30. Molly
The next week felt like a whirlwind. Every day they got in Torus’s ship and flew to a new Florida location to enjoy their “honeymoon” where people could see them.
Molly’s favorite day was the trip they took to Ichetucknee Springs State Park and went tubing down the Ichetucknee river. Though it was difficult to find a tube to rent that was big enough for Torus, they eventually located one and spent the day drifting lazily down the beautiful waterway and trying to ignore the stares they got from the other people on the river. They even got to see a Manatee and her baby swimming alongside them for a little while. It was a magical memory Molly knew she would never forget.
Their tubing trip was definitely the most peaceful day they had. Their other trips, to Disney World, Sea World, and Universal were considerably more crowded and less enjoyable—at least from Molly’s perspective. And she didn’t think Torus enjoyed them much either—though he expressed interest in learning more about the marine life on Earth and did enjoy trying the different “Earth cuisines” when they walked through Epcot.
By now the Press had gotten hold of the story of how a Kindred warrior had come from the Mother Ship and beaten “tech genius Zach Wyndham” within an inch of his life and it seemed like more and more reporters found them every day.
Molly did her best to ignore them and Torus did as well. The big Kindred was excellent at it—he kept a stone face and refused to answer questions except for once. This was when a particularly persistent reporter—a guy in a backwards baseball cap and torn jeans—followed them back to where they had parked the ship with his cell phone out, recording them and yelling questions.
“Excuse me, Commander Torus—is it true you beat up Zach Wyndham and put him in the hospital? I thought the Kindred were supposed to be peaceful—how can you claim to want to help humanity after nearly killing one of the greatest tech geniuses on the planet?” he shouted as they tried to avoid him.
His questions made Molly want to puke. So what if Zach was good at making video games and apps? He was still an abusive asshole! But she said nothing and just kept walking, hoping the reporter would lose interest and leave them alone. However, the man followed them all the way to their ship—which was parked a considerable distance from the theme park they had been visiting that day.
She could feel Torus’s frustration building through their TET link but the big Kindred remained stoic until they were actually ready to get in the ship. Then he turned suddenly and leaned down, getting right in the reporter’s face.
“Listen to me and listen well,” he growled, his voice coming out in a low, threatening rumble. “That ‘genius’ hurt my mate, so I punished him for it. That is all I have to say.”
“He hurt her? How did he hurt her?” the reporter persisted. When Torus refused to answer, he turned to Molly. “What did he do to you, Molly?” he demanded, just as though he had the right to be on a first name basis with her.
“None of your business,” she said tightly, stung into talking back to him at last. She didn’t even think he was a real reporter—judging by the way he was dressed and the fact that he was just recording them on a camera phone, she was pretty sure he was just a wannabe who posted his content on social media for views.
“It is my business—it’s everybody’s business since you sent your Kindred boyfriend down to Earth to beat an innocent man,” the “reporter” snapped back.
“Molly never sent me—I came to get vengeance for her on my own,” Torus growled. “And I am not her ‘boyfriend’—I’m her Mate—her husband, as you humans call it. And she is my wife. Now leave us alone.”
Despite the big Kindred’s threatening tone, the “reporter” kept talking—which showed that he was either really stupid or really committed to getting content for his channel, Molly thought.
“Molly, lots of ‘Rage Killings’ happen because the female who’s married to or dating a Kindred claims she was raped by the guy she sends him out to kill,” he said, targeting her again. “Is that what you claim Zach Wyndham did to you? Did he rape you?”
His words made Molly’s stomach clench into a slick fist. She didn’t want to think of what Zach had done to her—how he had insisted that she give him what he wanted every night, whether she wanted to or not. Or how much it had hurt when he was in an especially vicious mood…
“How dare you ask my wife such a personal question?” Torus demanded. By now his eyes were beginning to turn red and his big hands had curled into enormous fists.
The “reporter” paled, but kept on going—he obviously had more ambition than sense.
“Look, I’m just saying that Molly was legally married to Zach Wyndham so if she’s telling you he raped her, she’s lying! They were married—a man can’t rape his own wife!”
