The narcotic drug refined from Night Bloom seeds was popularly called Nightz.
Nightz had a strong hallucinogenic and tonic effect, with high dependency and addiction rates capable of breaking a person in a mere three months of regular use. Though it was self-evident that the government severely cracked down on the drug, there were endless loopholes in the system put in place on a frontier planet ruled by dazzling beauty and controlled chaos.
Nightz slipped through the system by changing its name and concentration to thoroughly permeate the lower levels of society.
As a general rule, Night Blooms were only observable in research facilities. The bewitching flower was so strictly withheld from society that Euphemia had only ever seen one specimen stalk in her university’s botanical garden during her college days. She had wanted to see one bloom ever since and jumped at the opportunity to record the flowers’ growth over the past week since they first sprouted buds. She wound up staying the past three days at the laboratory, but it was well worth it because she had at long last observed the Night Blooms flower from beginning to end.
Most of the other researchers on nightshift with her were veterans who were already used to the blooming, even though it only happened once a year. Hence, while they hung out with Euphemia to partake in her excitement, it wasn’t a big event to them, and they headed straight to the institute’s lodging to sleep when the blooming period had ended and the flowers began to wither. But sleep eluded Euphemia who hopped in her car to drive home with her bubbling excitement at the forefront of her mind. Needless to say, she regretted what had happened after that.
I mean, yeah it was stupid, but it was my first time being away from my apartment for three whole days. I just knew Mrs. Mayo wouldn’t keep her mouth shut if I didn’t come back soon, and things were only going to get more complicated if she tattled on me to Erica.
Euphemia normally returned home at a regular time, and the reason for that was her half-sister from a different mother. Her older sister Erica, the mayor of Gothic City, felt a strong sense of obligation toward her younger half-sister and she became incredibly annoying if Euphemia failed to contact her regularly.
Busy even at the best of times, Erica shouldered a heavy responsibility as mayor of one of the most populated cities on the planet, and it was Euphemia’s firm belief that she didn’t have to take on the burden of caring for her younger sister on top of that. But Erica’s favorite saying was, “There’s just us two sisters to look after each other,” and she had taken it to heart by deciding where Euphemia would work upon graduation. She had even objected when Euphemia said she wanted to rent her own place. It had taken persistent, calculated persuasion to change her mind.
“If you feel that strongly about it, fine. You’re an adult now, so I can allow as much as living alone. But you will live in the place of my choosing. That’s my condition.”
There was definitely a part of Euphemia that thought her sister was abusing her authority, but thanks to that, not only was she able to immediately move into a comfortable apartment complex in a safe neighborhood, but whatever actions the mayor had taken had landed her a job with little to no overtime or nightshifts. It wasn’t unusual for workplaces to be considerate of sparing young women who worked in the city outskirts from the danger of late hour shifts, but it was basically guaranteed for Euphemia when the mayor went out of her way to earnestly request it.
Thanks to her sister’s influence, she hadn’t been asked to work overtime once—until three days ago. And even that was more because her desire to observe Night Blooms in all their glory had propelled her to convince her boss, the laboratory director, into reluctantly granting her permission to stay. The lab technicians might’ve been surprised to discover Euphemia missing from the lodging in the morning, if they didn’t just write it off as her leaving early for her day off, but never in their wildest dreams would they think she had fallen victim to assault.
In other words, the only people who knew that Euphemia had been attacked by sicko thugs were her and the man called Zel.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing? It’s hard to say…
She turned a corner and drove into a familiar area.
As to be expected at this hour, the number of people out and about had increased in the district located in the outlying area of Uptown, where many students and researchers lived. Some of the best schools, art galleries, museums, large theaters, and libraries called this district home, too.
But I have to be careful not to disregard the things I need to reflect on. And I need to think about it carefully!
Euphemia squeezed the steering wheel as she reviewed her actions and what she could’ve done better to avoid future mistakes. She arrived in front of her apartment still in introspection, and parked her car in the designated space before rushing up to her room on the third floor.
Euphemia’s apartment was located in a new building, and her unit had two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a separate bathroom.
