Redemption (Stand-Alone, Spin-Off to Reaper Series), page 20
Eve followed Lexi through the short entry hall and into the living room, the kitchen visible through a doorway to the left. The apartment wasn’t huge, but it was warm and inviting. Eve then began to feel a painful tingling sensation in her feet and legs and felt a brief moment of panic. She didn’t understand why she was suddenly feeling the pricking of thousands of needles on her body and momentarily thought that perhaps she hadn’t escaped her hospital-like prison at Javan’s tower and was, in fact, still strapped to the bed, being prodded with needles, only dreaming of freedom. Then she realized that it was just her blood beginning to flow back to her extremities, thanks to the warmth of being inside. Eve sighed in relief, almost laughing at herself for not realizing sooner. It was understandable, though. Many aspects of her physiology were now foreign to her. As a human, there were things she was feeling that she had never felt before. Before Eve could consider these things for too long, however, Lexi suddenly thrust an armful of clothes into her arms.
“I think we should be about the same size,” Lexi said, stepping back to look Eve up and down. “You can borrow some of my clothes. The bathroom’s through that door if you want to clean up a bit, too.”
“What, are you saying I stink or something?” Eve joked.
Lexi smirked, but shrugged a reply. “I didn’t want to say anything, but…”
Eve tried to discreetly smell herself and then cringed.
“So, the bathroom’s that way?” Eve asked, feeling embarrassed.
Lexi grinned kindly, noticing Eve’s humiliation. “Don’t worry about it. You should get a whiff of me after lacrosse practice. When you get out, you have to tell me your story! Starting with how you ended up on the street in a paper dress.”
“O-okay,” was all Eve could say in reply. She wondered just how much she could tell Lexi without lying. It felt wrong to lie to her, after so much she had done for Eve, but the truth was something Eve wasn’t too keen on either. If the reaction of the three men in the park was anything to go by, humanity wasn’t too pleased with her at that moment. So, already worrying about what kind of questions Lexi was going to be asking, and what she might say in response, Eve stepped into the bathroom to clean up.
Eve had never used a shower before. As an Angel, she’d never needed to. It wasn’t difficult to work out, though. And once she was under the steaming hot water, Eve couldn’t help but smile as the warmth flooded through her body, and she was more than happy to wash away the memory of the hospital. And of Belial.
Or rather, the memory of Isaiah. Belial had posed as a kind and handsome human just to mess with her head, to manipulate her. Eve scowled as she thought back to the benefit, where she had danced with him and he had told her about his tragic past. His dead family, living on the streets, witnessing the horrors of the invasion by Abzu’s forces of tyranny. All just to make Eve trust him. Which she had fallen for completely. She had never felt more stupid in her life, nor as furious. Though she found it difficult to decide if she was more angry at Belial or herself. She did know, however, that the thought of having kissed that disgusting, vile, monster was enough to make her feel sick.
And then there was Javan. She had trusted him. She had actually been happy to see that he was still alive. She believed he had changed and was trying to make the world a better place. Well, he certainly believed he was, but his “means to an end” attitude was exactly the kind of justification that all of the most horrific atrocities of human history were built on. The memory of Javan made Eve feel even more sick than the memory of kissing Belial. So much so that she swore her intestines were twisting around inside of her. She had known who Javan was, unlike Belial. She knew Javan’s past. She knew what he was capable of, what he had done, what he had wanted. And yet, even back then, she had wanted to help him. To make him understand that what he was doing was wrong. So it was no wonder she was so blinded when she thought he had actually learned on his own to be a good human.
Just another mistake to add to the pile, Eve thought bitterly, letting the water run over her hair and shoulders.
After showering and putting on the clothes Lexi had given her, Eve noticed the steamed-up mirror over the sink. It occurred to her that she had not seen her reflection in weeks. Javan had had the mirror in the bathroom she was allowed to use removed, concerned that she would break it and use the pieces to fight her way out.
I guess he is smart, Eve thought as she remembered. She had to admit, if she’d been given the opportunity, that’s exactly what she would’ve done.
