Starship Hyperion [Ongoing]

Chapter 9- Retaliation

Luisa stormed out of the room she shared with Zaina and headed for the communal bathroom in the east wing's leisure complex.

It was the size of a public restroom, but lacked the cramped facilities. Instead, in the centre stood a large boxed-in shower that could probably fit four or five people. Tucked in the right corner was a bath, conveniently hidden behind a curtain. A row of toilet cubicles lined the left side of the room, and the sinks were located on the countertop strip at the back of the room.

Luisa walked towards the mirrors and held the swimsuit up to her body. She was around the same height as Zaina, maybe an inch shorter, so had no trouble sliding the fabric over her skin. It was fitted, and although Luisa was taller, her measurements didn't quite match. But it didn't matter; she was feeling confident. And spiteful.

Seth exhaled as he practised bouncing on the diving board, the sound of cheering from below him making him more nervous. Nevertheless a small cocky grin appeared as he stretched his arms up and pressed one palm to the back of his other hand.

"Go on, Seth!"

"Jump!"

They began chanting his name rhythmically, the voices getting louder as they went on. Seth took a deep breath before jumping off the board, diving into the water fifteen metres below. His arms circled mid-jump, landing securely on his thighs just before he hit the water. Applause followed.

"Nice one, Seth," Brandon praised, lounging in a beach chair beside Ramin. They watched as Seth re-emerged from the water, now soaking wet.

He pushed his hair back with a shrug. "Well, you know. Practice,"

Brandon hummed in response, getting up to enter the poolside where Akash and Joy were floating. As he descended the steps he noticed someone walking in.

"Look who decided to join,"

Akash whistled.

"Looking nice, Luisa," Seth mused, walking up the steps towards the deck chairs.

The tips of Akash's hair burned slightly in jealousy. His people were fiery by nature, but Akash was an exception. He was sensitive and kind, but that didn't mean he didn't flare up, and that ignited fire meant he couldn't help the next words blaze out of his mouth.

"Isn't that Zaina's swimsuit?" he asked, his voice slightly uneven.

"Does that matter?" Luisa replied sharply, her tone catching the attention of everyone in the room. Luisa and Akash were a couple who were known to fight. The tension heightened and they knew it wasn't a good impression on Seth.

However, he didn't seem to notice, rather focusing on the clothing that clung to Luisa ruffling in the middle slightly. He stared for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Speaking of that doctor, where is she? I thought she'd be here,"

Luisa snorted. "Well she certainly doesn't want to be,"

Seth's eyes moved from searching the room to Luisa. "What do you mean?"

Her expression changed into one of worry when she realised what she'd said and her mouth opened to backtrack before slamming shut again. No. She wasn't going to defend her. If she wouldn't talk to Seth, then he deserved to know why.

"Zaina is avoiding you. For some reason she's decided she would rather stay in her room all night than socialise, which was something she used to do frequently until you came along,"

Seth's brows furrowed as he processed her words. "She told you this?"

Luisa nodded and watched Seth bite his lip in thought. Physically he was exactly as she'd hoped he'd be without a shirt on, strikingly handsome and muscular. He had tattoos along his right arm and one just above his hip depicting various illustrations. He also had a string of three numbers just under his collarbone.

"You should count yourself lucky. Usually, she doesn't look at a guy twice, but I saw a couple of documents with your name on them in our cabin room. She must really like you because she's taking her work home with her," Luisa said loudly.

Seth's breath hitched, and it only took a split-second for his features to harden. The air shifted again this time it became suffocating. The Governor had warned them that Seth was unpredictable, and with the look on his face there was no telling what he'd do next.

"That's enough, Luisa. You two are supposed to be friends, why the hell are you acting like this?" Brandon interjected, putting a hand between the two of them. droplets of water running down his sculpted torso.

Luisa gave him a bemused look, shrugging her shoulders. "Just telling Seth how Zaina's been spying on him,"

"Seth's a new recruit. She's probably checking over his data, you know how she likes to work overtime. In fact, the word overtime doesn't even exist for Zaina," He chuckled, trying to ease the tension. Luisa glared at him. Like always, Brandon was quick to defend his old friend.

Akash put a hand on her arm that seemed to bring her back to reality. His eyes were pleading.

"Alright then," Brandon said, gesturing for the crowd to disperse. "It's getting late, let's go to bed,"

Seth nodded unsurely as he thought over the situation. He'd seen for himself what a work-a-holic that woman was so he didn't push it. Let her do her digging, she wasn't going to find much.

Apart from everything he was trying to hide.

Shit, he needed to get back.

Luisa gave Seth one last knowing look before grabbing Akash's hand and leading him towards the showers.

Seth had started walking before a wave of nausea hit him and he held the handrail for support. The strenuous activity had suddenly made him feel dizzy. He knew that what Brandon was saying was probably true, but his badly kept secret was making him paranoid.

Everyone left, leaving Seth and Brandon alone in the vast swimming pool.

The doctor began to walk out before abruptly stopping alongside him.

"She's just doing her job. Word of advice, leave her alone," he said sternly before striding out.

If Seth was in his right mind, he would have pinned Brandon's snarky self up against the wall in an instant. Instead, he allowed the man to walk away while he held a hand to his forehead. He shook his head, willing the pain away. He'd successfully avoided a relapse this week thanks to the remainder of the Reed's mystery medicine, but he felt it coming back in waves. He began to sweat.

"What do you think he'll do to Zaina?" Akash asked Luisa as they stripped off their clothing in the bathroom.

"Fuck knows," she replied, ripping the garment from her body like it was on fire.

Luisa noticed him shift uncomfortably on his feet; guilt written all over his sensitive features.

"You don't think he knows she told Wilder about him?"

It hadn't occurred to Luisa that Zaina had been the one to tell on Seth after their conversation in the canteen. It made her feel conflicted; on one hand her sour mood made her feel bitchy towards her for being such a snake, but she also knew that it was the right thing to do and almost feared how Seth would treat her for it. And now she'd made it ten times worse.

-

Things are starting to reach breaking point for Seth, and if he doesn't confess soon he'll find himself in quite a situation. What is he hiding?

Sorry for being gone for a bit, but I'm back! And hey, at least it's a Monday so I'm technically on time. I'll be updating much more often to make up for the days I missed, so keep an eye out x