Dead Dreams

Nine

I coughed, pretending to clear my throat in an attempt to distract from his words. I knew I was failing miserably, but I wasn't brave enough to address what he had said. I looked for anything to talk about in order to change the subject, and unconsciously my hands fiddled with fabric.

"A-anyway, thank you for the clothes."

He looks surprised for a second, processing the change of subject. Then he smiles, letting me know I had succeeded in my distraction.

"Of course! It was really the least I could do."

Everything is quiet for a moment, and we are left with an awkward silence. At least it feels that way to me. Iris on the other hand seemed like he didn't even know the definition of the word. He just sat there pleasantly, and if it was possible, I think beams of light would be coming off of him. It is like that for a minute. Then, his expression changes, just a tiny bit. His face gets just a little bit more tinted, going from its usual fair tone to pink, and the more he sits there, the more pink it gets.

He starts out quietly. "Are you sure that...e-everything is to your liking?"

I became very confused. Without looking down, I can tell that my clothes are a T-shirt and long, soft pants. That's fine, right? "Yes...why?"

His eyes are all over the place, and it seems like he isn't able to look at me for more than a few seconds at a time. "W-well you know..." he draws out his words, seemingly on purpose. His face is bright red. "I did...leave it up to you as to whether or not you would...choose to wear your previous...undergarments but it seems you opted to wear what I have provided instead..."

I listen to him, each word he manages to utter out only adding to my horror. Once he is done, I finally feel it. The second waist band around my hips, spanning down half my thighs. The fitness of the fabric hardly made up for the entire lack of anything on my chest. The only underwear I had on was a pair of boxers. His boxers.

I am up from the table in less than two seconds, the chair I had been sitting on now toppled down to the floor. I rush past Iris, who is now just as panicked as I am, telling me something that I don't hear. I am in my room with the door locked faster than I have ever run to any room I called mine. Slowly backing away from the door, I fall back into the bed, feeling the shame and embarrassment from what had happened sink me down.

I then hear a somewhat frantic knocking at the door, hearing the culprit shortly after.

"Ruth? I am so sorry. I tried telling you earlier that I didn't have...your kinds of undergarments...but you seemed distracted. I thought I would leave it up to you to choose what you wanted to wear. If you didn't want to, you really didn't have to wear them! I truly am so sorry..."

I listen to his explanation, letting his words sink in. I realize one thing as he talks. I am not angry at him. He seems genuinely upset over what happened, and I know deep down that he only wanted what was best. At the same time, I am still embarrassed. I sit up on my bed and muster up all the courage I can. I am not sure how long it takes, but by the time I am ready, I'm sure that there is no one behind my door anymore. Even so, I speak.

"Are they used?"

I wait a minute, then two, then three, and by then I am very positive that he had already gone. But then...

"Pardon?" The voice was quiet, but still eligible. He had waited.

"Are...they...used?" I emphasize every word, making them loud enough for the idiot behind the door to understand. Even though I wasn't mad, I still thought he was stupid. Or a pervert. Or both.

"Wh-Of course not! I would have you know that I got them brand new out of the pack!" He sounds exasperated, as if I had accused him of high treason.

I sit there in silence for a moment. He cleared himself of any crime, and again, I was not truly angry with him about this situation at any point. Just by judging from his reactions, he did not do this on purpose. Despite telling myself that, my body never made its way out of the bed. I was too flustered to face him right now, especially after how I had acted. I take several deep breaths to calm myself down, and then I take several more breaths. Still nothing happens. I am left with a silence that lasts much longer than the last.