The bubbles float high against my chest, the scent of lavender soap warm and comforting as I sink deeper into the tub and rest my head against the smooth porcelain edge covered by a pink fluffy towel.
For the first time since that anonymous text message lit up my phone, my body begins to relax.
My thoughts grow foggy.
Everything feels heavy, and sleep presses gently at the edges of my mind, and I let my eyes drift closed, letting the heat cradle me for a few quiet seconds.
That’s when there is a quick knock, and after a few beats the bathroom door opens just enough for Sebastian to slip inside.
My eyelids lift slowly, my brain still moving through that strange in-between space of being asleep and awake. Everything feels a little unreal right now.
Sebastian steps back into the room. He’s wearing a navy blue hoodie with the hood pulled loosely over his head. The word Knights stretches boldly across the front of his chest, the thick fabric making his already broad shoulders look even wider than before.
Little tufts of his dark hair curl out from beneath the hood at his forehead, slightly damp from the rain outside. I wonder where he went, and for a moment I’m distracted by how good he looks standing there in the doorway.
Then I notice what he’s carrying. In one hand, he’s balancing a plate stacked with grilled cheese sandwiches. My absolute favorite. I haven’t had one in so long, and I swear my stomach growls just from seeing them. Tucked carefully beneath his arm…no…he didn’t.
My eyes widen so quickly it almost hurts.
“Where did you find that?” The question bursts out of me before I can stop it, and it definitely sounds more like an accusation.
I sit up so abruptly that the water sloshes against the sides of the tub, bubbles sliding down my chest as I stare at the glass bottle in his hand like it might disappear if I blink.
Root beer.
Not just any root beer.
The exact brand I grew up drinking back home.
The dark glass bottle glistens beneath the bathroom lights, condensation forming along the sides in slow, perfect droplets that tell me it’s been sitting in ice.
Cold.
Exactly the way I used to love it when I was little.
The movement I made to sit up sends another small wave across the water, and suddenly a horrifying realization crashes over me.
I’m naked.
Completely naked.
A sharp gasp escapes my mouth as I scramble to fold my arms over my chest, instinctively trying to cover myself even though the bubbles already hide most of me.
My mind spins for a second.
All these years trying to protect yourself.
All these years never trusting anyone.
And here you are willingly sitting naked in front of someone who admits to stalking you.
The thought should terrify me, but it really doesn’t, which might be even more alarming.
Sebastian clears his throat softly.
The sound pulls my attention back to him just as he sets the plate of grilled cheese carefully on the bathroom counter, followed by the bottle of root beer. The cold glass makes a quiet clink against the marble surface as he places it down.
My eyes drift back to the bottle again.
