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He dropped his arms from around me, and I swayed without him holding me up.
I held on to the wall to steady myself, and Lucius stepped out of the shower. After one last glance in my direction, he padded out of the bathroom, leaving giant puddles in his wake. He closed the door behind him, leaving me alone for the first time in days.
There was no way I was going to take my clothes off. I was unable to lift my arms. I couldn’t bend down. I also had no intention of getting naked with Lucius and Santino in the other room, all that separated us a door. But I was desperate to get clean, so I simply stepped into the shower dressed in my pajamas. The now warm water engulfed me, and I sighed in relief.
Wet bandages stuck uncomfortably to my body. I slowly turned into the spray, ignoring the pain each movement caused as best as I could.
I took the soap and loofah and scrubbed my skin. Soap, rub, rinse, repeat. I emptied half the bottle before stopping and sinking to the ground.
The water continued to pelt down on my tired and bruised body, and I welcomed the pain. Each time it hit a bruise or a cut, I grimaced. I was hugging my knees, forehead resting on them.
What’s next? Will they punish me for jumping off the cliff? Will I keep working as I have been?
But they wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of patching me up only to kill me. If I’d learned one thing during my time here, it was that they weren’t wasteful or stupid. They must still have a plan for me.
“Everleigh?” Lucius called from the other side of the door.
My body had gone stiff, and my head spun when I tried to sit up.
“Can I come in?” he continued, his voice laced with concern. “Do you need help?”
I was too tired to call out to him. Too tired to continue fighting to get up. Maybe if I closed my eyes again, it would all turn out to be a bad dream, and I’d wake up in my bed in San Diego.
The door opened, and footsteps quickly approached. “Santino,necesitamos el doctor,” Lucius shouted to the living room.
The glass door slammed open, and he bent down, ignoring the water drenching him yet again. He lifted me gently off the tiles and held me close. My ribs groaned at the movement; my entire body did.
He sat down on the floor next to the shower and held me on his lap, wrapping a towel over my drenched body. I remained motionless, allowing him to wrap me up like a mummy and hold me.
All I could focus on were his eyes on mine. His beautiful unique eyes with the impossibly long and full lashes and the color a mix of moss and amber I’d never seen before. He brushed the wet hair out of my face. Caught in his gaze, his light touches made me breathless.
The doctor rushed in, breaking the moment. He knelt down next to us, opening his bag.
Lucius sat up. “Bonita, let him look at you.”
After checking me over and determining I was no worse or better off than before, the doctor motioned to my sopping clothes. “We need to get you out of your wet clothes and rewrap your bandages.”
I panicked at the thought of having to take off my clothes in front of him. I shrank back into Lucius, gripping his shirt as tight as I could while shaking my head.
“Please don’t,” I pleaded, my voice shaky from the effort of holding back my tears.
After a hushed conversation with Lucius, the doctor stepped outside the bathroom and closed the door.
“Everleigh. Look at me,” Lucius rasped.
I relaxed my grip on his shirt and met his eyes.
“Your bandages are wet. We need to take them off.” He looked pained as he gently swiped my tears away. “We’ll do this quickly. Santino left dry sweats and a T-shirt for you.” He pointed to a pile of clean clothes on the toilet that I hadn’t noticed until now. “You can barely move and need someone to help you. I’m here now. I promise I’ll keep you safe.”
I took a deep breath in. And out. In. Out. In. Out. I didn’t know why or how, but I trusted him. He had every opportunity to hurt me, but he’d been nothing but gentle.
With one last deep breath, I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded.
I felt the whisper of a kiss on my temple. “Thank you. Now lift your arms.”
I did as I was told, keeping my eyes firmly shut. The bandages loosened, and then he gently dried me off, his movements efficient. I still refused to open my eyes.
Soft fabric skimmed over my head, and he threaded my arms through the openings. Then he pulled the pants up my legs. “All done.”
