The House

Chapter 50 - Day 6: Visitors

"That would've been wonderful," I sigh, watching him take my hands and lift them to inspect my scraped fingertips. All-in-all, they do not look too bad, and only one or two of the injuries hurt. "I would be in heaven if I went into the solarium and found that I've made enough suitable paintings for my evaluation."

"Though being here with you like this feels pretty close to heaven," David says, squeezing my hands. "I don't think we're quite there yet, because I'm ravenous, and hungry is a very earthly state to be in, as far as I know."

We sit quietly for a while, gazing into each other's eyes and listening to the silence around us. Somewhere outside, I can hear birds chirping, but other than that, all is quiet and at peace. Looking at the play of light on David's messy hair, it suddenly hits me.

"It's not raining!"

A slow smile spreads on David's face, his eyes growing mischievous. "Bummer, if it were raining, we'd have an excuse to stay right where we are now all day."

I giggle breathlessly, slipping my fingers from his hand, sliding off the bed, and getting to my feet. "I need to take a bath," I mutter nervously, hurrying to the bedroom door, where I stop, staring at the slab of carved wood as if I'm expecting it to bite me. I don't expect that, but I don't know what lurks on the other side. There might very well be something there that could bite... or stab... or drag. The sense of well-being my thoughts and feelings were lounging in is starting to flow away now, leaving me frightened.

I jump slightly when David suddenly squeezes my shoulders. I didn't even see or hear him leave the bed. I've noticed before that the man moves gracefully and quietly, like a panther. Unlike me, he's not constantly slamming his shins into furniture, walking into walls or falling over his own feet. I'm grateful when he passes me and opens the door to take a look outside.

"Nothing strange out here," he says after a few seconds and steps into the hallway. "I need a shower too. I'll guard the bathroom door while you bathe and make sure you're okay and take a shower when you're done."

His compassion and consideration warm my heart, but if he feels even remotely as grubby and stiff as I do, I definitely don't want him standing out in the hallway until I'm refreshed. That doesn't seem fair to me, no matter how frightening I find the idea of being separated from him.

"No, let's just not close the bathroom doors, so we can hear each other if something happens," I suggest, and David thinks it over, his eyes running over the closed doors in our short hallway, the stairs up to the solarium and the landing leading to the stairs down to the foyer. The path that still gives me chills when I see it, causing memories of being dragged to rush into my mind.

"Okay, that could work," he finally agrees, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorpost while I grab some clean clothes. Realising he does not want to leave me alone makes me happy and less afraid. I've never met someone who makes me feel as safe and cared for as David. Not even Craig. Definitely not... uhm... whatsisface... that guy I dated. I'm not even going to try to remember his name now. He has become a very vague, unimportant memory from another life.

I'm aware of something else too. David doesn't have much to wear, and with the bad weather we've been having, doing laundry is not an option. The sun might be shining weakly now, but for how long? I gather all the track pants, t-shirts and snuggly hoodies I borrowed from Craig and put them in piles on my bed. I didn't realise there were so many of them! I'm feeling a little guilty now, wondering if my poor cousin has been walking around naked since I left home.

"You can use these," I tell David, indicating the clothes I've sorted on my bed. He grins in amusement and gratitude when he sees the stacks I offer him. "What?" I shrug. "These are my favourite lounge-around-the-house clothes... I forgot that they would fit you... because they're Craig's..."