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 Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 8:22 pm
Home, completely stripped of clothes, Liberty stared at a bruise on her shin. The redhead's knees were colored purple, blue, green. A spot on her rib shared the same fate. Pressing there left her with tender breaths, and a terrible urge to lock her jaw.
The injuries were far worse than she'd thought.
Rows of bags, chalk full of ice and a pinch of water, lined her beside. One at a time, she applied them to each sore with deep, long breaths. She had to force herself to rest, close her eyes. The headboard was hard against the back of her head. That must have gotten injured, too. She couldn't even remember what point in the fray it had been.
She'd never get the chance to mull it over. A terrible, loud vibration started up on her desk. It buzzed and whirred, and frantically spinned a circle. Liberty popped one eye open at it. It headed on a suicide mission for the edge of the dresser, and Liberty reached over and snatched it up just before it dove.
The redhead's heart skipped a beat. No, two. Three. Liberty reminded it to beat again.
The options button seemed to jump it into action. She hit reply. Breathed.
Was this really Avery?
Had they discovered she was Pandora? Was this a trap?
If it was Avery, was she hurt?
Had they touched her?
Liberty's fingers whitened against the phone.
The plastic bags fell like flies as Liberty yanked herself out of bed. The fatigue in her legs were ignored, and for once she did not spend the time to pick out an outfit.
Red plaid, a pair of black sweats, socks, pink boxers from the drawer. Liberty didn't even wait to see if they were color coordinated. She completely forgot a bra.
She gave up the extra cash to take a taxi instead of waiting for the bus, and was at Avery's in a little less than 20 minutes.
It was far, far too long. The cab driver made five dollars in tip when Liberty didn't bother to wait for change for the ten she passed over with her twenty.
Antsy, her thumb descended on the intercom button. It began to ring. Liberty held her breath and stared at the metal bars of an enclosed apartment garden.
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Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 9:31 pm
The entire process of debriefing and getting home had taken her over two hours, and she'd shielded her expression from the doorman's watchful gaze while he called the elevator. When she was finally in her condo, door locked, bolted, and chained [not to mention the keypad to get in], she could let her carefully maintained composure crumble away.
Her hands were shaking as they turned the knobs above her deep, circular tub. She didn't have the energy left to curse them, and instead left the quickly steaming bathroom to the kitchen, where she found a bottle of wine. A few fumbles with the corkscrew, and she set it aside, opening a cabinet and removing a bottle of expensive, aged whiskey. A gift from her brother and much easier to open.
An ambitious amount of the amber liquid was poured into a glass that held a a handful of ice cubes. Avery left the ice tray on the counter as she lifted the bottle itself to her lips and took a long, scorching swallow, before abandoning it, as well. Like Pandora had just crawled down her throat. This burn, though, felt good as it spread, and she took her glass with her as she moved back down the hall.
Her clothing was left on the marble floor of the bathroom, and soon she was sinking into water hot enough to make her hiss.
She spent the next hour trying to relax, to avoid thinking of what had happened and focus on the way the heat soaked into her bones.
It worked, until she was faced with her empty bed.
Swallowing, she resolutely stepped into one of her favorite nightgowns, a short, grey-blue silk affair that always made her feel on point, and flicked off her light.
Slipped under the covers.
Flicked on the bedside lamp.
Her hand reached for her phone - looking for company, anything to distract her from the sounds of the neighborhood that had suddenly become sinister. Avery's thumb had selected Libby Reever as the recipient before she had a moment to think about it.
Staring at the name, she hesitated, but the urge to be with someone that made things feel easy, that made things okay, overpowered any sense of embarrassment she felt about late-night texting a friend-maybe-more.
Avery hadn't even been sure if she'd even get a response, let alone instantaneous agreement.
Her heart gave an anxious little thud.
Antsy, she spent the next twenty minutes in the living room, halfway through a second drink when the intercom chimed.
"Hey," She waited just long enough to confirm it was Liberty before buzzing the girl into the apartment building, and moved to set her drink on the coffee table to give herself something to do while she waited for a knock on the door.
