Chapter 40
Genesis caught sight of the front door as he walked to the kitchen. He fleetingly thought about the unnecessary damage but brushed the thought aside. There was no way he would not react to her screams. He moved to at least close it as best as he could before he headed to the kitchen.
He had been in her kitchen enough times that it did not take him long to locate what he needed. It was only a matter of minutes before he had a steaming cup in hand. When he walked back into the living room, he saw Kristobel sitting on the couch with her knees drawn up and her arms gripping them tightly. In that position, he finally noticed that she was only wearing a t-shirt. Normally, he would have been mesmerized at the sight of her shapely legs, but that was not what made him freeze. His voice was barely above a whisper when he spoke. "Kristobel, what happened!"
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Kris had been huddled on the couch in misery. Her nightmares had finally started to lessen, but the last month had been horrible. With everyone being gone all the time, it was hard for her not to worry, and her worry inevitably led to nightmares. The only difference was that now there were more faces that took the place of her own. The torture and pain were always the same.
She had barely spared a thought that it had been Genesis that had found her. She was still trying to shake off the pain and fear. It wasn't until she heard his worried whisper that the full weight of the situation hit her. She jumped up with widened eyes as she realized he could see as well as she could during the day. She grabbed a pillow and tried to hide her legs, but she knew it was a lost cause as she saw his eyes take in the scars that covered her. There were so many that they crisscrossed across her pale skin. She tried to fight the urge, but she was still so shattered from her dreams that she couldn't keep her tears from falling.
Her voice shook despite her best efforts. "Just go!"
He looked confused for a moment, but he moved to slowly put the cup down on the coffee table before he took a step closer to her. She scrambled away from him and looked around to see if she could get around him. Her frantic gaze was drawn back when he spoke again. "Why do you want me to leave? What is going on?"
Kris couldn't suppress a sob as she pointed to the door. "Just get it over with! You know now, so leave!"
Understanding finally lit in his eyes, and his gaze softened. He ignored her scramble to hide from him and had her in his arms within seconds. She fought his grip, but he could tell she wasn't really trying to get away. He scooped her up once more and sat with her on the couch. Once they were seated, he cupped her chin and turned her tearstained face up to meet his gaze.
"Kristobel, I have no plans to go anywhere." She sobbed again at his reassurances, but he wiped the tears away and kissed her forehead. He pulled her in closer before he spoke again. "Dearest, you have to remember that I am a Soldier. Even with enhanced healing, scars are commonplace. They are a sign that you are a fighter."
She finally stilled in his arms and looked up with a confused expression. "You... you don't find them repulsive?"
Genesis had to curb the urge to curse. It was evident that something horrible had happened. A large part of him wanted to throttle whoever it was that made her feel she had to hide part of herself so completely. His voice was soft when he finally spoke. "Kristobel, you are a beautiful woman, inside and out." He paused and brought up her arm and ran a finger over a scar that lined her forearm before he lightly brushed his lips against it. "These only prove to me that you are even stronger than I first believed."
Kris started crying again, but he could tell it was not because she still doubted him. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "Can you tell me what happened?"
He felt her soften against him. It was several moments before she finally sighed and nodded. "It's both a long and short story."
He chuckled at the slight return of her sense of humor. When she sat back and looked at him, she was smiling slightly, though he could still see the pain in her eyes. "The short story is that I don't really know what happened."
He gave her a confused look and couldn't stop himself from glancing at her arms again. He hadn't been lying when he told her that he found her as beautiful as ever, but there were so many scars that he couldn't understand how she could possibly not know what happened.
Kris sighed again at the look he gave her. She could understand his confusion. She gave herself a mental push and continued. "I know. With the way this looks, you would think I would have to know, right? That is the long part of the story."
He raised a brow. "I have nowhere to be."
Kris laughed lightly at his quip. She wasn't sure how this would go, but the worst part was over, and he hadn't run away. She laid her head on his shoulder, and when he wrapped his arms around her, for the first time, she only felt his warmth and comfort. She took a deep breath before she launched into her tale. "Well, I suppose I should start with the fact that Zack and I are not related by blood."
She felt him still underneath her head but didn't move when he spoke. She was comforted by the way his voice rumbled under her ear. "I had wondered why you are not as alike as I supposed siblings to be, but I am an only child. I have no point of reference."
She glanced up at him with a smile. He always focused on the most unexpected things. She shook her head before she laid it back down and continued. "Zack was twelve when he found me nearly dead outside of the village. He dragged me back to his house, and his family nursed me back to health."
Kris paused at Genesis' sharp intake of breath, but he didn't interrupt, so she continued. "I was mostly unconscious for several days, but when I finally woke, I couldn't remember anything. Nothing about my past or even who I was."
