Although she'd long since washed the dirt from her hair and scrubbed the blood from under her nails, Sohalia sat again in the bath, praying that this would be the time that would make her feel clean.
The night before had been hellish - in Soh's opinion, any woman's worst nightmare. And though she was glad for Mateo's intervention, she regretted that it had been needed. If only she'd been smarter, more aware of her surroundings, then perhaps all of it could have been avoided. Perhaps then she'd still feel safe.
She'd left the shop locked with the 'closed' sign in the window, unable and unwilling to face the day after she'd scurried home this morning, embarrassed, ashamed, and afraid. As she climbed from the bath, wincing in pain, Soh tried to push the memories from her mind. Perhaps if she just went about business as usual, she could just forget what had happened. She wrung her hair out with a towel and dressed quickly in a loose, comfortable shirt and trousers, fully intending to take the day off and maybe curl up on the couch with some tea and a good book, and see if she could force the demons from her mind.
A knock sounded at the door. Suddenly terrified - he's found me - Soh froze. She crept downstairs to peer out the window, and nearly collapsed with relief when she saw that it was just Tal. Remembering she'd invited him for lunch, she stiffened. What was she supposed to say, in her current state? Panicked and sick, she took a deep breath and unlocked the door, cracking it open a fraction to try to minimize what Tal could see. Still, it would be impossible to miss the vibrant bruising around her left eye, the torn eyebrow, the split lip. "Hey Tal," she said, "I'm, um, not feeling well-" But what else was there to say? If Tal insisted, she would let him come in and face the consequences of her actions.
The night before had been hellish - in Soh's opinion, any woman's worst nightmare. And though she was glad for Mateo's intervention, she regretted that it had been needed. If only she'd been smarter, more aware of her surroundings, then perhaps all of it could have been avoided. Perhaps then she'd still feel safe.
She'd left the shop locked with the 'closed' sign in the window, unable and unwilling to face the day after she'd scurried home this morning, embarrassed, ashamed, and afraid. As she climbed from the bath, wincing in pain, Soh tried to push the memories from her mind. Perhaps if she just went about business as usual, she could just forget what had happened. She wrung her hair out with a towel and dressed quickly in a loose, comfortable shirt and trousers, fully intending to take the day off and maybe curl up on the couch with some tea and a good book, and see if she could force the demons from her mind.
A knock sounded at the door. Suddenly terrified - he's found me - Soh froze. She crept downstairs to peer out the window, and nearly collapsed with relief when she saw that it was just Tal. Remembering she'd invited him for lunch, she stiffened. What was she supposed to say, in her current state? Panicked and sick, she took a deep breath and unlocked the door, cracking it open a fraction to try to minimize what Tal could see. Still, it would be impossible to miss the vibrant bruising around her left eye, the torn eyebrow, the split lip. "Hey Tal," she said, "I'm, um, not feeling well-" But what else was there to say? If Tal insisted, she would let him come in and face the consequences of her actions.
