5 Fear Inoculum

The door swung open as soon as they came up the stairs and Bea was out, walking over to Sarah to see her. She stopped, letting Lex bring her in first before chasing him. "Geez," she felt her stomach twist. She looked pale, but for an anemic this was normal. For everyone else, she looked like death. "Where was she?"

"Heading to class. She had sunglasses on and her hood pulled down." Selene stared at Lex's back, hoping he'd explain the rest. She didn't want to mention the two puncture wounds in her neck. It… Somehow made her sick to her stomach to think about it.

Lex looked at Bea. "She has bruises on her neck and chest. It looks like someone bit her." He gently tilted her head to the side to show her.

Sarah winced and took in a shallow breath.

Beatrice stared down at the marks and a part of her thought this had to be some sick, twisted freak's fantasy. "What the hell, Sarah?" She groaned, raking her fingers down her face. "Well, let me get her vitals and in the meantime, get me some painkillers from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom for her. Two 500mg of acetaminophen should be a start. Though, honestly, I'm not her doctor." She looked at her watch as she lifted Sarah's wrist and turned it over in her hand as she felt her pulse.

Selene shut the door slowly as Cameron shuffled out of the back room with blankets she had heated up with the dryer.

"Hey," she nodded to Selene as her friend turned her head downward. She would have asked more if she wasn't already on task with Sarah, laying the blankets over her.

Lex felt the same way Bea did. "Did anyone see who she was with at the party?" he asked. He felt like if they took her to the hospital they'd ask if she was assaulted and would want a name.

Sarah was so lethargic. Her limbs felt so heavy as well as her eyelids. She wanted to wake up hearing everyone fussing over her. Her neck hurt being extended to the side like it was after Lex tilted her head. She winced again.

"Well, let's at least get some ice on it. It'll slow any bruising that hasn't come up yet." Beatrice instructed Lex. "I guess we'll get her patched up enough and see if she's willing to tell a bit more but I definitely think she should go to a hospital."

"Yeah," Selene agreed quietly, staring at her from the corner of the room. She wrapped her arms around herself and that nagging feeling of a reminder that she was forgetting something kept trying to tell her, to warn her that something worse was going on.

"Fuckin' freaks at the party. I swear." Bea growled, when Derek came over with a bucket of cold water and a rag. She blotted the sterile rag in the water before placing it against Sarah's neck.

Cam sighed, "I can't recall anyone. Derek, weren't you downstairs with everyone else?"

He tried to remember, but it was hazy. "I think there was some dark lookin' guy."

"There's a lot of dark looking guys at the party." Beatrice smacked her lips together, as if sarcastic but she was just mad at what happened.

"Yeah," he tried to think a bit harder. "Mm. I think he was older… His hair was a bit longer than usual, but I don't remember much. Him and Sarah were playing pool I think."

Lex frowned. He hadn't gone downstairs that night. "I didn't see her come upstairs with anyone."

"Creepy asshole." Bea cursed him, "If I see him. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. Who the fuck does this kind of shit?" She barked.

Selene slipped back against the wall, unable to handle the commotion and slipped back into another room to sit down.

Cameron tried to console Bea but she knew she was just pissed and worried. It didn't mean it was right but… Her throat was tight. Whoever did this definitely needed to be put in jail. Seeing Sarah like this made her feel nauseous.

"You gonna be alright, Cam?" Derek asked, but she nodded and left to the kitchen.

"I got the ice pack," she told Lex. "Just stay with her." She walked over to the freezer, pulling out one of the cold packs and wrapped it in a towel from the kitchen. As she came back, she handed it to Lex before going to the next room to try to keep herself busy.

Lex took the ice pack and put it to her neck.

Sarah took in a sharp breath feeling the cold on her neck. "Stop," she breathed and finally opened her eyes.

Lex pulled the ice pack off and looked at her. "Sarah?"

She groaned. "What?" She sounded grumpy.

Beatrice looked at her, "You're an idiot, you know that?" Bea glared at her. "What the fuck where you thinking going off without telling anyone and you come to school looking like a zombie?" She asked her.

Sarah winced. "Stop yelling," she said weakly. "What happened?"

Bea threw her hands up, walking away quickly. She had to step away for a breather before she started an argument.

Lex arched an eyebrow at her. "Do you not remember what happened last night?

Sarah sighed, she meant what happened at school. "I remember… Playing pool."

Derek looked at Sarah, "Have you even seen yourself, man? You look like death."

Sarah remembered looking in the mirror that morning. She felt sick and heavy, but not like it was a hangover. She had seen all the purple and black and had cursed. She looked at the time and knew she was going to be late if she attempted to cover it all with make-up. She had looked at her neck and chest in the mirror and snippets of her night came back to her. Flashes of pleasure. His hands on her body, his hot breath, him fucking her. It had been amazing. So then why did she feel like this? Why did she feel…

"I- Yeah. It's nothing though… I must have fallen or something…" She tried to explain it away, but knew how stupid that sounded.

Derek frowned, knowing it just wasn't a fall. "Yeah," he scratched at his forehead. "I guess so." He turned away, his expression fell. "Well, either way. I think Bea's done all she can. You probably need to go to a hospital. I can have Lex take me home and I'll get my car and take you. I'm sure Bea and Cam need some rest and I'm sure Selene wants to go home."