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Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 9:48 pm
Avery's voice.
Liberty's body whispered, elated, to the redhead as her knees buckled and she snatched at the brick foundation which housed the intercom. Muscles busy shaking with elation, Liberty did not think to be embarrassed or wonder if Avery had seen.
All yet, however, was not well.
The trip through the lower floors of the condominium was taken as calmly as Liberty dared. The doorman was nodded to politely. He must have been able to hear her heart-thud.
The second her head ducked around the stairwell, out of site, Liberty took the stairs two at a time. Her breaths were elevated when she finally knocked on the door.
The seconds ticked by as pleasantly as nails on a chalk board.
When the door opened, Liberty felt an intense wave of nausea hit her. All the wounds she'd forgotten about chimed together. Failing, exhausted muscles caught up to her, and Liberty could feel herself lulling forwards.
Instead, she stepped through the doorway, arms finding Avery's waist with hasty ease. The brunette was jerked into a powerful hug. Liberty muffled her wavering exhale in curly hair, and then kissed a welcome, warm, perfectly Avery cheek.
Finding that wasn't enough to solidify the woman's presence, Liberty kissed the edge of a mouth as well.
"Hey." The idea that maybe the greeting had been a little much tickled the edges of her mind.
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Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 10:35 pm
Perhaps it was her imagination, but Avery thought she could hear the rapid pound of feet in the hall. Maybe it was just her heart in her ears. She was still startled by the knock, and hands that had stopped shaking, but were now whiskey-clumsy, and she took longer than usual to dismantle the heavily fortified door locks.
She was in Liberty's arms before she could take a breath. Surprise colored her halting inhale, when it came, and she was frozen for a moment - rigid, before she softened against the desperate strength of the redhead's embrace.
"I-" Libby was kissing her. That was important. Moreso than whatever she was going to try and say. She tilted her face up, for the moment too relieved - too grateful, to say anything.
Whatever the reason for Liberty's fervent response? Avery wasn't curious. It was exactly what she needed.
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Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 10:48 pm
Liberty had expected a brief kiss following that strong hug. Not the welcome mouth that found hers. It made her chest burn despite the worry that still beat there.
But each of those kisses was pulling that away, and Liberty was reaching for a second, a third, sighing against the taste of whiskey.
"Uh, the door's still open," she breathed after a moment. The redhead pulled back slightly, glancing over Ave's shoulder.
The hand that had moved up to Avery's jaw pulled back, fingers sliding affectionately along a cheek. A gentle squeeze with the other hand on Ave's side.
"How are you?" she tried. It was an innocent enough question, but one Liberty was screaming to know the answer of.
Avery looked okay. A few scuffs, tired eyes, but Liberty could not detect trauma. Then, she did not know for what to look. Had they corrupted Avery? Wiped the memory of torture and rape from her mind? Did they do nothing to her, but swear her to secrecy and threaten to kill family if she blabbed?
Fortunately, Liberty was far too exhausted for anger. There was nothing but a saddened curiosity and a desire to take care of the beautiful woman right in front of her.
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Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 11:27 pm
There it was. Something to chase away memories. The heat between them was there, even when they were both clearly exhausted. The few kisses they'd exchanged on that first date seemed far too long ago.
"I had a long night," she admitted, the fingers of one hand gripping the waistband of Liberty's sweats to keep her close while she reached past her to shut the door. "But, I'll be alright." She was shaking again when her free hand touched the locks, hesitating for a moment.
The request was quiet: "Stay with me?"
Liberty answered and Avery's knees almost buckled completely, hand flattening against the door to brace herself before she managed to finish locking it.
"Do you want a drink?" Her eyes went to the bottle on the counter, and she felt a brief flush of heat at the sight of melting ice.
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Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 11:38 pm
"I'll stay."
Green eyes ran down Avery's usually strong shoulders, which now sagged under arms that seemed to drag the brunette downwards.
I had a long night.
