Alice Avery
"You look like hell."
I looked like I had been attacked by a deadly animal. My clothes were dirty, dried blood on my face, a bruised neck. Not only did I look like hell, I had been dragged through it. Vince, my heavenly father so graciously pointed out.
Once we got back to the warehouse I had found out that Vince had been here the whole time. It pissed me off, not that he wasn't on the run but that I was hardly ever told anything.
"You can clean up in my room." Brooks offered and I headed straight for the stairs with him, tired of even being in the same room as Vince.
Brooks' room was down at the end of the hall. I felt so strange, all of the sudden I was out of my element as I stood in his room. I felt like a small teenager again. Brooks handed me a towel and pointed towards another door, "shower's in there."
I cleared my throat. "I have another man's blood on my clothes."
He chuckled softly, "right." He moved over to what I assumed was hid closet and pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.
"Thank you." I said and took them from his hand before I headed to the bathroom.
I pulled the shower door open and twisted the shower faucet until the hot water exploded from the shower head. I shut the door before I began to undress. I stood in the mirror naked, memorizing every curve, cut, and drop of blood. I noticed things about my physique that I had failed to notice before. I finally stepped in the shower and wet my hair, being careful around the gash on my head. I watched as the blood ran away from my body and swirled down he drain into oblivion. In this moment thinking was beyond me, feeling was out of my range, I didn't know how to do any of it, and I was glad.
I grabbed the bar of soap off the shower rack, not caring that Brooks had used it on his own body. I lathered my body up with the bubbly soap, I was desperate to get clean and rid myself of the reminders of my actions. I don't regret what I did and I would do it again but I'd just rather not remember it.
I ran my fingers through my wet hair and stood underneath the shower head, the water streamed down my face and prevented me from opening my eyes. I stood there wishing I could blanket in the safe warmth forever. The blank canvas I saw when I closed my eyes was insanely comforting.
When opening my eyes I reached for a random hair product and coated my hair with it, it smelled like Brooks. I quickly washed it out and turned the water off, I stepped onto the mat and patted my face dry with a towel. I combed my fingers through my hair before drying off. I put my underwear back on and ditched my bra, I slipped on Brooks' sweats as well as the shirt.
I hung the towel on the door and picked up my clothes and walked back into Brooks' room. The room was empty and despite my appearance I walked down into the main part of the warehouse. Ignoring the heads that turned I went into the kitchen area where the garbage was and I threw out my clothes. No amount of laundry detergent will get them clean in my mind.
"Everything okay?" A voice asked and I turned around to see Brooks in the kitchen entrance.
I could almost laugh. "No, everything is not okay," I answered boringly.
He walked in and grabbed two beers form the fridge. He sat down at a stool at the kitchen table. "Sit," he said and pulled a stool beside him, I listened and sat down. He slide a beer to me and we both cracked them open.
"I feel like this is the last thing I need." I refer to the beer in my hand in a mutter.
"Maybe," Brooks says. "But you want it, you take the things you want."