Best of all, the security was tight. She couldn’t have rented an apartment like this right away under normal circumstances. It frustrated her to no end, but she knew she was blessed, thanks to her older sister. She was also aware of the fact that she wasn’t living as independently as she liked to believe. Euphemia strove to be objectively self-aware.
I just want to rest for now.
She unlocked her front door and was welcomed by the familiar interior, the furniture and knickknacks picked to her taste, the earthy fragrance of the herbs she hung by the window. Just seeing the familiar objects blanketed her in a sudden sense of security, and her exhaustion hit her like a ton of bricks.
Not only had she been pulling all-nighters, but she’d only gotten two hours of sleep in that man’s house. Today was her day off and she didn’t have any engagements, so she planned to take it easy until Mrs. Mayo showed up in the evening. Although Euphemia had urgent matters to think about, such as why she had been attacked and who had hired those men, she knew it was impossible to think straight without revitalizing herself.
This district received an A-class safety rating, guaranteeing its safety. Plus, the man who’d saved her said she should be okay for the time being.
Feeling like she wanted to wash the feel of them off her again, Euphemia went into the bathroom and filled the bathtub with hot water. She was consciously trying not to think about it, but being violated by those men had deeply scarred her, especially with the trauma still so fresh in her mind.
“What the heck…?” Euphemia unintentionally gasped when she stripped off her clothes and stepped into the separate shower to rinse off first.
She hadn’t realized it when she’d borrowed the shower at Zel’s house in the dark, but looking at herself in the bright bathroom lights revealed marks where they had touched her, gruesome marks left behind by their fingers and crushing grip. They had left behind red, blue, and purple bruises that stood out distinctly on her white skin.
“Ugh…” Bile rose up from her stomach. A sudden, intense wave of nausea hit Euphemia.
It was the fear she had subconsciously shoved back because she didn’t want to look weak in front of her mystery man. But the human body was more honest than the mind. The moment her brain’s avoidance response was lifted, the fear and revulsion came flooding back at the same time her nervous tension melted away.
Euphemia crouched on the floor and threw up. The coffee she drank earlier that morning turned into disgusting brown vomit as it spilled onto the shower tile. The hot water immediately washed it away, allowing her to throw up even more without worrying about it. Her body was wracked with the shakes, but she still didn’t care.
Forget it! I won’t fall apart over something like this! I just have to throw it all up!
Hot water continued pouring on top of her head, but her limbs felt abnormally icy.
After throwing up all the contents of her stomach, Euphemia turned off the shower and sluggishly submerged into the bathtub. Hot water filled the tub, but it still took a few minutes before she felt her hands and feet warm up. Euphemia pressed a button and added even more water while triggering the deep clean mode for the sonic scrubbers. She let the hot gush of water and ticklish vibrations run over her.
That reminds me…that man’s hand was warm too.
Euphemia thought of the big hand he had placed on her shoulder. He hadn’t stroked her back or tried to soothe her with a gentle touch, but had softly left it there until the shudders from the verge of being swallowed whole by her fear abated.
If he had rubbed the areas where those pigs touched me, it might have acted like a disinfectant… No, that’s a bad idea.
She jumped out of the hot water as if trying to leave her stupid thoughts behind. Still, there was a piece of her that found some support in that feeling. It helped her get through her second panic attack in peace as strange as the thought was.
It’ll work out…somehow.
Euphemia quickly toweled off and reached out to retrieve her pajamas from the shelf, but she dropped her hand to the ground instead to pick up the black shirt she’d just tossed off. She put it back on; the feeling of being wrapped up in the oversized garment gave her an odd sense of peace.
She bound her hair and crawled into bed, where sleepiness washed over her out of nowhere. Euphemia realized at last just how exhausted she was.
The big shirt draped freely around her body, enveloping her in its dry touch. The freshly washed shirt didn’t have a smell, but she buried her chin in the large neckline for comfort anyway.
“Zel… Zelaide.”
When should I go return this to him…?
In the moments before she fell into the grips of sleep, Euphemia’s thoughts centered on those silver-blue eyes emerging in the darkness as the beacon of light that saved her.