Is it weird if I ask him to do it again? He should definitely do that again.No! What is wrong with me?
This man is playing with my sanity. I can’t stomach his intense gaze that waits for me to do something, so I back away and hurry into the bathroom, shouting ‘shower time’ like a lunatic.
Do you have to be so weird, Nevaeh?
A booming laugh interrupts my self-chastising and vibrates through my bones from the other side of the room.
Motherfucking shitballs.If my weirdness means I get to hearthatlaugh again, I’ll be a moron for the rest of my life. Again, what the ever-loving fuck is wrong with me?!
The hypnotizing stranger should not be my main concern. I face away from the door and freeze at the size of the bathroom. So many buttons. I quickly strip out of the rag and hit every button on the panel until I find the one that pours hot water.
Being the uneducated idiot I am, it takes me fifteen minutes to understand the shower settings and the products on the shelf,but it undoubtedly is the best shower of my life. It takes a lot of scrubbing to remove all the dirt and blood from my body, which I was starting to think was a permanent part of me.
After a relaxing shower, I thoroughly clean my teeth with a new brush and repeat the process since it’s been too long.
No amount of brushing helps me tackle the nest on my head. I rubbed my scalp free of decades’ worth of dirt, but now I have tears in my eyes from pulling my hair too hard to reach the part where I can brush the comb from my scalp to the roots in one go.
Putting on the new undergarments Angel gave me, I stare at the top numbly. I can’t wear this. The sleeves are small, and the T-shirt sticks to me like a second skin when I put it on. Most of my scars hide from the view after I pull up the black sweatpants, but the ones on my arms make me fidget.
No one wants to see this shit. The scars are raised and poorly healed. Angel will have questions if I go out like this. I just want to appear somewhat normal for at least a day.
Taking a deep, calming breath, I decide to ask the man for a coverup. That will save both of us from looking at the hideous reminders of my past. My scars are not going to be a topic of conversation today.
My newfound nerves make me swallow thickly. I’ve spat in the face of my tormentor, fully aware of the consequences, but I can’t ask Anxo for a jacket.Pathetic Nevaeh.
Coming out of the bathroom, I find Angel sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for me. His eyes take in how I cover my shoulders and arms with the towel but keep quiet.
“Um… uh, I… could I maybe borrow—just something? It doesn’t have to be clean or anything.” I stumble over my words for the first time in my life. I’m afraid asking something would make Angel react liketheydid.
When I gather enough courage to look at his face instead of the memorizing patterns on his arms, he’s studying me with the same intense look.
Maybe he’s mad. I would be, too, if a stranger asked for clothes, slept on my bed, and constantly asked for things. It was stupid to ask more.
I’m about to say I didn’t mean it when he erases the space between us in two long strides. I don’t think Angel understands the concept of personal space.
I don’t think I mind.Treacherous brain.
“Hands up,” he whispers. I submit without a thought, which is new to me, and raise my arms. I’m still lost in his deep emerald eyes when he pulls down the softest material over my head and guides my hands through it.
I look down at the pale blue hoodie swallowing me. Okay, riddle me this.Howdid he know I was going to ask for a jacket?!
There is only one valid answer.Witchcraft.
The material is so soft and smells exactly like him, a bit of perfume and something else I can’t place.
Side note: I want to be buried in this hoodie when I die.
I’m lost in subtly inhaling deep breaths of his cologne, which overwhelms my senses in the best way when he softly grips my chin with his index finger and thumb to bring my eyes back to him.
Leaning close enough that I can feel his warm breath on my face and his lips a mere breath away from mine, he murmurs, “Ask me whatever you desire, and I’ll give it to you. I don’t want to see an ounce of hesitation next time, okay?”
He is so close that some of his words allow him to brush his lips against mine ever so slightly.
Oh boy, I think I’m going to pass out.
I find myself nodding without protest, which I do a lot with him, and I don’t know why. Angel begrudgingly pulls away, andI have to stop myself from gripping his collar and pulling him back.
Think Nevaeh, what else did you break in your already twisted brain yesterday?
