Leaving Triad

by K. D. Jones

  She stepped out of the tub and saw her bloodied clothes on the floor. She placed her hand on her forehead and sat on the large bed. “I hope you realize I am not an item that you can take control of at someone else’s say so.”

  “I had to get you away from him, Emily, look at what he was doing to you,” he said. “I can’t stand by and watch him hurt you anymore,” he added as he held up a mirror for her to look at her face.

  She gasped at the sight of herself. She started to cry uncontrollably. Zor walked over and sat next to her, pulling her onto his lap. He rocked her back and forth as he gently played with her beautiful hair. Once her hysterical sobs ended, Zor laid her down on the bed and moved her hair out of her face.

  “I’m going to go talk to Henry about you having the night off. You can return to work tomorrow. I’ll also turn in your clothes for washing. That’s what the other waitresses usually do anyway,” Zor said.

  She nodded her acceptance and Zor left the room carrying her bloody clothes. He was going to drop off her things and talk to Henry for her. Then he planned on stopping by her old room and having a little chat with good ole Jeremy.

  “Everything alright, Captain?” Henry asked, immediately seeing how pissed off he was.

  “Emily isn’t capable of working today, can you wash these up for her and have them sent back to my room?” he questioned as he handed him the clothes.

  “What happened to her?” Henry asked, seeing the blood as he took the clothing.

  “Take a guess.” Zor seethed.

  “The boyfriend?” Henry asked with suspicion.

  Zor nodded his head. “Can you send one of the waitresses to my quarters with some fresh clothes for her and have them help her to the infirmary?” Zor questioned. He probably should have done that to begin with. What if she was more injured than he thought? “I’m going to go find out what happened.”

  Just as he turned to leave, Zor saw Jeremy walk into the bar out of the corner of his eye. The rage took over and the next thing he remembered was holding Jeremy up against the wall by his throat.

  “What the fuck did you do to her?” he yelled.

  “Bitch refused to cover my debt. I got her to you didn’t I?” Jeremy returned.

  Zor balled his fist and pulled back his arm quickly, burying his fist into the human’s face. “I should kill you on the spot,” Zor said through clenched teeth as he tightened his grip on the man’s throat.

  Henry and a few of the bar patrons went over and grabbed hold of Zor making him put the sorry excuse for a human down. Two men grabbed Jeremy’s arms as he tried to swing back at Zor.

  “Take him to the holding cell now!” Zor demanded, knowing that if the man wasn’t out of his face soon he would kill him. The two men dragged Jeremy off and Henry handed Zor a bottle of beer.

  “I’ve sent Talia up to take care of the girl. She just texted and said Emily doesn’t remember anything,” Henry stated.

  “Nothing?” Zor asked in shock.

  Henry shook his head.

  “I’m going to have to tell her all of that again. Shit!” Zor groaned as he sat down on the barstool.

  “Talia had to call nurses to help her get Emily to the infirmary,” Henry said. He saw Zor getting furious all over again. “Let’s get you calmed before you go down to the infirmary.”

  Zor chugged his beer. He had calmed somewhat. All his worries turned to Emily. He made his way to the infirmary. He was determined to be there for her.

  *****

  Emily opened her eyes and had to squint because the room she was in was overly bright. Where the hell was she? What happened and why was she so sore? She closed her eyes again, it burned to hold them open.

  “Sweetie, how are you feeling?” Talia asked when she realized she had opened her eyes only to close them again.

  “It hurts to move anything,” Emily answered, keeping her eyes shut.

  “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry,” Talia said as she carefully took her hand and tried to comfort her without hurting her.

  “The last thing I remember was getting ready for work. Talia, aren’t you supposed to be working today?” Emily asked.

  “Henry told me to stay down here with you since we are friends. He said I can go back to work in an hour or so,” she answered.

  “I need to get to work too,” Emily said.