“And why is that?” Torus growled, his eyes glinting red again. “Because you think a male has the right to do anything he wants to his Mate? Because you think he owns her body once they sign the marriage contract?”
“I’m just trying to tell you she’s lying to you, man!” the “reporter” exclaimed. “You beat up Zach Wyndham for no reason!”
Torus said nothing but a low growl began to rumble in his chest and he leaned closer to the reporter, his eyes going blood red. Molly saw the signs of impending Rage and tugged at his arm.
“Torus, come on—please. He’s not worth it!” she begged. “We need to go—now.”
At first it was like pulling on a massive tree—you can yank all you want but it’s not going to move. But finally she felt the steel of Torus’s arm turn back to flesh and he finally let her pull him away from the impending confrontation.
The “reporter” kept shouting questions at her but Molly ignored him as Torus boosted her into the passenger side and then came around to get into the pilot’s seat himself. As he strapped himself in, he looked more angry than she had ever seen him.
“That—” he said and followed with a low, guttural curse in another language that her Translation Bacteria couldn’t translate. Maybe it was the Jorgen Kindred mother tongue, she thought. But even though she knew his anger wasn’t directed at her, Molly couldn’t help feeling anxiety.
“I’m really, really sorry about that,” she said quickly as he started the ship. “About what that guy did, I mean.”
Torus frowned.
“Why are you apologizing? That human male being rude and intrusive wasn’t your fault.”
“I know, I just…” Molly shrugged helplessly. “I guess I feel like it is my fault. If my ex hadn’t sent you that video and you hadn’t gotten so mad on my behalf?—”
Torus gave her a serious look.
“Listen, sweetheart—your ex-Mate sending me that video was the only good thing he ever did, as far as I’m concerned. Not because of the pain it caused you, but because it brought us together.” He cupped her cheek in one big, warm hand and looked at her searchingly. “I’m so sorry for the pain he put you through, though. If you ever want to talk to me about it…”
He left the sentence hanging and Molly felt like her stomach had suddenly filled with ice cubes.
“No, that’s okay,” she said, trying to keep her voice light. “There’s nothing to talk about other than the fact that he was an asshole.”
“Well…all right.” Torus nodded and went back to the process of getting the ship ready for lift-off. “Just know that I’m here if you want to talk,” he rumbled.
Molly nodded but inside her stomach was churning. The idea of telling Torus everything that Zach had done to her—of letting herself really remember it, was more than she could stand right now—maybe more than she would ever be able to stand.
I’m not going to think about it now, she told herself. I don’t have to—it’s in the past. I don’t care about Zach anymore—he’s gone, I don’t have to deal with him.
Except she would have to deal with him—very soon. The last message they’d gotten from Councilor Paige had said that the case was moving quickly because it was so high profile. It might not be long before she and Torus were both called on to testify. And what if Zach’s lawyer asked her the same awful, intrusive questions the “reporter” guy had asked? What if he demanded to know if Zach had raped her? What if?—
“Hey, sweetheart.” Torus put a hand on her thigh and squeezed gently. “I can feel your fear and anxiety,” he told her. “Please don’t worry—whatever happens, we’ll get through it together.”
“Really?” Molly asked in a small voice.
“Really.” He squeezed her leg again, reassuringly. “I’m not going to leave your side—I promise.”
“Thank you.” Molly felt a little bit better. The ice cubes in her stomach seemed to melt and she smiled back at the big Kindred. “Come on—let’s go back to the bungalow. I’ve had enough of being out in public for today.”
“I have too.” He nodded. “Let’s have a quiet Last Meal and cuddle on the couch. We can watch one of your ‘com-rom’ movies so I can learn more about Earth culture.”
Molly smiled.
“That’s ‘rom-com’ as in romantic comedy and it sounds perfect.”
“Good—then let’s go,” he rumbled and the ship lifted off.
Molly watched as the ground receded, eager to get back to their little love nest on the beach.
She had no idea that this was the last quiet evening they would spend together in the bungalow…the last real night of their honeymoon and she certainly had no idea what would happen to end it.