Misfortune

Chapter 41

I turn around in his arms as I look up at him, cupping his face," Where have you been?"

He kept quiet only staring down at me as I caressed his face, inspecting to see if he was hurt.

"I was worried sick."

My hands travel down along his thick shoulders, to his chest, until they pressed against something wet.

His hands slipped from my waist as I took a step back in horror. James was soaked from the chest down in damped crimson blood. His clothes stuck on to him like they were covered in honey. His arms and neck had small scratch marks on them but not deep enough to leave a scar but small enough to bleed from. Both his knuckles were bruised red. His whole demeanor seemed as if he'd just been shot multiple times in the chest but that couldn't be. It couldn't be because he wasn't limp or breathing abnormally. In contrast to being injured he stood up tall without a single pained expression and even climbed through a window on the second floor somehow. At this point it was clear that this blood wasn't from him. The sight almost made me gag.

He watches me with a strange expression.

'So he did kill those girls. '

I let out a shaky breath as I take his hand into mine and move him away from the window. He follows me obediently without a word. I open the room door and peek my head out to see whether or not Angus was still up, but the house is quiet. With that I quickly walk to the bathroom and wait for James to step inside before closing the door.

He stays behind me as I crouch down to turn on the faucet. I reach my hand out into the water until I can feel a warm temperature.

"Let's get you cleaned up. We can talk about what happened later," I say while closing the tub's drain. I take the bottle of soap off the ledge of the tub and pour it into the water, creating a fluffy bubble bath.

"I don't want to talk about it," he finally says something, making me turn my head back, but then quickly look away as he pulls off his shirt.

"Um, okay. That's er...... let's just wash up for now then," I sway my hand in the water as it fills the tub. Once it's full, I pull the curtains up and tie them into a knot.

I take in a deep breath and focus my eyes on his as I turn around.

He looks down at me with calm eyes. Some parts of his short dirt blonde hair had dried blood stains in it. I step aside for him to step into the tub. He slowly gets in the tub and groans," Its almost boiling."

I cast my eyes away from him as his naked figure sits in the tub.

"Sorry."

"It's fine."

The bubbles of the tub start to cover his body making the water turn red. I pick up his bloody clothes from the ground and drop them down the laundry chute on the wall.

"Are you not joining me?" He asks before I start to leave the room.

I give him an uneven smile as I say," I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"You won't," He uses both hands to carry some water as he brushes it through his hair.

I lick over my swollen lower lip and stride towards the tub. He looks up at me with a smile in his eyes as he uses his index finger instructing for me to come into the water.

The only person I've ever taken a bath with is my Ex-girlfriend. But even then, I didn't enjoy it at all. I hate sharing a small space with others, it honestly makes me uncomfortable. I want to decline his offer but then again, I don't want to upset him.

Looking at how big of a man James is, I'm not even sure that I could fit inside the small tub.

"How?" I ask.

A look of understanding comes over his face. With a groan he sits up properly and let's open a space in the tub as he spreads his legs.

I itch the back of my neck before I start to take off my sweatshirt.

He watches me with amusement.

"Turn around," I say underneath my breath but loud enough for him to hear.

"Why? Your slender waist and long legs isn't something you should be ashamed of."

I stop myself from fully pulling off the shirt as I say," Just turn your head or something."

He playfully rolls his eyes before obeying my command.

Once I see that he's not staring or peeking, I pull off my heavy sweatshirt and start to undo my pants and under garments. I shift around as I cross my arms in attempt to hide away my frail body.

"Okay," I say in a low voice.

He turns his head quickly; his dark eyes look me up and down as if sizing me up. I caress my arm as I advert my gaze elsewhere.

"You're so petite."

My cheeks grow warm as I look back down at him.

'Is that supposed to be a compliment? I'm a man. '

He slowly brings his hand out the water and reaches out for mine. I grab his hand as he helps me to get in the tub.

Once I'm in, I sit down facing the faucet with my back pressed against his chest.

"This is hot," I say, finally realizing as I adjust to the temperature.

I try to not gag at the fact that I'm in a tub full of blood from my boyfriend's victims by making castles out of the fluffy bubbles around us.

"Relax some," he pulls my waist closer to him. I rest my head on his chest in attempt to 'relax some'.

I fiddle with my fingers underneath the water as I say," About what you were saying the other night."

"It's fine if you're second guessing our relationship now, I did a little self-reflecting today, so I understand," His arms wrap around my waist, hugging me tightly.

I stroke his arm gently saying," I'm sorry about all that, really. Though you have a lot of flaws, I know I'm no better. We'll just have to work through our differences."

James suddenly turns me around with one hand. He keeps his hand on my back as I sit up on his lap, some water splashes out the tub from the sudden movement.

I place my hands on his shoulders as he pulls me into his arms, the grip around my waist tightens. I sit up on his thighs with my legs spread on his sides.

My fingers gently caress his back as I melt into the hug,' God I missed this. '

"I'll do whatever it takes to be the man you love," he whispers into my ear. My heart clenches from his words," You already are."