  “Sweetie, let the nurses take care of you so you can get your pretty face back to the way it was. You’re definitely in no condition to be working right now,” Talia stated sympathetically.

  “I need to make money to move out though,” Emily whined.

  “Emily, Jeremy is in the holding cell for beating on you. Zor almost killed him,” Talia told her, moving aside so one of the nurses could take care of her.

  “Talia, we have to take her for a few minutes,” the nurse said as she started to push the bed into a room.

  *****

  Zor walked into the infirmary just in time to hear Emily arguing with the nurse. “I don’t have the money to pay for the treatment, just please let me go. I’m fine,” she said. “I’m sure the bruises will heal on their own.”

  “Sweetie, you can’t be a waitress without getting everyone’s pity. You are covered from head to toe with bruises,” Talia stated. “Please just pay her and sleep in my room while you’re saving up for your own place. If you stay there, he will just keep doing this to you.”

  “I’d rather just move out,” Emily argued. “I can heal on my own.”

  “Nurse, I’ll pay for the healing treatment,” Zor said, startling all of them.

  Emily’s face heated up. “You can’t pay for this,” she stated. She didn’t want to owe him money on top of what he did with Jeremy.

  “Nurse, I am captain of this ship. I will take care of this,” Zor demanded, ignoring Emily’s denials.

  The nurse pushed her bed into another room quickly without giving Emily a chance to argue.

  *****

  “What are they doing to her?” he asked Talia who was still looking toward the door they pushed Emily through. It was taking longer than he thought it would.

  “They are just taking her to heal the bruises, Zor, calm down, she’ll be fine,” Talia said, winking at him, trying to calm him down a little bit. “They’ll be back in few minutes.”

  “You can go back to work now,” Zor stated, ready to get rid of her. He had heard her offer for Emily to stay with her and he didn’t want Emily to change her mind and take her up on it.

  “Geez, Zor, think you can tell everyone what to do?” she questioned jokingly as she stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Does she remember anything?” he questioned.

  “She said the last thing she remembers is getting ready for work,” Talia answered. “What the hell happened?”

  “Jeremy lost all of his money. He owed a huge debt. I offered to absorb his debt with another, and at that he put Emily in the pot thinking he would win,” Zor answered.

  “She’s going to be pissed,” Talia answered. She looked down at her watch. “My hour is almost up. I have to get back to work. Take it easy with her when you tell her. She’s not going to handle it well.”

  Zor knew she was right, Emily already reacted once and she was pissed the first time, it wasn’t going to be much better the second time. He knew she was going to be furious beyond what he had seen before. He dreaded telling her. He thought of all the ways he could tell her, but either way it all came back to the truth. He couldn’t stand watching the woman he was developing feelings for beaten constantly. He couldn’t tell her that though. What if she didn’t feel the same? He took a deep breath knowing he had to face her soon.

  Emily was pushed back out on the same bed they pushed her in on. Zor smiled, relieved the bruises were already disappearing. She smiled at him excited that he was there to support her, but still upset that he argued with her though.

  “Is she ready to go home?” Zor asked the nurse.

  “She has to be released into someone’s care,” th
e nurse answered.

  “I’ll take her,” Zor said relieved that he didn’t have to tell her so soon. He signed the paper for her release and picked her up carrying her to his quarters.

  “Zor, I can walk. I feel fine,” she said, holding onto his neck tightly, wondering why he was taking her back to his quarters.

  “I will carry you,” he told her firmly. “What do you remember from this afternoon?” he asked.

  “Not much. I remember getting dressed for work, then Jeremy came home,” she answered. “After that I was waking up in the infirmary.”

  “You don’t remember anything Jeremy said to you before I put him in the holding cell for assaulting you? Or even before he assaulted you?” he questioned looking down at her, trying to control his urge to kiss her.

  “Zor, what’s going on? You’re asking me a bunch of strange questions.” She knew deep down something was wrong.