Eve ran her hand across the mirror a couple of times, the glass squeaking loudly under her palm, wiping away the steam so that she could get a look at herself.
“Wow,” Eve muttered. “And this is after cleaning up.”
Her face seemed more pale than usual, a likely result of not seeing sunlight in weeks. Her left cheek was red and swollen, due to the smack to the face she had received from one of the men in the park. Turning her head to see the mark better, Eve hoped he was still writhing in pain. Eve then raised her eyes from her cheek to her bright red hair, which was uneven and ragged, the doctors who cut it obviously not caring about style. It had grown some, now reaching the bottom of her ears, but Eve still hated the sight of it so ravaged.
Among the clothes Lexi had provided was also a knit cap. Eve had originally dismissed it, but the sight of her hair in its current shape made her reconsider. After dressing, Eve picked up the black wool knit cap and put it on, pulling it low on her head. It occurred to her that it probably wasn’t a bad idea to cover her hair, regardless of how it looked. Lexi might not know who Eve really was, but what if her father watched the news? What if he recognized her? Eve could only imagine how he would react, coming home to find the Angel who supposedly murdered dozens of people standing in his apartment.
Eve stepped back from the mirror to take in her new look. As low as she had pulled the knit cap, it still didn’t completely cover her hair. Eve figured it would have to do, though, as she simply couldn’t keep all of her hair out of sight. Maybe it would be enough, though.
It seemed Lexi had a particular taste when it came to clothes. Eve was no expert, but she had to guess it was likely something called ‘punk’ or ‘grunge’ or some combination of the two. The top she was now wearing was a sleeveless black shirt that had a white stencil-print of a roaring tiger’s face on the front. Eve also now wore a pair of stonewashed blue jeans with heavily faded patches on the thighs, which felt strange on her, as she was used to wearing a dress, but it was far better than wandering around town in a paper gown. Lexi had also given her a red and white plaid shirt, which Eve slipped into now, before pulling on a pair of socks and some purple Converse sneakers. Looking at herself in the mirror again, Eve noted that she looked vastly different than usual, and had to admit that the ensemble suited her. She only wished her hair was still intact.
Sighing at the loss of her long red hair, Eve turned and walked out of the bathroom. As she walked into the living room looking for Lexi, Eve was momentarily startled by the sight of a man standing there. He and Lexi were facing each other and Eve figured he must be her father. Then Eve noticed that neither of them were speaking, but were instead moving their hands around, making gestures instead of using words. Eve suddenly realized that they were speaking sign language. Lexi’s father was deaf.
Lexi noticed Eve walk into the room at that moment and gestured to her father to let him know Eve was there. Lexi’s father then turned around to face Eve. He regarded her with a combination of polite curiosity and suspicion of the strange girl in his home with his daughter. Eve felt as though she was being X-rayed, even as Lexi’s father reached out to shake hands.
As Eve shook his hand, Lexi moved to where her father could see her and said, both verbally and with her hands, “This is my father, Mitra. Dad, this is Eve.”
Mitra moved his hands as he said something to Eve. Lexi said, “He says it’s nice to meet you.”
Eve smiled politely at Mitra and then replied in perfect sign language, “It’s nice to meet you, too. You have a really nice home.”
Mitra’s eyebrows rose slightly in impressed surprise and he grinned back at Eve, while Lexi merely stared in amazement.
“You didn’t tell me you spoke sign language!” Lexi exclaimed.
“Well, you didn’t tell me your father was hearing impaired,” Eve pointed out, shrugging. “It never came up.”
“You didn’t tell her?” Mitra asked Lexi in sign language, his expression admonishing.
“I might have forgot to mention it,” Lexi replied, somewhat embarrassed. “I was distracted with everything that happened.”
“And what exactly did happen?” Mitra asked.
Lexi quickly explained how she came across Eve being attacked by a group of men, momentarily getting off topic when she described how Eve fought them off. At a stern look from her father, Lexi then said how when one man pulled a knife, Lexi clobbered him in the back of the head with her guitar and she and Eve took off.
