stood up to her full height sneering menacingly.

"What did you say?" he shouted, raising a fist to her.

The girl grabbed his fist in her hand, and squeezed.

"I said fuck you, Sir!" she hollered in his face, her nostrils flaring.

"Why you insolent little.."

His words were cut short as her newly freed fist landed squarely on his mouth, knocking him to his knees. The girl never let go of his hand, crushing his fingers slowly.

"You'll pay for this, you ...ugh!"

Again her fist landed. And again and again..

"Here's your little soldier kicking your goddamned ass, you sick mother fucker!"

Kicking and punching in a rage, the girl spat as the blood shot out of his nose onto her face.

"You wanna see animal? I'll fucking kill you!" she shouted at his lifeless form.

 
*  *  *

"OW! Baby!" Faith rubbed her shoulder.

Reece jumped up, her heart pounding out of her chest. She was standing on the side of the bed, confused, soaking wet and breathing heavily. Her fists were closed so tightly that one of her palms was bleeding. Her temples ached from the tension in her clenched jaw.

"Honey? Please, come back here."

Faith's voice soothed her, cutting mercifully through her wild confusion. Reece felt her legs trembling and sat down on the bed before her knees gave way.

"That's right, sweetheart, come here, let me see what you've done to yourself this time."

The club owner felt the nightmare fade some and began to relax as Faith took her hand and guided her. She took a deep cleansing breath and let it out slowly, shakily, turning to face her lover.

"Wanna talk about it, Reece?" Faith spoke calmly, stroking the long fingers she was holding. The look in those blue eyes frightened her.

Reece shook her head, not wanting to speak at all until she was sure she wasn't going to cry. The myriad of emotions overwhelmed her. She could still feel his bones breaking under her fist.

"Ok, honey, but sooner or later we're going to. I can't stand seeing you go through this." The actress took another tissue from the nightstand and wiped away the last traces of blood from her lover's palm.

The tall woman pulled her hand away and sat at the edge of the bed. She put her hands on her head and rocked back and forth, breathing deeply through her mouth. The words were right there, she wanted to share this with Faith. Maybe if she talked about it, got it in the open, it would stop torturing her.
Not yet.. I can't tell her yet.

"Reece, please. I don't know what to do." Faith felt helpless and rubbed her lover's back in big comforting circles. "This is eating you up alive, and it scares me. Not to mention giving me a run for my money. You really socked me this time."

Fear twisted her guts and the club owner spun around so quickly she startled her lover, who nearly fell backwards off the bed. Reece grabbed Faith's arm and pulled her towards her, her eyes still burning with the past.

"What did you just say?" She asked so harshly, the sound of her own rage frightened her.

"Reece, you're scaring me, let go!"

The club owner blinked a few times then dropped Faith's arm like she was burned. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, and jumped up and ran out of the room.

Faith cried in sympathy for her lover, and in frustration that Reece wouldn't let her help. The actress had no idea what her lover was going through, but knew it had to be horrible for her to react this way. At first when Reece had these nightmares and withdrew into herself, Faith felt angry and left out. Now she felt hurt, and useless. Bracing herself for a long night, she followed Reece downstairs and found a faint glow from the guestroom.

Reece would have run out into the street if it weren't for the fact she was naked. She wanted to get as far away from Faith as she could. The knowledge that her own weakness, the inability to talk about these nightmares, had caused her to strike her lover was too much to bear right now. The fear in those green eyes caused her stomach to flip, but she refused to give in and swallowd the nausea. Reece was so tired of reliving the past. She just wanted to forget it all. And now she was dragging the single most important person in her life into hell. She fought the urge to throw up and stepped into the shower, trying to wash the pain away.

Standing outside the bathroom door, Faith listened. Many times after an "episode" as she called it, Reece would get sick to her stomach. And when she finally emerged from the bathroom, spent and embarrassed, Faith was there with hot tea, open arms and a head full of unasked questions. They never talked about it. Faith understood Reece's need to keep this secret. She didn't like it, but she finally understood.

Reece turned off the water and sat on the side of the tub, burying her face in the towel she was holding.