  “We will talk about it when we get to my quarters, sweetheart, don’t worry about it right now,” he said, still searching for the words to tell her. He knew he was in a lot of trouble as soon as he got there. “Would you like to stop at the bar and get a drink before we go home?” he questioned.

  “No, if I go to the bar it’ll be to work,” she answered, wondering why he was stalling on talking to her.

  She knew something was off by the way he was acting. Truth was she would love to go see her coworkers and tell them she was all right but she wanted to know what Zor was hiding. She thought long and hard on what happened before she woke up in the hospital. She started to remember that Jeremy told her to pack her bags.

  “That bastard lost me in a bet!” she yelled.

  Chapter Six

  “What are you doing, Emily?” Zor asked, watching as she frantically started grabbing all of her clothes and threw them all in a suitcase. She had made him set her on her feet and then she had stormed to her and Jeremy’s room. Now she was loading up her suitcase.

  “Fucking Jeremy lost me in a bet. Please, Zor, you have to help me get off the ship before the alien comes and takes me,” she pleaded with him as she started to hyperventilate.

  “Emily, calm down,” Zor said with a half-smile. “Let’s take your stuff to my quarters.”

  He took her suitcase and she followed him wondering why she waited until she got to his quarters. He set her suitcase on his bed.

  “Zor, what are you doing? I have to get off the ship,” she questioned. “I don’t even know who would take someone in a gamble, but I don’t want to find out,” she added, grabbing for her suitcase.

  “Emily, it was me,” Zor said, trying to get her to calm down.

  “What? You took me as a bet?” she questioned confused. “Where do you think you get the right to make a bet with me as the wager?”

  “Emily, I couldn’t stand to see him hurt you anymore,” he said. “I care about you.”

  “Don’t give me your pity,” she said feeling hurt. “Everyone else does it, but you, don’t you dare.”

  “I don’t pity you, Emily, I care about you. That is a big difference in my book,” he said, getting sick of the pity line. “Yes I took you as a bet, to get you away from the abuse. Now please stop saying I pity you because I don’t, there is a whole different word for the way I feel toward you.”

  She sat on the bed and buried her face in her hands. “I’ll work off the bet however I can,” she said emotionally exhausted.

  “There is nothing for you to work off,” he tried to reassure her.

  She looked up at him with doubt on her face. No one had ever done anything for her without wanting something in return.

  “There is a bath in here. Feel free to use it whenever you want and lock the door. I don’t want to invade your privacy,” he said as he headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” she asked, shocked that he wasn’t going to try to force himself on her. She was so used to it because Jeremy always tried.

  “I figure I will go get us a six-pack and tell Henry that you’ll be back at work tomorrow,” he answered as he smiled. “I’ll be back in about fifteen to twenty minutes.”

  *****

  Zor walked back in the room to see it completely spotless. She had cleaned his quarters. Emily was sitting on the edge of the bed just waiting. He smiled at her and handed her a beer.

  “What’s this for?” she questioned.

  “I know you like beer, so I thought you would like one after the day you had,” he answered.

  “But aren’t you going to…” she started unsure how to finish the sentence without sounding like a crazy person.

  “No, like I told you earlier, I only made the bet with him to get you out of there and away from him. I’m not going to hurt you like he did,” Zor reassured her. “Although I might still take advantage of the VIP privileges at the bar. Are you sure you don’t still want to leave the ship?” Why was he giving her an out? He didn’t want her to leave.

  “I guess the situation could have been worse. You’re not as bad as some scumbag that I have never met before,” she joked as she gently bumped his shoulder with hers playfully. “I guess I’ll stay.”

  “I will have you know I am wonderful company to keep. I am also pleasant to look at,” he joked with her.

  “Besides, I like my job here,” she joked back smiling at him, then taking a huge swig of her beer. “What are we going to do about the sleeping arrangements?” she questioned.