Liberty's voice stilled while she considered just how long that night had been. Following the tug at her sweat's waistband, she fell softly into place next to Avery. An arm settled around the other woman.
Liberty's mind had been read.
"Mmm," she answered in agreement, leaning briefly into Avery's side to plant another kiss against her cheek. One on her ear.
"Read my mind," she whispered, somehow afraid to break the silence; as though it might severe the physical touch between them. The ice tray was gathered up, water poured into the sink to leave fresh ice as though it were the most normal task in the world.
"Could you get me a glass?"
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Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 3:00 pm
Avery was already pulling it from the cupboard as Liberty spoke, and she set it on the counter in front of the redhead with a quiet 'clink'. She lingered there, until Liberty had poured herself a drink, before taking a freckled hand in her own and moving to the living room.
Not to sit down. She was just getting her own half-finished drink in a pit stop on the down the hall to her bedroom. There was a moment of hesitation just inside the threshold, where Avery glanced over to try and catch Liberty's expression. She'd never really been in here before.
Releasing her hand, the brunette shifted onto the bed and decided to finish her drink in one long, burning swallow.
Anxiety melted away.
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Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 3:37 pm
They remained silent, shifting through hallways, avoiding couches. Liberty's fingers had entwined with Avery's. They were impossibly soft, and tickled both an arousal and a safe, gentle familiarity in the redhead's mind.
Had Avery still been holding her hand, Liberty might have squeezed it the moment the brunette downed the remainder of that hard liquor.
A small, sipping taste from her own glass revealed just how strong it was. It warmed the back of her throat, made her chest rise in contentment. As Avery shifted onto the bed, Liberty's eyes scanned for a coaster.
When she'd found one, she rested her still-full glass onto it and found the bed alarmingly comfortable. Tennis shoes were easily unlaced and slid from her feet. The redhead sat, looking at the hem of her sweats. Nervous. Considering. Then she slid these off, feeling strange, trapped at the idea of getting into bed in long, easily tangled garments.
It was only as she settled, shifted, and resettled, that she could scan the contents of Avery's room.
Mostly, her mind complimented that it smelled good. Like light perfumes, clean clothes, and Avery. Liberty plucked the whiskey and took another, longer sip. The pain of the bruises had begun to recede.
"It's quiet," she spoke, voice absent as though Liberty were not sure if she was making request or observation.
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Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 4:12 pm
"Yeah," Avery dragged her stare away from Liberty's pink boxers [ugh, could she be cuter?], and pulled her covers down enough to slip under them. Her back was firmly pressed against the headboard to give her the support she needed to watch Liberty with drowsy eyes. "Is that bad?"
Did Libby want her to talk? Ave didn't think she was up to that. Instead, she gave the place next to her a pat, inviting the redhead closer, and reached for the book on her nightstand.
"I could read." The whiskey in her blood stopped her from deciding that it was a stupid idea. "Relax."
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Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 4:23 pm
Whiskey forgotten, Liberty drew her legs up and slipped them, one at a time, underneath the raised sheets. She tried not to think about how soft Avery's legs felt when her own brushed against them.
"That sounds good," she murmured. The alcohol had spread now, and there was a warm weight in her chest that told her this was absolutely a good idea.
A few moments passed, scarcely inches between their soulders. The last of her concerns were released in an exhale, and Liberty let herself slip into the undeniable physical pull.
Feigning interest in reading along with Avery's quiet voice, Liberty leaned into the woman's shoulder. The words were almost completely blurry, but she believed she was making out a few by the time her eyes shut of their own will.
Avery's shoulder made a magnificent pillow.
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Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 5:13 pm
Avery read until her words began to trip over themselves, until Liberty's head was heavy and her breathing even. The book wasn't particularly interesting - U.S. Politics [Avery had been brushing up, lately], but it passed the time.
She set it aside after nodding off once or twice, and flicked off the light. When Libby mumbled something in her sleep, tightening a heavy arm around the brunette's waist, Avery didn't resist.
It was nice to have someone there. Sleep came quickly, and for once, she didn't dream.
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