The actress listened to the sounds coming from the bathroom, and slid down the door, heartbroken. Reece wasn't sick this time, she was crying. The muffled sobs brought a sick feeling to Faith's stomach. Reece was in terrible pain.

"Baby...?" The actress called out quietly. "Reece, it's ok. Please come out and let me hold you." Faith could feel her chest tighten. This was the most horrible feeling she'd ever experienced.

Reece grew angry. Faith was crying, and that hurt the club owner even more. The tall woman stood and stared at herself in the mirror. She remembered the first time she had stared at her self in this mirror. It was right after she broke free from Him. When Frankie came and rescued her.

God...look at me.

She ran her hands over her body, examining the scars, watching her reflection do the same. The first time she was here, doing this same thing, she was thinner.

Not to mention wilder, younger.
She thought as she examined her face.
Untamed. An animal.
She bared her teeth.

The Animal.

A powerful surge of adrenaline forced Reece to exhale loudly. The club owner felt defeated. The weight of her past winning over her strength to forget it. It was so close to the surface, she couldn't fight it. No one could supress the will of The Animal. She was unbeatable. It was a proven fact.

Reece stood taller and flexed her arms, staring in wonder at her reflection. She realized that she had no idea who she was any more. She felt confused and alone.

It was too quiet in the bathroom and Faith became worried. Reece never did this before and she was afraid of what emotional state her lover would be in when she finally came out.

"Reece, stop it now! I won't allow you to go there, I love you baby, please let me help you." The actress blurted in fear.

The tall woman froze. Faith was frantic. Reece dropped her hands to her sides and stared into her own eyes. Listening to the frightened voice of the only person who loved her shook some sense into the club owner.

Shithead. Someone loves you. Faith loves you.

"Even if I'm The Animal?" she asked the door.

"Because you are." it answered.

Reece suddenly felt relieved and took a robe off the back of the door. She couldn't help but grin at that reply.

Faith sat on the bed and watched as Reece came out of the bathroom. She waited for the tall woman to do something, give her an idea as to what was going on inside her head. The last thing she expected was to see the cock-eyed smile she loved so much.

"Hey you." The actress smiled back.

Reece bent down to her knees in front of Faith. She stared into her green eyes with wonder.

"You ok?" Faith tried to smooth the dark hair down, but it had a mind of its own.

"Yeah, I think." the club owner nodded and looked away.

"Wanna talk?" Faith tried.

"Ok." Reece blew out a shaky breath.

The actress wasn't prepared for that and had no idea what to say. She was shocked and tried to organize the jumble of questions she had whirling around in her head.

"These dreams, they're not dreams," Reece started hesitantly, clearing Faith's head immediately.

"They're real." The tall woman winced at her confession.

"What do you mean, Reece?" Faith asked as her lover got up and started to pace.

"I go back...before Frankie, when I was, uh, fighting?" she looked to Faith. "You know..?" This was more difficult than she'd imagined.

"It's ok baby, I know about that. Go on." Faith smiled reassuringly.

"Well, that man, he was mean, and sometimes I relive those things." The tall woman stopped by the dresser and leaned on it, her back to Faith.

Faith got up and wrapped her arms around Reece, laying her head on her back, upset to feel her strong lover trembling.

"Shhh, it's ok, baby, it's over now. He can't do anything to you anymore."

"I killed him." she whispered, tears falling down her face in anticipation of losing Faith forever.

Faith's eyes shot open but to her credit, she didn't flinch.

"I beat him to death."

The actress tugged at the distraught woman until they were facing each other.

"This bothers me, Reece, I won't lie. It scares me that you have the ability to kill with your hands." Her look of shock confirming her words.

"He wasn't the first. I was trained to kill... for sport. For other people's amusement." The club owner stiffened visibly. "For money." she whispered.

"You had no choice." Faith cupped her lover's face in her hands. "Reece, the idea frightens me. It frightens me to death, but you don't frighten me." The actress was shaken, but she knew Reece would never hurt her.

"How can you stand there and be so kind to a killer?" She wondered, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Because I'm positive that isn't you anymore. That part of your life is gone. The Reece Corbett I'm here with now isn't a killer."