32 Benefit Of The Doubt!

The dorm rooms at Sunshine were small with a size of just about twenty square feet, but considering that they were only for resting and not living purposes, they were still pretty big.

The room area itself was a bit less than thirteen square feet and in that space, squeezed wall to wall was a twin sized bed next to which was a small dressing table and across from that was a set of desk and chair which were jammed against a wardrobe.

As for the other seven or so feet, it held a choked toilet and bath with just enough space for a single person to spin around and do what was necessary.

The room wasn't big so with a simple turn of her head Isabel could see that Davina wasn't in there, however her cellphone was on the dressing table. Anyone who knew Davina knew that her phone was her life; Davina wouldn't go anywhere without it so Isabel could only guess that she was in the toilet.

Walking over she knocked on the door.

"Davi, are you in there? I brought you some food."

With only her shirt draped over her shoulders, Davina was sitting, huddled in a corner next to the toilet as she hugged herself, trying to control the unceasing shudders spasming all over her body; the pleasure effects still hadn't subsided and because Sophie hadn't done her to the end, she was still heavily aroused, the desire to reach down and tease her lower half deeply enticing.

"Damn you, Sophie!"

She knew the other woman had intentionally left her unsatisfied. Davina was weak to pleasure, she would certainly go seeking her own doom if she was left to burn in her own desire long enough; Sophie knew that and she was taking advantage of it.

"Damn her! Damn, damn..."

Tears welled up in Davina's eyes and sobs began to wrack her body as she cursed her own weakness. It was at that moment that the voice of the last person she ever wanted to see this side of her sounded on the other side of the door and Davina instantly clamped her hands over her mouth to muffle the sound of her sobs that were now coming even more uncontrollably.

Isabel didn't receive a response after knocking the first time, so she pressed her ear against the door to listen as she knocked a second time, her body stiffening when she thought she heard a sound like someone was crying.

"Davi are you okay in there? I'm coming in okay."

Seeing the toilet door swing open, Davina's pupil's shrunk and a streak of fear shot through her, when she saw those clear golden eyes appear from the crack in the door, she felt her heart plummet in her chest.

"No! Don't look at me!"

To say that Isabel was shocked when she saw the woman sitting on the floor absolutely naked with only a thin shirt on her shoulders would be an understatement.

"D- Davina? What...?"

Isabel momentarily lost her ability to think as she only stared at Davina who was tightly hugging the shirt to her body, but it was doing nothing to hide those glaringly red marks on her pale skin; these bruises were obviously fresh and they were everywhere. Her neck, her chest, belly and even inner thighs were completely peppered with bruises and there was an additional deep, dark mark on her neck just like the one Isabel saw earlier, but this one was on the other side.

"What- what happened to you?"

"Get out, get out! Don't look at me! Go away!" Davina cried while hiding her face.

No, no, no! God no!

She had never wanted Isabel to see her like this, for this disgusting side of her to be seen by this girl whose heart was so pure and kind. She never wanted those golden eyes to look at her like she was something disgusting, to look at her with ridicule.

At that moment in Davina's mind, that incident from her childhood and the current one overlapped and even though she didn't dare to look up at Isabel right now, she could already sense her repulsion.

"Eww, you were gay this whole time?"

"There is no way I'm ever sharing a room with her again."

"I can't believe that I was actually friends with you for so long, stay away from me you freak."

No, no, no! Not again, was she going to lose her best friend like this again?

*Pa!*

The sound of skin against skin rang loudly in the bathroom's small space and the smarting heat in her cheek told Davina that she had just been slapped.

"Look at me dammit!" Isabel was furious. "What the hell is 'don't look at you'? What the hell is 'go away'? What the hell are you thinking about right now? Who do you think I am?!"

In a daze, Davina slowly lifted her hand to touch her stinging cheek and she faced Isabel's livid expression. That person was also angry that time, but Isabel's anger was different; unlike that person she couldn't feel any hate or disgust from Isabel, only deep worry.

"Davi, what happened? Who did this to you?"

Isabel was absolutely incensed. She couldn't think of anyone who would do it, but the fact was that her best friend had been attacked inside of her dorm room in their own company; she wanted to immediately head out to check the surveillance cameras to catch the son-of-a-bitch, but seeing the lost look in the teary eyes of the woman in front of her, Isabel could only rein in her anger to coax Davina gently until she calmed down.

"It's alright Davi; I'm here, it's okay."

Feeling the warmth wrapping around her and circles being rubbed on her back in that same gentle way, Davina completely broke down and began to bawl like a baby.

"Izzy," Davina reached out to grip tightly unto Isabel's shirt and she buried her face in her chest. "Don't hate me. Please don't hate me, please..."

Isabel didn't know what Davina was thinking about or how she was feeling right now, but those trembling shoulders and sobs against her chest were like a searing iron to her heart. She held her friend tightly as she sat on the floor with her and gently rocked her back and forth.

"Davi, what happened? I know that you're scared, but please trust me alright. Please tell me what's going on with you."

Although she could find out even without Davina telling her, seeing her friend's emotional state, Isabel felt that it would be best to hear it from the person herself.

"You know that you can tell me anything right?"

Lying against Isabel's chest, Davina could hear the gentle and steady beating and she managed to calm down just a little bit.

What was she thinking? Izzy wasn't like those people; she wasn't friends with her because of what she could get from her, but was genuinely her friend. However, it was also because of that why Davina was terrified.

