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I lathered my hair with the shampoo and scrubbed my body with the blueberry scented body wash. Goodbye, lake scum!
I rinsed the shampoo from my hair and then slathered it with conditioner. If I didn’t use the stuff, my hair knotted into a curly ball that was impossible to tame.
When I got out of the shower and into clean pajamas I felt like a whole new person.
I wiped the condensation from the mirror and gasped at the nasty bruise around my eye. It hadn’t been pretty this morning, but it was even worse now. I hadn’t brought my makeup into the bathroom because I’d forgotten about the bruise. But I knew I had to hide it. Not just for Trace’s sake, but because if Rebecca and Marcus saw it I knew they’d assume that Trace had hit me. Which was so not the case.
I locked the bathroom door, just in case Trace came back, and went to work hiding the bruise. The skin around my eye was extremely tender and I found myself wincing when I applied too much pressure. Only I could fall on the floor and get a black eye from it. That took major skill.
I eyed my reflection carefully, inspecting my face to make sure none of the bruise showed. When I saw that it was completely covered up, I put the foundation bottle back in my make-up bag and zipped it up. I knew it was only a matter of time until Trace learned about the bruise, but I figured the longer I could keep it hidden, the better.
I ventured out of the bedroom, hoping to get a glass of water before I went to bed.
I stopped in the hallway outside a door when I heard Trace singing. I pushed the door open slightly with the tips of my fingers.
I bit my lip to stifle my soft sigh.
Sarah was curled on top of Trace’s chest as he ran his fingers through her soft dark hair. I didn’t know what song he was singing, it wasn’t a lullaby, but it was a slow sweet song. A book lay forgotten to the side.
He cracked his eyes open and spotted me in the doorway. He brought a finger up to his lips in a shushing motion. I stood there for a moment longer, watching him sing to the sleeping girl.
I didn’t want to rifle through Marcus and Rebecca’s things so I was lucky enough to find them in the family room watching TV.
“Hey,” I said quietly and Marcus turned at the sound of my voice. “Do you mind if I grab a bottle of water or something.”
“Help yourself,” Rebecca smiled pleasantly, “you’re our guest.”
“Thank you,” I smiled, backing into the kitchen. I couldn’t believe that Marcus and Rebecca were being so kind to us. I mean, they didn’t know us. I guess they thought we seemed trustworthy. I know Trace had that affect on me. It was the only reason I ended up blabbing to him about my Live List. He was one of those people that upon meeting them, you knew you could trust them with anything and they’d never judge you.
I grabbed two water bottles and padded back to the guestroom. After today’s adventures, I was exhausted and the bed was calling my name.
Trace had stopped singing and I stuck my head inside Sarah’s room to find him asleep. Her small body was curled against his. I hurried to bedroom and came back with my phone, snapping a picture. Seeing Trace interact with Sarah…it was too adorable for words.
I climbed into the bed and fell asleep with a smile on my face. For the first time in a few weeks, I was genuinely happy.
“You made all of this?” I gasped as I stepped into the kitchen and saw the breakfast Rebecca had prepared.
“I don’t normally do all this,” she pointed to all the food prepared. “But I figured you could both benefit from a good home-cooked meal since you’ve been traveling,” she explained.
“Rebecca, you didn’t need to do all of this,” I shook my head. I’m pretty sure she’d made a bit of every breakfast food known to man. “Trace and I were just going to hit the road and get something to eat while we drove. We didn’t want you to go to all this trouble.”
“It wasn’t any trouble at all. I love to cook, but my kids only ever want to eat Pop-Tarts so I don’t get the chance very often,” she said as she flitted around the kitchen, putting food on plates. “Grab one, help yourself,” she smiled.
“Thank you for doing this,” I smiled kindly as I took a plate and glass of orange juice she’d already poured.
“No need to thank me.”
I pulled out a seat at the kitchen table and sat down.
Trace came into the room with Sarah clinging to his back like a monkey, her giggle filling the air.
He’d never come to bed last night and when I woke up, I found him in the same spot he’d been when I went to bed. Sarah didn’t appear to have moved either. It was one of the cutest things I’d ever seen.
“What do you want to eat?” Trace asked her.
She tightened her arms around his neck. “I want that plate,” she pointed to one that had scrambled eggs with cheese on it.
“You got it, princess,” he grabbed that plate and one for himself, carrying them over to the table. He went back for orange juice and finally sat down. Sarah had released his neck, but instead of sitting in her own seat, she sat on his lap.
