My Love, My Bonded

Chapter Twenty Five

Rey wished goodbyes to the people she had cleaned the cafeteria with as she trekked her way to that lovely shower of hers. Her skin was dirty and disgusting and a combination of other peoples blood was soaked into her white tunic. She tore the clothes off when she entered her room and began to scrub at the blood stains with that little white bowl of water that she let rest on her makeshift desk. She had a small brush she used for cleaning her shoes and supposed that would work for her clothes. Her used bar of soap sat on her nightstand and she rubbed some of it off for her dirty clothes. Her hand then rubbed vigorously against the fabric, straightening it out before taking the brush to it. 

The white foam of the soap overwhelmed the clothes and frothed upon the top. Soon, the color became a light pink as the blood transferred from cloth to water. It motivated her to scrub harder, breaking some of her own skin on her hand in the process.

Rey had entirely forgotten that she was nearly naked until a gust of wind crept beneath the door. Her skin hit the cold air sharply as she stood in only her underwear but her persistent scrubbing of the red splotches was all that consumed her mind. Her own blood came through the water and she felt the sting of the soap.

A familiar buzz entered the room and Rey ignored it, hoping it was a figment of her imagination. As most things were with the man that stood behind her in the freezing room, it was reality.

"Woah," Kylo Ren's voice struck the air. "Do you have a towel or something?"

She sharply turned to him. The rims of her eyes were puffy and her nose was bright red, indicating her tears that she had been trying to hold back but couldn't. Her hands were still in the bowl with her clothes but her head was facing him.

"Go away." Rey retorted as she went back to scrubbing the blood off. The stinging in her hand increased as she squeezed more soap off of her bar. She heard his footsteps approach her but she did not turn.

"Rey, what's going on?" His deep voice demanded. The rising tension in the air was not pleasant and if she wasn't so upset by the events of the day, she might dare say it was sexual. But it was not. It was her anger towards the First Order and then in turn, her anger towards him. Her growing affection for him had traded it's spot for the hatred she held when she first met him. He almost revolted her when she thought of the things he had done.

"I don't want to talk about it, especially not with you of all people." Rey spat out. Her hands sped up and red water started to slosh in the white bowl. The stinging soap cut into her scraps and she winced at the feeling but pressed on. Kylo's pale hand reached out and covered her wet one. His warm hand welcomed her cold one and for a split second, the care for him came back. She quickly thought of Starkiller Base and was brought back down to a crashing halt at the thought of Han Solo's body tumbling over the side of the long bridge. She broke her frigid position and looked up at him through narrow eyes.

"Tell me what's going on." He responded.

"No." She replied. She yanked her hand out of his grip and plunged it back into the red stained water. She began to scrub, the sound of friction filling the room uncomfortably.

"Tell me what's going on." He repeated.

She scoffed as she looked up at him. She found a towel on the desk and dried her hands off while staring at Kylo. The cut stung and she lifted her hand to examine it.

"Ouch," Rey mumbled beneath her breath.

He took her hand and brought it to him. He saw the cut and her stomach flipped as she felt his hot breath hitting her fingers.

"Wait a moment." Kylo instructed. He disappeared from her line of sight and returned seconds later with a bandaid. He carefully unwrapped it and covered the wound with it's white coating. Rey watched silently as he curled her fingers into her palm when he was done. "All better."