Infatuated (hsau)

chapter 82.

She didn't even flinch, which says a lot.

I wish I could read her mind and see what's going on up there, however I don't really need to read her mind to know it's nothing but turmoil. She's probably got a million things going on, and on top of that she'll be telling herself all these cruel things that only causes her to become so lost within her own head.

Shuffling over to the shower, I keep her in front of me until I can feel the water crashing down on my back so that Harlow isn't fully submerged but so that the water is hitting her enough for it to allow the dirt to vanish from her skin.

I run my wet hands through her hair, being extremely careful not to tug too harshly until her long brown locks are completely soaked with the warm water. I gathered it all round behind her back, so her full head of hair was directly in front of me.

Times like these, I really wish I was a hairdresser or something, but it can't be too hard right?

"Trying so hard for you sweetheart," I say quietly, reaching for the shampoo bottle and squeezing some onto my hand. "You're doing so well."

I start to lather the shampoo through her hair and carefully massage it into her scalp. Usually when it comes to me I'm so reckless and wash this stuff out a couple seconds later, but for Harlow I want to do it properly so I'm lathering it into her hair pretending I'm a hairdresser.

Then I step back slightly so that the water is only just hitting the back of her head as I begin to rinse the lather from her hair as gently as I can. She's still standing there lifelessly as I'm doing so but hopefully me washing her clean will help her liven up a little, even if it's not much.

I don't know how else to fix this, I don't know how to make it better and I really am trying so hard.

Worst boyfriend of the year award goes to...yours truly.

Once the shampoo is fully rinsed from her hair I repeat the process with conditioner, however only putting this in the ends of her hair because that's what the back of the bottle says to do and I'm not the best at this.

"Smells like summer," I point out, lifting my hands to my nose to smell the fruity smell of the pink coloured conditioner.

When I rinse it out, I brush through her hair with my fingers so cautiously so I wasn't causing her any pain. Her hair is so soft and so shiny, therefore hopefully that means I've done something right.

"Don't really..." I pause, thinking about how to word this properly, "don't think I'm doing a very good job but erm.., just tell me if it hurts?"

Harlow remained quiet with her back to me and I knew that was as much of an answer I was going to get, so I squeezed the lavender scented body wash I bought after seeing it at her house into my hands. I begin to slowly rub it into her skin and watch it form into small bubbles that cascade down her spine.

Washing her body was a much easier task than washing her hair, I was so gentle going over all her bruises and I don't think I can go too far wrong with that task, so thankfully it was completed without her whining out in pain.

I push her forward slightly, causing her to start using her legs and I shuffle her forward until we're both out the shower and standing on the cold tiles dripping wet. I reach for a towel from the rail and I wrap it round her, tucking it in under her arms and using another towel to squeeze out the water from her hair.

Once that's done I move her over to the toilet and pull down the lid so she can sit there whilst I wash myself. The temperature of the bathroom turned her scarily pale cheeks a light shade of pink however the darkness around her eyes remained and only seemed to turn darker with each second that went by.