Internment

Chapter 35

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Reyna stormed across the grounds of the camp. She didn't know where she was going when she'd climbed the steps out of the cellar, or when she'd slammed the front door of the house behind her - just that she needed as much space between her and Luca as she could find.

What made him think he had the right to talk to her like that - to say what he'd said? His words rang in her ears. "This isn't going to end how you want it to." She grit her teeth. He had no idea what he was talking about. Not in the slightest. She didn't want a future with Phillip - didn't want a life with him, or however the hell he'd phrased it. Right? No. She shook her head. She knew those things were out of reach. Knew that wasn't something she could even entertain the thought of. She wasn't naive. She wasn't stupid. He'd been wrong. Wrong about everything.

Huffing out a frustrated sigh, she looked up to where her feet had been absentmindedly carrying her. She'd made it all the way across the grounds to her old barrack. Pulling open the door, she stepped inside. She walked down the familiar corridor until she reached the door to Liza's room. She needed to clear her head. Needed to talk to someone. Knocking against the wood, she waited. Footsteps sounded on the other side of the door, and the knob turned, clicking open.

"Reyna," Liza greeted her, her cheery smile faltering when she saw the look on her face.

"Are you busy?" She asked, trying, and likely failing, to arrange her face into a more pleasant expression.

"Not at all," Liza replied, moving aside to usher her in. She stepped inside, memories of the last time she'd been here flashing in her mind. Liza had told her that she loved Lieutenant Becker, and that he loved her. Luca didn't seem to have an issue with that relationship. Hypocrite.

"Is everything alright?" Liza's voice pulled her from her thoughts as they sat down together on the sofa.

"I..." She paused, trying to find the right words. "Last night, the Stubaf and I..." She trialed off again, clearing her throat. She could feel her cheeks heating with embarrassment.

"You're kidding?" A smile played across her lips and her eyebrows rose for a beat before furrowing with her next question. "You - you wanted it to happen, right?"

"Yes," She nodded emphatically, desperate to dispel any doubt where Phillip's intentions were concerned. "I did."

"That's wonderful." The smile that had threatened Liza's lips a moment ago was on full display now. "I'm happy for you," She nodded, placing a hand on top of Reyna's.

"Well I'm glad someone is," She said flatly.

"What do you mean?" Her eyebrows furrowed again.

"Luca saw me leaving Phillip's room this morning."

"I see," Liza replied, realization hitting her after a few seconds of silence passed between them. "And what did he have to say?"

"Nothing at first," She shook her head. "He wouldn't talk to me ... I almost wish we'd gone on not speaking."

"That bad, huh?" Liza winced slightly.

Reyna nodded, proceeding to fill her in on everything that had been said between them.

"I just don't understand," She shook her head once she'd finished. "He was so ... awful." She looked back to Liza, who'd been unusually quiet throughout the whole story, a far-off look in her eye as if she knew something Reyna didn't. "I'm just so tired ... tired that, no matter what I do, everyone here has an opinion on it. I can't even walk across the grounds without someone whispering kappo behind my back. Or cutting me a dirty look. Or refusing to look at me entirely because they're afraid of me - afraid of what I might tell Phillip." She sighed. "Everyone here... prisoner - officer... they all think I'm a-," She cut herself off. She'd never admitted to herself what she was about to say. "A whore," She finished the sentence flatly. It was true - not that she was, but that everyone saw her as one. "I just thought Luca would be different ... I thought he was-" She drew in a shaky breath and let it out. "I thought he was my friend."

It's what had cut the deepest. Not that he'd called her naive, and stupid. Not that he'd asked questions she wasn't ready to answer yet. It had been the first thing he'd said to her - had it always been her plan to take him to bed? As if she'd schemed her way into Phillip's bedroom. As if what she'd done had had some kind of ulterior motive behind it. The question had been intended to wound - to hurt her. And it had done just that. After everything she'd endured - everything that had happened to her. He knew. He knew, and he still saw her as everyone else did.

"He is your friend, and he doesn't think that," Liza's hand clasped around her's. She blinked, rousing herself from her thoughts. "He shouldn't've said what he did. But I think it came from a good place." She gave her a small smile. "He has a big heart, and I think he knows you do too. I don't think he was lying when he said he doesn't want to see it get hurt."

Reyna looked away. That wasn't what she wanted to hear right now. She wanted to be angry with him. Wanted to feel something other than the sadness that had welled up in her chest.

Liza squeezed her hand, as if reading her mind. "Be mad. Be furious. Just don't go on that way forever. And for what it's worth," Liza smiled softly. "I'm happy for you. You deserve this."

She smiled at that. "Thank you."

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