“And she doesn’t have anywhere to live, Dad,” Lexi said. “We can’t make her sleep on the street. Can she stay? Please?”
Eve marveled at how Lexi’s eyes somehow seemed to grow three times larger as she pleaded with her father.
“I really don’t want to be a bother,” Eve said, speaking with her hands as well as her mouth, for Mitra’s benefit.
Mitra held up a finger to Eve, gesturing for her to wait a moment. He then looked back to Lexi and spoke with his hands.
“First of all, I’m very proud of you for helping Eve out of trouble with those men,” he began. “Secondly, please don’t ever do anything so foolish again. What if those men had hurt you? What if you just got the both of you killed?”
“It’s not like I had time to call the cops,” Lexi argued. “The guy pulled a knife on her!”
“I understand,” Mitra said, sighing as he replied. “I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you. I worry enough with you busking in the subway. Now, as for Eve…”
Eve felt nervous as Mitra turned back to her.
However, Mitra just smiled and asked, “How about something to eat?”
It wasn’t until they started eating that Eve realized just how famished she was. Even though they were only eating microwave meals, Eve thought it was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten, and had to force herself to eat slower so as to not look like a gluttonous pig.
Dinner was a relatively quiet affair, what with it being difficult to use sign language while using a knife and fork. Lexi still talked vocally, though, making up for the otherwise silent meal. Eve noticed that Mitra still responded with nods and smiles as Lexi spoke, despite her not using sign language. Eve figured he must also read lips.
When Mitra gently set down his fork on the table, he looked directly into Eve’s eyes with a suddenly stern expression on his face and then said with his hands, “I hope you don’t think we’re stupid, Eve.”
Eve nearly choked on her food, due to the abruptness of the statement, and Lexi cried “Dad!” out loud.
Mitra looked to his daughter and, with his hands moving much faster than usual in his annoyance, said, “I’m sorry, Lexi, I know you asked me not to say anything, but how long am I supposed to pretend there’s not an Angel sitting at my table?”
Eve nearly choked again. “What?” she asked in astonishment. Then she turned to Lexi and asked, “You knew?”
Lexi glared at her father in anger, but looked equally embarrassed when she met Eve’s gaze. “Kinda. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to lie to you, I just thought you needed some help and if you wanted me to know you were an Angel, you’d have told me, right?”
Eve could only gape at Lexi in shock, not sure if she should feel scared, nervous, angry, or all three. Mitra, however, seemed to know exactly how he felt.
“She’s an Angel, Lexi,” he said, his hands still moving quickly, so fast Eve almost had trouble understanding him. “She doesn’t need our help. You know what they’re capable of.”
“I’m not,” Eve interrupted. “I’m not an Angel. Not anymore.”
“What?” Lexi asked, while Mitra stared at her in surprise.
“I’m not an Angel anymore,” Eve repeated firmly. “A man calling himself Javan tricked me. He pretended to be my friend, but injected me with something that turned me human. Just so he could lock me up for weeks and… and experiment on me.”
Lexi looked horrified, while Mitra looked both appalled and dubious.
“Darwin Javan?” Mitra asked. “The super-wealthy philanthropist?”
Eve nodded. “That’s one way to describe him. I like to think of him as traitorous scum. And I’ll tell you right now, because I know you’ll ask, it wasn’t me who blew up the press conference!”
“I know,” Mitra said.
This stunned Eve so much that she fell silent and just stared at Mitra for a full five seconds before replying. “You do?”
Mitra nodded. Lexi cleared her throat and said, “Remember how I said my dad is a CSI guy? Well, he was looking at the… the place, you know, crime scene or whatever. And he found bomb fragments. He told me.”
“Only because you were so upset about it,” Mitra interrupted. Then to Eve he said, “Lexi was devastated by the news that an Angel would kill so many innocent people. It was bad enough after the Global Revelation, but this was about as much as Lexi could take. She hides it, but she’s actually a very sensitive and spiritual girl.”
“You make me sound like a baby,” Lexi muttered.