Unlike those people who would hide their disgust and stay with her until they at least got what they wanted, Isabel could leave whenever she wanted and Davina didn't want that to happen. But, if she was really her friend, shouldn't she give Isabel the benefit of the doubt?

Tilting her head up slightly, Davina looked into Isabel's eyes and as always, those golden orbs were clear and free of ambiguity, those eyes made her feel calm, they made her feel safe. She could trust Izzy.

Clenching her teeth and fist, Davina made her decision, but she still couldn't bear to look into Isabel's eyes at the very moment, so she lowered her head as she began to speak.

"Izzy, I'm gay."

Isabel was still rubbing Davina's back when she heard those first words and she nodded; "I know, I told you before didn't I? I've always known."

However Isabel didn't know how much of a huge wave those two words had set off in the other woman's heart. Davina choked on a sob and she lifted her head to look at Isabel's eyes; endless relief flooded through her when she saw that there hadn't been any changes in the way the other woman looked at her, but she still questioned.

"You're not angry? We've been friends for so long and I never said anything; don't you feel angry or disgusted knowing that the person who's been so close to you all this time actually prefers women over men? Don't you feel violated or scared---?"

"The one who seemed to be scared right now is you. What are you crying for?"

Isabel used her sleeve to wipe Davina's mess of a face as the other woman began to blubber like a baby.

Although other people may not think of it as anything serious, for the person in the position themselves, Isabel knew that it could be scary as hell to come out and say that they were attracted to the same sex and most times, it was the ones closest to them that they were most afraid of saying it to, never knowing if they would be rejected by the ones they held dearest.

In a few years when the LGBT community finally decides to take a stand and fight for the recognition of their rights, there would be many people who would lose their families and closest friends, lose their jobs, be kicked out of their apartments and forced to live on the streets; and there would even be some cases where those whom had already come out to their families would be abandoned because of embarrassment.

So, Isabel didn't find Davina's act of breaking down to be excessive and instead she was just thankful that her friend had decided to trust her and say it on her own unlike her own forceful method of trying to pull her out of the closet and then leave it as an unspoken fact between them where even mentioning it would make the air awkward. Isabel was very satisfied, but she still couldn't figure out what Davina being gay had to do with the current situation.

"So what if you're gay, I don't care about that, you're still my best friend. What I want to know is who the hell did this to you and why."

Feeling Isabel's fierce protectiveness from her tone and words,, Davina couldn't help laughing a little as she wiped her eyes.

"Don't laugh, it not funny."

"Okay, okay, but can I shower and put on some clothes first? I'm getting a bit chilly."

It was only then that Isabel remembered Davina was indeed naked at the moment. She could only huff and hold down her anger as she helped her friend stand and make her way into the shower booth.

"Aren't you treating this matter way too lightly? Those bruises are savage; I don't care what you say. I'm gonna shave the bitch that did this to you once I get my hands on them"

Sitting on the closed toilet with her legs crossed, Isabel could only grumble and Davina who heard her didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Don't be too harsh on her Izzy, it was partly my fault for provoking her in the first place. We had a bit of a fight before we left for D City, last night was just her way of taking revenge; as for today, she was just angry because I made her worried."

Isabel tilted her head in confusion as she heard what Davina said and she ruminated on the many insinuations that those words held before she came to a ridiculous realization.

"Wait a minute, do I know this person?"

At the same time, Davina pulled the shower curtain and stepped down completely naked, not caring that Isabel was there at all and Isabel also didn't bat an eye at it. The two women were obviously already used to a situation like this.

Taking the towel from the rack nearby, Davina began to dry the water from her face then it was her turn to look at Isabel weirdly.

"Sophie and I are seeing each other, didn't you already know?"

Isabel froze. She stared at Davina as the words sank in and Davina stared back at her. Suddenly Isabel shot up from her seat.

"You and Sophie are dating?!"

Davina jumped. "You didn't know? But on Monday you asked---"

"That was just asking!!" Isabel screamed. "I didn't think that you two were actually dating. What the..." actual fuck!

How the hell was this possible?!

Isabel couldn't remember anything from the last life that pointed to Sophie and Davina dating. She had asked the question mainly to tease on Monday and get Davina to confess to being gay, but then she was stopped mid-interrogation when Kim called and she had to go to the hospital.

The thought of Sophie and Davina being a couple had never truly settled itself in her mind plus, wasn't Davina getting together with Lauren next year when she flew in from T Country to start their business together? Then were she and Sophie going to break up by then? How long had she and Sophie been together before this?

So many questions were running around in Isabel's mind, but above all, she couldn't help but wonder; was she even living the same life anymore?

Isabel looked back over to Davina and as her gaze landed on the bite marks on either side of her friend's neck, one point suddenly stood out among everything. Right now, Sophie and Davina were dating, the one who did that to Davina... was Sophie.

Recalling that she had just bumped into Sophie on her way here and what Sophie had said to her, a heart stopping smile slowly began to bloom on Isabel's red lips and the temperature in the room suddenly took a drastic drop.

"Who the fuck was she calling a dog?"

Davina felt a chill down her spine as she heard Isabel laugh. It wasn't her usual cheery, teasing or mischievous laughter and instead sounded dark and somewhat sinister. It wasn't a laugh Davina was familiar with and it gave her goosebumps.

Isabel sighed like she was in a helpless situation and what she was about to do next was unavoidable as she walked over and opened the bathroom door, mumbling so that only she could hear.

"I'm going to kill that bitch."

At that moment, Davina had a premonition that if she didn't stop Isabel from leaving something scary was going to happen.