Chdrtlsy: A Short Story 14 Triggered Trauma

"What time is it, Res?" she mumbled.

"Almost 9am. You have a client in an hour."

"Okay."

He stopped rubbing her neck and kissed her. She kissed him back before getting up.

They got ready and left for the office. She was working on Carol again. Carol made no comment to her about her energy field, but still left with her big hug. Then they went to lunch where again Lottatna binged. Her energy level dropped. Resetarits and Lottatna went home. She went right back to sleep.

For months Lottatna would sleep unless Resetarits woke her for food or for a client. Then he received a phone call from a Jason. He was calling because Resetarits hadn't checked in and Lottatna's next call for a trade was overdue. Resetarits told him of her near continuous sleeping. He agreed to come over to work on her.

The morning Jason was coming, Lottatna woke on her own. She entered the bathroom. Her drawer of flower essence infused leather was in there. The doorbell rang. Resetarits answered the door.

"Please, come in," Resetarits said. "Lottatna is just finis.h.i.+ng up."

"Alright."

Jason sat on the couch while they waited for Lottatna to come out. She stepped out, dressed in her leather outfit, her pants left undone due to the growth of the pouch.

"Are you overworking yourself, Lottatna?" Jason asked.

"I don't think so. Thank you for coming over."

"When I hadn't heard from you for a while, I thought something might have happened so I called."

Lottatna nodded.

"Come lie down. You look like you're about to fall over."

She gave another nod then shuffled over the couch. She lay down and Jason sat on the floor beside her. When he got the permissions he needed, he had Lottatna think about her fatigue; feel her fatigue. Her eyelids fluttered for a while, but didn't close fully. Jason provided quite a bit of support before running through scan lists.

"Body systems… Digestive… Reproductive."

Her eyes closed once more in sleep.

Jason continued his work. He worked for a long time, but not once did Lottatna move. Jason packed up his books when he was finished then sat on the floor and turned to Resetarits.

"What are the six b.u.mps in her abdomen?" he asked.

"Her t.i.ts and where our offspring are attached to receive nourishment."

Jason's expression conveyed surprise.

"The evenness of the pouch means she's carrying six."

"Six children?" He looked at Lottatna again.

Resetarits nodded.

"Tell me everything that's happened since her change," Jason requested, not looking at Resetarits.

He let out a breath. "Over the last few years, Lottatna and I have gotten to know little tidbits about each other."

Jason nodded.

"Well, three months ago, she asked me out to dinner so she could really get to know me. We talked about a few things before my fear of being touched came to the surface. The restaurant was packed and I didn't want anyone to touch me, even accidentally."

"Because your touch used to change people."

Resetarits nodded. "With much reluctance I told this to Lottatna because I didn't want to lose the kindness she showed me. Still, she wanted to be my friend through being aware that—for personal reasons—she wouldn't touch me. But then she was shoved into me by two men running down the street. She lost consciousness while her Human body died and changed to become as I am. Lottatna was very depressed when she woke. In her less coherent state, she mated me. What I didn't know until after our mating was that the change triggered something in her—a memory, an experience—and she wished desperately to kill herself."

Jason covered his mouth as he continued to watch Lottatna. "Which lead you to calling me three months ago."

"Yes. She's had a dream to wear the leather she is wearing. But she infused it with five flower essences—all relating to death—to keep her clients from having to experience the change she had undergone. So far it's been effective. But after a couple days of working on clients, she's been like this. I can wake her enough to go to work. Somehow she's managed to do a little work on herself between clients, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything." Resetarits sighed and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill.

"I take it such behavior is not normal for pregnant women on your planet."

"No. Most…" Resetarits stopped. Lottatna indicated pain and started to move. He hurried to her side. He took her hand in his and set his other hand on her forehead.

Lottatna squirmed and let out screeches and howls of pain.

"Lottatna, can you hear me? …What's going on?"

She kicked her legs. "No! Not that. Don't… Stop!... Nooo!" she wailed.

Her pants were s.h.i.+fting with her tails and she never gripped his hand. Resetarits reached down and unb.u.t.toned her leather pants. Her mating tail shot straight up. Jason s.h.i.+fted and touched her shoulder with a tongue click before she got off the couch, only the one tail out and hurried into the bathroom. Resetarits followed to find her naked and scrubbing her tail raw. He stopped her.

"Lottatna, you need to stop. You're hurting yourself."

"I couldn't stop him," she wailed. "He…. He…. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He pulled her into an embrace. "You're alright. You'll be okay."

She whimpered and cried on his shoulder. He kept hold of her while lightly was.h.i.+ng off her raw tail.

"No one will ever want me now," she cried.

"I still want you."

Lottatna shook her head. "He sprayed his filth all over me. He kept doing it. He wouldn't stop."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't want to carry his child!"

"I understand. Will you let Jason help you some more?"

"Yes," she whimpered.

"Okay. I'll need to spray you down first, alright?"

Lottatna shook her head.

"Then, can I help you put your clothes back on?"

Slowly she nodded.

"Okay." Resetarits lightly kissed her forehead then helped her dress.

They left her pants undone so she could keep her tails out. Then Resetarits walked with her out to where Jason knelt by the couch. Lottatna lay on the couch on her side. Jason touched her shoulder then worked.

Lottatna s.h.i.+vered often. Resetarits grabbed the blanket to cover her, but the s.h.i.+vering never stopped. The tips of her tails curled up behind her shoulders and he lightly pet them, uncurling them and letting them curl again. Jason worked for another few hours before he needed to put her on pause.

"I need to eat, Lottatna, but I'll be right back," he said.

Lottatna nodded and pulled her arms close to her chest.
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"Did you want to make something here?" Resetarits offered.

"No. I shouldn't be more than half an hour."

"Then here." Resetarits handed Jason his key card for the outer door.

Jason took it with a nod then left.

Restarits remained by Lottatna, running his hand through her lengthening hair. He had never seen it long, she always kept it short. Even now with how ragged it looked, she still looked beautiful. Lottatna curled tightly, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. He didn't try to hold her because everything he felt coming from her was to keep everyone at a distance. She didn't feel safe; didn't feel accepted. But he didn't stop running his fingers through her hair. He hoped she felt the love he had for her.

Jason returned true to his word and Resetarits called for him to come in, not daring to leave Lottatna's side. He came in and got back to work. Resetarits got up at one point and blended together a smoothie to see if Lottatna would eat. Kneeling beside her, he caressed her cheek. She turned her head to look at him while Jason provided support at her feet.

"Will you eat?" he asked.

She nodded then accepted the bottle from him.

Jason came back up to test her arm then stack in several works from a scan list. After that nothing he checked gave him the change he was looking for. Lottatna had not yet finished the bottle when Jason asked, "Do your people always feed from bottles, Resetarits?"

"No. We eat like you do, but in times of illness, or exhaustion, the bottle is easiest because of how our throat works."

"You're throat," he said, not quite comprehending.

Resetarits nodded. "Our tongues are fused to the opening of the throat. And bottle nipples fit the tongue opening perfectly."

"Tongue opening?"

He stuck the tip of his tongue out. The little teeth chomped a little but then left the opening clear.

"Well, that's different."

"For you it would be." He continued to brush his fingers through Lottatna's hair.

Lottatna emptied the bottle and he took it away.

"Do you want anymore?"

"Not right now," she replied softly.

"Okay."

Resetarits kissed her forehead then walked away.