"I have to see her again," said Ben.
"I told you already. You initiated to soon," replied Johnny, running a hand through his golden blonde hair, dark blue eyes closing in annoyance.
While Selene and her friends were having fun at The Bar Who, Ben and Johnny were both in Ben's home office, sitting across from each other at his large, mahogany desk.
Ben had been leaning over the desk with his arms outstretched and hands clasped, but now he raised one arm in a quick upward gesture that meant "Come on, dammit!" His words matched the gesture as he said, "What the hell, man?! I just moved it up by a few months, what's the big deal?"
"The big deal is that it was more than a few months," Johnny responded, while shaking his head.
Ben leaned back in his chair, put one arm up on the arm rest, and laid his chin on his hand. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked to the side, toward the large bookshelves that made up the eastern wall. His office was decorated in an old-fashioned style with dark wood furniture that had curved legs and accents. The couch off to the side by the bookshelves had dark forest green cushions as that was the accent color for the room.
After a few moments, Ben said, "The plan is still in place. We have our people where they need to be. They've been trained. Our companies are strong. With Selene's invention, we'll be stronger. I never expected she'd finish it this fast." His eyes were gleaming with pride and love.
"That's true," said Johnny, "And that does help move things along." Johnny noticed the smile on Ben's face and hoped his friend was making the right choice, because he had been there through the break up and he knew what Ben had suffered. He didn't want his friend to go through that kind of pain again.
Ben turned to Johnny, leaning toward him, and said, "After this, we'll be number one in the nation when it comes to tech. So yah. I'd say that does help move things along." He smiled widely and winked.
"But that also makes the target on our backs that much bigger, that much faster," said Johnny tilting his head forward and giving Ben a knowing look.
"True, true," said Ben. He thought for a moment and continued, "But that's where you and your team come into it, right? Speaking of which, have we heard anything from Maria?"
Johnny looked at his phone and said, "Not yet. But it may be too early. She's probably still having fun with her friends." He looked at Ben to see what reaction that got from him.
Ben only nodded. In his mind, he was remembering the last time he and Selene went out with Peter and Lucy. Johnny interrupted his thoughts and said, "Hey man, you alright there?"
"Yah, just thinking. Ok. Back to Maria." Ben began instructing Johnny with, "From now on I want someone from Alpha group like her assigned to Sapphire daily, but I also want…"
And so the conversation continued until Johnny got a text message from Maria close to 12:45pm.
Ben said, "What did she say?"
"Nothing to report. Sapphire is safe in her house. Miguel from Beta is there now as cover," responded Johnny.
Ben shook his head and said, "Change of plans like discussed, "Two people at all times. I want one from Alpha and one from Delta."
"Delta? Ok, sounds good. I'll let them know now. See you tomorrow," said Johnny as he got up, put his phone to his ear, and walked out of the office.
Ben waved and said, "Good night."
After Johnny left, Ben got up, and headed for his bedroom. He went through his usual night-time routine and then went to bed. As soon as Ben's head hit the pillow, he went right to sleep.
Warning: Sexual abuse referenced below, skip to last paragraph if affected
Later that night, Selene felt like she was trapped in a dark place. She was sitting on the ground with her knees to her chest. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, and she was trying not to cry. But she felt so little in the darkness. She felt like the darkness was going to eat her up and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Suddenly, she saw a light in the shape of a door opening. A hand was coming toward her and there was a man's voice, deep and ugly, saying "Happy birthday, sweetheart. Time for your present."
"No!," screamed Selene, and opened her eyes wide. She was on her back, in her bed, safe in her house, but she didn't move. She lay there for several seconds, afraid to move. Her heart was beating fast, and she was scared. Even though she knew it was just a nightmare, she was still terrified that somehow the man was in the house. Or some other man, as irrational as that may sound. Slowly, she started moving her head to one side, then the other. She was checking to see if there was anybody there. Then she stayed motionless to see if she could hear any noises. Convinced there was no one in the house, she sighed in relief and covered her face with her palms.
After a few seconds, she sat up in bed with her hands in her lap, and her back hunched so she was leaning over her legs. She looked at the hand where the sapphire ring had once been.
Then she looked at the alarm clock, which read 3:13am. Selene groaned and laid back down.
She tried to go back to sleep but instead ended up tossing and turning. Although she didn't want to think about what her nightmare was about, the memories from the past came back one by one--memories that she had tried so hard to push back. She saw an image of that bastard, who she would not allow the dignity to name, her foster "father," and his dirty hands. She shivered and thought to herself, "No, I won't remember him. He doesn't deserve to be in my thoughts. I'll think of something else. What should I think about?" Ben's image creeped into her mind. "No. I won't think about him," she told herself. But it was too late. All she could think about was the embrace from earlier and how safe she felt.
She suddenly sat up, got out of bed, headed straight to where she had left the sapphire ring, and put it on. Then she went back to her bed and laid down. After a big sigh, she said, "There. No more nightmares." Then she rolled over, and after a little while fell back asleep.