𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 | mitch rapp

16. 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
know your place.

Angeline moved back into the bathroom once she had calmed down, changing into a pair of cotton shorts and an oversized shirt. She perched herself up on the countertop and used a wet flannel to get rid of the dried blood around her ankles. Her hands still shook slightly, but as she watched the blood disappear from her soft skin, she wondered why it had freaked her out so badly in the first place.

A quick knock came to the door, despite the fact that it was open. Mitch appeared exhausted, not through his stance, but through the slight bags beneath his hazel eyes. Suddenly he looked like he was at least thirty rather than in his early twenties.

"Are you nearly done? I need to use the shower," Mitch said.

The brunette gave a small nod as she finished wringing out the flannel. "Um... Is there like a laundry basket or something I can put this in?"

Mitch shrugged. "Just leave it in the sink. Someone will deal with it when we leave in the morning."

Angeline didn't say anything but did as she was told, leaving the flannel in the sink and heading back out into the main room. Mitch shut the door behind her and seconds later she heard the water get flicked on. She shuffled over to the double bed that they were apparently going to be sharing and cringed as it creaked beneath her, a metal spring sticking out of the mattress at the bottom.

She sat there for a few minutes, her back up against the wooden headboard and her feet curled up to her chest as she thought about everything that had happened in the past day or so. She couldn't help thinking about it all, no matter how much she desperately wanted to block it all out. Angeline wondered where the safe house was going to be, and who she would be staying with when she got there. Most importantly, she wondered how long she'd have to be there.

She forced her mind to drift from the situation, her eyes training on the window. Amora moved over and shifted the blinds that Mitch had shut within the first minute of entering the hotel room, peering out of them. It was just the car park down below, as well as the main road that they had peeled off of. Cars zoomed down it every now and then, and Angeline envied the fact that those people were probably going home.

The teenage girl turned away from the window, listening to the shower. Her heart skipped a beat when an intrusive image of Mitch stood beneath the water then filled her brain, and she quickly shook her head, fighting off a small smile and forcing herself to focus on... her nails.

It only took a second to get bored with their cranberry colour before her mind drifted to that place once more. Her cheeks heated up and she sat back down on the bed, trying to block out the sound. When she heard the squeaking click of the water being shut off, followed by the curtain swiftly being pulled open, Angeline grabbed a book out of her bag. She'd managed to grab it alongside the photograph of her friends before she left.

Angeline feigned reading it when the door slid open and Mitch appeared in nothing but joggers. She inwardly groaned, the water droplets cascading down his broad shoulders and his back doing nothing to stop her imagination from running wild. She wasn't sure why she was suddenly thinking of him far more sexually than usual, but at least it put a stop to the thoughts of her family and the things that had happened.

Mitch rubbed the towel across his hair, scrunching it dry and then chucking it over the chair sat at the small table in their kitchenette. He acted like Angeline wasn't there, but she was pretty sure he could probably feel her eyes on him as she peered over her book.

"It's upside down," he deadpanned.

"Hm?" Angeline shot him a confused glance.

"Your book. It's upside down," Mitch said.