Parcae (BWWM) (Book #1 of the Falcone Series)

є ι g н т є є и

B a m b i

"Well we can't just stroll in there uninvited; we have to schedule a meeting. But since this concerns Judah, he'll have to get over it I guess," Trey sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"Yay! Mini road trip!" Judith squealed, pulling my arm and leading me upstairs, Jude in tow. "We need to get you and Judah cleaned up first." She handed me a crop top with tassels to tie in the front, some vans with toes socks, and a pair of high waisted shorts.

"I have my own clothes..." I trailed off, realizing she didn't hear me as she left the room.

"Here's your bag!" she smiled, handing it to me. I started to unload it, taking out all of my equipment and clothes.

"Oh, you have your own clothes. Oh well! You can still wear mine!" she grinned. She was incredibly happy and cheery; I can't believe I was afraid of her not even twenty minutes ago.

She gave me a towel and a washcloth, telling me that I could use her soap and shampoo in the shower in her room. She picked up Jude and took him out of the room, probably bathing him in a different bathroom. I thanked her, grabbing my clothing and making my way to the bathroom.

As I looked in the mirror, I stared at my tired face. My once glowing skin was dirty and wrinkled, the bags under my eyes harboring dark circles. My hair was full of leaves and twigs and looked hella tangled up. My clothes were ripped, shoes covered with smeared mud. My lips were so chapped that I could taste dried blood from the cracks and my skin felt scaly and dry.

"God I look awful," I whispered to myself, stripping down and hopping into the shower. She had some kiwi cucumber melon shampoo that I dumped onto my hair as I began to lather and rinse it. I finger combed my hair (which hurt like a bitch) once I conditioned it, and scrubbed my body down with soap thrice. Satisfied with the slight redness and stinging of my skin (telling me I had scrubbed well), I stepped out and onto a soft plush mat in front of the shower and dried off my body. Wrapping the towel around my head to contain my hair drip, I began to put on the clothes Judith had given me. I looked into the mirror one last time before leaving the bathroom. I went to my hiking bag and grabbed my cocoa butter, rubbing it all over my arms, legs, stomach and feet before exiting Judith's room.

"Wow you clean up nice," I heard someone say as I walked down the stairs. I looked up to see Columbus with that smirk on his face, Trey looking me up and down in approval.

"Judith and Judah are already in the Jeep, let's go," Trey said as he led Columbus and I out of the house. When he started the car, a loud booming noise shook it, causing me to jump. Music poured out of the car's radio, playing a song I didn't recognize.

"What song is this?" I asked, everyone turned around and looked at me, eyes wide.

"You've never heard Back in Black by AC/DC?" Trey asked incredulously.

"No, where I'm from we didn't have much access to the outside world," I said quietly, becoming insecure about my lack of music knowledge.

"That's okay, when the song first came out, they didn't even like it," Judith whispered into my ear, pulling back and smiling at the end. Jude crawled off of her lap and into mine as he fell soundly asleep.

"It's only an hour long drive when you go straight though," Trey spoke as he started to pull out of the house's driveway. He put the car in drive and then drove right through the forest.

"Is this safe?" I asked, my body bumping into Judith and other parts of the car as he drove over the rough terrain.

"Ah I've done this plenty of time, no one's died yet," he said, trying to dismiss anything else I'd say. I looked out of the window at the slightly eroded ground, telling me that this isn't his first time doing this.