Hospital? She felt fear like icicles in her veins. As a child she'd been in and out of hospitals. Any time she got a small cut or a bad bruise… She hated the hospital. "No-" Her voice was small as she choked up a little.

Lex saw her fear a little and frowned. "Sarah this is serious!"

Derek turned his fingers to his ears. "Yeah, I'm not hearing it. I'm not having the cops come bother my folks for this. Sorry, Sarah." Derek regarded her a little coldly. "You don't exactly strike me as well enough to go without and I think it's really weird the more I think about that guy from last night." He sighed.

Sarah winced and held herself. She felt cold and afraid now. She had had a good night, what had happened to cause this? She didn't want to go to the hospital, she didn't want her parents to find out that she was missing school because of something going wrong at a party. "He- he didn't hurt me." She managed to get out. She tried to put conviction behind her words, but she was so weak.

"Bullshit!" Lex growled. "I don't know what sick fuck bites someone like that."

She didn't remember him biting her. Well- Maybe he did. "Stop-"

Lex grit his teeth. He thought he'd wanted to hear what happened from her, but now it just seemed like she was too out of it to remember clearly. "Let's go."

Derek glared at Sarah. "I'm not fucking letting some wack-job run around campus. My sisters are still going there too you know." Unbelievable. He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm coming Lex." He told him, grumbling a bit at the end before walking to the door. It slammed shut behind him before Selene poked her head out of the room and sighed. She grabbed her head, groaning. What next?

Sarah closed her eyes, too weak to argue. Normally she'd be snapping right back and exerting her independence, but- She frowned and wrapped her arms around herself. Had the guy she was with, the one that tickled her with his beard and called her 'Love' really meant to hurt her? She didn't want to believe it.

Selene watched Sarah a moment before she walked over slowly, sitting down next to the couch to nudge her hand. "Hey," she breathed, looking up at her.

Sarah looked at Selene. "-ey," Her voice cracked. She breathed heavy. Damn, she hadn't felt this bad since she was a kid.

"Interesting night?" She smiled weakly at her, her smile quickly faded after. "I hope you feel better. I mean, besides… the whole getting chewed out part."

"I hate being like this…" She groaned. "If- The night would have been better if I wasn't-" She felt like it was her fault and not the man's. What had been his name? He'd told her.

"Don't blame yourself for it. I know it's not your fault. No one is blaming you for what happened." At least, that's what she thought everyone felt. "I think they're just worried you won't get help and they're afraid something might happen to you. I mean, hey, afterall… It wouldn't be surprising if your date didn't turn out to be a complete psycho. Cam came and got me last night because Duke showed up, so I mean… It's no big deal."

Sarah looked at her. "Duke?" She sighed heavily. "Am I the only one who's this fucked up?" She asked. If Duke showed up, there was no telling what other shit went down.

"No," Selene felt her face heat at the idea of what happened that night. "Cam came and got me and we left. I was pretty drunk myself, but- It seemed like things went fine. Cameron came out the next day okay, so maybe she only caught sight of him at the party."

Sarah sighed and closed her eyes. "I saw you with Dean." She couldn't hide the smile that lifted the corners of her mouth.

Selene gasped, popping up to her knees as she looked at her before slinking lower just barely out of view at the bottom of the couch. "I know of no such thing," she lied, looking away.

Sarah laughed, but winced, grabbing her chest. She gasped and tried to catch her breath. "Fuck," she wheezed.

"Easy," Selene reached out, putting her hand on her shoulder. Her smile had faded now. She stood up, grabbing the arm of the couch before walking to the kitchen. "Hold on, I'll get you a glass of water."

She watched her and tried to sit up. She felt like she was both heavy and floating on air. It made her head spin. She looked down at her chest to see two black and purple bruises around two tiny clear spots. She tried to remember what happened, but all she remembered was intense pleasure. She sighed and laid her head back on the back of the couch. Her chest hurt as she tried to catch her breath.

Selene didn't take long in the kitchen. She was trying to be mindful, but she dropped a few ice cubes in the glass hoping cold water might soothe Sarah's cough. Her feet tapped softly against the linoleum floor as she crossed the kitchen, around the island back into the living room.

"Here," she told her. She managed to cross around the front of the couch before grabbing Sarah's hand to slide it around the glass. "Take a drink of water."

Sarah took the glass and sat up to take a drink. The cold felt so good going down her throat. She felt goosebumps rise on her arm from the coldness of the glass. "Mm," she pulled it a way and gasped. "Thanks."

"Well," she smiled a bit, "you're welcome I guess." Selene pushed her hair back behind her ear as she sat down on the ottoman in front of the couch and her eyes glossed over the brown leather before she looked up at Sarah again.

"Have you eaten anything yet today?" She asked her. "I can get you something to eat. A burger maybe… I think Cameron has those instant ones or maybe a burrito. It might help to eat something to get your body going so you can work on feeling better."

Sarah shook her head. "I'd just throw it up." The way she was feeling had her stomach in tight knots. She took a deep breath and laid back down. "I-m-" She didn't get it out before she fainted again.

Selene thought maybe she was being dramatic. "I'm what?" She asked, standing up. She put the glass on the coffee table before she reached out and took her shoulder. "Sarah? Sarah?!"