  “We can share the bed,” Zor answered jokingly. When she just stared at him with pinkened cheeks he reassured her. “You can have the bed. You should get some sleep. Your shift is almost over anyways, it won’t mess with your sleep schedule.”

  She finished her beer and tossed it in the trash shute that sat by the door. “I can sleep on the floor.”

  “Just sleep on the bed, I won’t try to take advantage of you while you’re sleeping,” he stated, realizing she was really nervous about it.

  She got into her bag and grabbed her pajamas out. She went into the bathroom and changed while Zor downed another beer. Zor was shocked when she walked out, her pajamas consisted of black shorts that were just as short as the ones she wore at the bar and a black tank top, which showed off her amazing breasts.

  “I’ll sleep on the floor," he offered.

  “No, the bed is big enough for the two of us. We can share.” Emily laid down on the bed and Zor turned down the lights.

  How was he supposed to keep his hands off her with her dressed like that? It was going to be one of the most difficult nights he ever had.

  *****

  Zor made it through the night without getting close to her, although it was very difficult. He woke and had to hop into a cold shower, which didn’t help much. He didn’t have time to take care of his needs himself. The woman was something else, she didn’t even have to touch him to have him acting like this was his first time around a woman.

  Zor got out of the shower and put on a clean uniform. He opened the door to the bathroom not realizing that Emily might be changing. He stood frozen, watching as her beautiful body was exposed. He only saw a side profile of her but the image he saw was now permanently forged into his brain. She had a nice softly rounded ass and her breasts were not overly large, but they were just enough for him. She must have heard his heavy breathing because she turned in his direction. Emily turned a bright shade of red and clutched her clothes to the front of her.

  “Sorry, I didn’t realize…” Zor turned around and went back into the bathroom shutting the door behind him. Sharing the same quarters was going to be difficult.

  She knocked on the bathroom door to let him know she was finally done.

  “I didn’t know you were awake,” he said.

  “It’s alright, it’s not like you saw anything you haven’t seen before," she returned. “I’m starving,” she said as she opened the door to the room.

  “I’ll buy you lunch,” he said as he followed her out.

  They walked into the bar and Henry took their orde
r. She stopped him though before he could walk away. “Hey, is there any way I can make up for the lost hours yesterday?” she questioned, smiling brightly.

  “With how Zor reacted, I didn’t think we would be able to work you for a couple of days,” Henry joked. “Go ahead and eat, we got your uniform all cleaned up for you. You’ll be here for the dinner rush, which should give you a couple of extra hours.”

  “It’s only two hours before my shift starts?” she said startled. “Can you just make me a regular sandwich then? I’ll change and then eat in back.”

  “Sure, sugar,” he said confused. They walked to the backroom quickly and she grabbed her clothes. She changed into her uniform and scarfed down her food just in time to take Zor his food, including a beer on the house.

  Zor watched her as she hustled through the dinner rush. She did a great job keeping up with all the customers’ orders, although he hated watching the men stick their fingers down her shirt or shorts to give her tips. She let them do that because she got bigger tips that way, he knew that in his head. Still, it bothered him.

  “Zor, sometimes it’s best just to leave if it’s making you upset,” Henry said as he stood across the bar and poured him another glass of beer.

  He drank it quickly, watching as one of the men stuffed his tip down the front of her shorts and tried to linger. Emily pushed his hand away. Zor acted quickly by sticking his biggest bill in his mouth as she walked over to him. He was just expecting her to take it out of his mouth the usual way she did, but this time was the way she had only done once.

  She slid across his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked deep into his eyes but the shimmer in hers had changed. She seemed like she had more life now. As she took the money from his mouth, she allowed her lips to be pressed against his for just a second to see how it would feel. It felt like there were fireworks going off in her chest.

  She pulled the money out of her mouth and stuffed it into her shirt, then kissed his cheekbone. “Goodnight, Zor,” she whispered in his ear, then quickly got off his lap.