She paused and sat back at that point. Genesis was giving her a worried look as he brushed a strand of hair off her face. He looked like he had questions, but he didn't voice them, so she continued. "The Fairs insisted that I stay with them until I remembered who I was. When it never happened, they ended up adopting me." She smiled at the memory of that day, and the first time Zack had declared her his sister, even before then. She looked up into Genesis' eyes with a smile. "I may not know who I was, but I know who I am now. For anything that matters, I am Kristobel Fair."
Genesis' worried look transformed into a soft smile. An unfamiliar warmth flooded him at the surety he found in her eyes. She might have been concerned about her scars, but in every other aspect, she was confident in who she was. She had never looked more lovely to him than she did at that moment. Before his thoughts caught up to his actions, he leaned down and brushed his lips lightly against hers. It was fleeting, but when he sat back, he could see that she understood the feelings that had motivated it.
Kris smiled up at Genesis. She had never wanted him to know about her disfiguration, or what caused it, but his reaction made that writhing thing inside her settle. Instead, it wrapped warmth around and through her as he smiled back.
His hand had started rubbing soft circles across her back, and Kris was caught between being soothed and feeling like her skin was beginning to burn. It was a moot point when Genesis spoke. "Is that the cause of your nightmares? You said this was not the first one."
She sighed and shook her head. "I don't really know. They usually come when I am worried."
His hand stilled briefly as he realized why she was worried. He knew part of it was probably her brother, but he didn't doubt that part of it was himself. He didn't like that his absence worried her, but he couldn't deny the warm feeling the fact caused. He started moving his hand again as he spoke. "Do you want to talk about it? I have been told that helps."
Kris laughed lightly, but her eyes were disturbed when she looked up. It was several seconds before she finally responded. "I have never told anyone about them. Zack usually helps me handle them when he's here, and I haven't told him either."
Kris could tell that Genesis was about to reassure her that she was not obligated to share, so she spoke up again before he could. "Maybe it would be good to tell someone."
His eyes widened slightly in shock, but he didn't say anything. He doubted it was going to be easy for her to talk about. It took her several more seconds to organize her thoughts. "It always starts the same. I'm tied up and in the dark. There is a feeling of horrible anticipation, but it doesn't last long before a faceless man comes in and starts-" She had to swallow before she could continue. She looked away from his face. "He tortures me. It varies with each nightmare, but it is always horrible."
He pulled her close and whispered into her hair. "You are safe. I will never allow anything like that to happen to you."
Kris reveled in the feeling of his warmth for several seconds before she pushed back and smiled at him. It was fleeting as she continued. "That is bad, but it isn't the worst part."
His eyes widened again, but he allowed her to finish. "At some point, the perspective switches, and it isn't me being tortured. It's transferred to someone I care about, and I'm still bound. I can't stop it. All I can do is beg and scream as the people I love are beaten and bloodied."
Her eyes were haunted as she held his gaze. "Seeing you at someone else's mercy... I can't handle it."
Tears had started falling again. Genesis felt a lurch as the implications of what she just said sank in, but he didn't comment. Instead, he wiped her cheeks again and tucked her under his chin.
He held her there for several minutes before he finally stood with her in his arms. She squealed a little and gave him a confused look. He smirked back at her. "I know that you are probably tired, despite those nightmares. I am personally exhausted, so I felt it prudent that we go to bed."
Kris froze in his arms as his words sank in, but she started squirming to get out of his grip almost immediately. "Genesis, that's not- that's a bad- I can't!"
By that time, they had already made it to her room, and he set her on the bed. He cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes. "You said that Zachary would usually be the one to help you get back to sleep. I would hope that I am at least a suitable substitute."
Kris froze as she tried to process what he was saying. "Just sleeping?"
His smirk softened into a smile. "Just sleeping."
She blinked at him a few times as she realized it came down to whether she trusted him or not, and there was no doubt that she did. She gave him a nod and watched as he took off his coat and gloves. He paused at that point and smirked again. "Give me one moment."
She frowned as he disappeared into the living room again. She heard a couple of bangs, but he was back almost immediately. When she gave him a questioning glance, he looked slightly abashed. "I was a little forceful with your door when I heard you screaming. It is set enough for now. I'll make sure it is fixed tomorrow."
Kris could feel her cheeks heating as she realized he must have broke in. She still managed to nod. Her embarrassment morphed into something entirely different when he divested himself of his shirt and boots before he sat next to her.
Genesis noticed the look Kris was giving him as he sat. He swallowed a sigh. He understood her innocence in regards to their relationship much better now, but that didn't change much. He would have to be more patient than ever. He smiled as he laid her back. He had to admit that the way she blushed made temptation raise its head, but he shoved it down and turned her to face away from him before he settled behind her and nestled against her.
Kris wasn't sure what she was feeling. It was a mixture of embarrassment and unfamiliar fire. When Genesis wrapped his arm around her waist, she stiffened. After several moments she realized that was all he was going to do and allowed herself to relax. Despite everything racing through her mind, it wasn't long until his comforting warmth behind her lulled her back into sleep.