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I grab a bar of soap which I notice looks brand new with a little dove on it. Callum must have set it out for me as well as a small bottle of shampoo. I begin to wash myself. The water running by my feet to the drain is now a soapy brown causing me to make a face in disgust.
I start to wash in between my legs, my own touch making my body tighten. Tears flood my eyes. I’m rubbing fast and vigorously trying to get myself clean and free of Cole’s fluids and touch. I still don't feel clean enough. I want him off of me! Out of me! I begin to shake and cry.
“Hey! Lana? You okay?” Callum's voice stops my spiral.
“Sorry, yea. I'm fine. Just soap in my eyes,” I lie. I think he knows that was a bullshit excuse too.
I wash my hair next and finish up. Before I'm done, I turn the water a bit hotter and let it run down my body. It hurts so good. I turn the knob to off and open the shower curtain. Callum looks up to me from his seated position on the ground and freezes for a moment. I notice his eyes trail down my wet body then back up.
“Uh. I'm sorry. Here, here’s a towel.” He jumps up looking away and hands me a towel from a rack.
He’s turned away from me again. I take the towel and dry off as much as I can then wrap it around myself before I step out. Callum turns back around when he’s sure I'm covered.
“I'm assuming you got that bar of soap in there for me?”
“Yes. Well, when you asked about a shower I realized we didn't have any soap, at least not any that wouldn't make you smell like me or Cole. So I stepped out to the store real quick. I wasn't sure what you would like, but I saw that soap with a little dove on it and… I don't know, I guess it reminded me of you,” he says while rubbing the back of his neck.
I suppress a smile at that.
“Doves usually represent hope and peace.” Quite unlike the despair and nightmare I've been living in, but I hold back from speaking that part out loud.
“Well, that’s exactly what I want to give you, little dove. I want to give you hope that I will find a solution to this situation, set things right and bring peace to your life again,” he says, staring down at me with his glacial blue eyes.
This time I can't hold back my smile as it slowly grows. He really is giving me hope. I believe him. Maybe I will make it out of here. Maybe my life doesn't end in that basement.
Callum then turns and opens one of the drawers below the bathroom counter and pulls out a bag. It's a plastic bag filled with items. I look in it and see a brush, hair ties, razor, toothbrush, watermelon ChapStick and other toiletries as well as tampons. They're all familiar. They're all my stuff. I look at Callum, not knowing the words to say. Not only did he get Henry for me from my apartment, he got some of my personal items as well.
“Callum. I- I don't know what to say. I know it seems silly but seeing this, having some of my personal things is, I don't know, it’s sort of comforting I guess. It's also incredibly thoughtful. Thank you.”
He suddenly looks more uncomfortable than when he was caught looking at my body a moment ago. He looks away and runs a hand through his dark hair, making it more disheveled than before.
“It’s really no big deal. I'm sorry I didn't think of also taking the soap you usually use when I grabbed this stuff.”
“It's okay. I really love the soap you picked out.”
“You really shouldn’t be thanking me for anything anyway. You wouldn't be here if it weren’t for me, Lana. I'm just trying to do what I can. I did grab one other thing when I was in your apartment though.” He hesitates then reaches into his back pocket and hands me the small packs of pills. My birth control. “I found them on your nightstand, figured you might want to take them.”
That just brought me back to the reality of this situation. I’m being raped every day, sometimes more than once and I’ve missed my pills for weeks. New fear unlocked. I don't know how I hadn't thought about this before. Although Cole doesn't always come inside me, he sometimes likes to finish on my breasts or ass, there's still a very high chance I could get pregnant. The thought is so disturbing.
“Yes. I appreciate you thinking of this.” I say, avoiding eye contact.
“Come on, I'll get you a new shirt.” Callum picks up the chain on the floor, opens the bathroom door and leads me a couple doors down.
I walk into the room after him and notice it's a bedroom. His bedroom. The spacious room features a queen-size bed in the middle against the wall, neatly made with a dark gray comforter. There’s a nightstand off to the right of the bed that has a couple half empty water bottles, a remote and a clock. On the opposite side of the wall facing the bed stands a long bureau with a mirror atop it. Another tall dresser is to the right, topped with a TV, and a closed door adjacent to it. Maybe a closet. Callum stands at the tall bureau rifling through a drawer then pulls out another flannel and tosses it to me. This one is a dark green and gray. I start to unwrap the towel and he turns away once more. I slip on the flannel and button it up. He tosses me something else. Socks. Yes! My feet have been freezing down there. I sit on his bed and ecstatically put them on.
Callum
Lana is sitting on my bed in nothing but my flannel while happily putting on my socks. Her hair is still dripping wet and some strands are sticking to her face. In another world this would be my heaven. I purposely picked my green flannel so it could match her beautiful green eyes. It makes them look even brighter, like fresh summer leaves. I can’t help but let my mind wander for a moment as I picture myself leaning her back against my bed, kissing her forehead then her nose then her puffy lips as I glide my hand up her juicy thigh and…
“Callum?”
“Huh? Yea. What was that?” I shake my head and my inopportune wandering thoughts away.
“I said thank you for the socks. It's been getting pretty cold down there.”
“You really gotta stop thanking me for giving you way less than what you deserve,” I reply.
She doesn't say anything in return and we walk out down the hall passing the living room once more.