“There’s proof it wasn’t me?” Eve asked. “Then why does everyone think it was?”
“Your friend,” Mitra said. “Darwin Javan. I have reason to believe he paid off a lot of people I work for. Bought their silence on the matter. So that everyone would keep blaming you. And if he couldn’t buy them, he scared them. Ever since the footage of him healing after the explosion was released-”
“Healing?” Eve interrupted, speaking aloud. Then her eyebrows shot up and she banged a fist on the table. “That’s what he wanted! He bombed his own press conference so that he could show the world his own immortality! Proof of what he was going to offer them! He let himself get caught in the explosion and then stood right in front of the cameras to heal. And a nice little tragedy to go along with it, to make people sympathize for him! That son of a bitch.”
When she realized Mitra was staring at her impatiently, Eve suddenly fell silent and looked embarrassed for her outburst. “Sorry.”
“Anyway,” Mitra went on. “I found numerous bomb fragments and there is even security camera footage of the explosion originating from a man in the crowd. I tried to take it higher, but no one would listen. And then the evidence suddenly disappeared. I checked and there isn’t even any record of it having existed.
“So, no evidence?” Eve asked, her heart sinking.
“Not quite,” Mitra replied. “Upon investigating the suicide bomber’s home, I found his suicide note. Or rather, a laptop with a video recording of him confessing and explaining why he did what he did. I could read his lips on the video. I didn’t have time to watch the whole thing, as there were a lot of people around, people I wasn’t sure I could trust. I didn’t turn it in, because I knew it would vanish like everything else. I’m holding on to it until I know who I can trust it with. But Javan has a lot of money that he can spread extremely far to get what he wants. Which is exactly why I’m not comfortable with you being here.”
“But Dad,” Lexi began, but Mitra silenced her with a gesture from his hand.
“Eve,” Mitra began. “Have you ever heard my daughter play her guitar? Or sing?”
Eve shook her head.
“Well, neither have I,” Mitra said, his expression both stern and saddened. “I would give up all my remaining senses to hear her play just one song, and I would die to keep her safe. I worry that whatever is going on with you and this Javan guy, if you’re here, then Lexi might get swept up in it, too. I don’t want my daughter in danger.”
“I don’t want that either,” Eve said insistently.
“I’m sure you don’t,” Mitra nodded. “But if trouble finds you while my daughter is close to you, she might very well become collateral damage. And I can’t lose her. I already lost her mother, I can’t lose Lexi. Do you understand?”
“But, Dad,” Lexi began.
“Do you understand?” Mitra repeated, turning his stern eyes upon Lexi, too.
Both girls could only nod.
“Now, I know you’re not a bad person, Eve,” Mitra went on, his expression finally softening. “I’d really like to be more help to you, I really would. But my family comes first.”
Eve nodded again. “I understand. I’d do anything for my family, too.”
Mitra exhaled heavily. “You can stay the night. Get some rest and then, in the morning, you can go.”
“Dad, come on!” Lexi argued. “Where the Hell is she gonna go?”
“I’ve made my decision, Lexi,” Mitra replied.
Before Lexi could say another word, Mitra reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out a few bills of cash and set them down on the table in front of Eve, pushing them towards her.
“Here’s all the cash I have. You can use this to get where you need to go. I wish I could do more, but… as I said, my family comes first.” Mitra then pushed away from the dining table and stood up. “It’s late. I’m going to bed. I suggest the two of you do the same. Goodnight.”
And without another word, he turned and walked away into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. And, despite having just eaten, Eve was left with a hollow feeling inside her stomach.
Lexi and Eve didn’t say much as they prepared for bed. Lexi set up a small camp-bed on the floor for Eve in her bedroom, then climbed into her own bed. Both lay in silence, neither one sleeping, until Eve finally spoke.
“How long were you going to pretend you didn’t know who I was?” Eve asked.
“I’m sorry,” Lexi replied. “I didn’t want to scare you off or anything. I mean, those guys were beating on you because they recognized you, right? How would you have reacted if you knew I knew? You know?”
