The House

Chapter 50 - Day 6: Visitors

"You sure you didn't pack Craig too?" he chuckles, joining me at the bed to take a t-shirt and pants to change into.

"If I had, we'd be out of food by now," I assure him, and after thinking about it, I add, "and most of your antiques would've been destroyed."

"Thanks a lot, but do you still have things to wear now?" he asks, still amused.

"Yes, I brought almost all my clothes too," I inform him, and when he laughs, I narrow my eyes and slap him on the arm with what, to my horror, turns out to be my bra. "Don't judge, David. I wasn't planning on doing washing while I'm here," I grumble, shoving the underwear into the bundle in my other arm.

Chuckling, David follows me from the bedroom, and when I hesitate at the first bathroom door, he again offers to wait outside the door until I'm done. I'm resolved to be a big strong girl and not a terrified toddler for the duration of one quick bath, and after I assure him that I'll be fine, we part ways.

So far, so good.

Lying in the tub, enjoying the warm water relaxing my muscles, soaking away the tension, I listen to the shower running in the bathroom next door. It is a comforting sound, telling me that David is nearby. How is it that in such a short time, he'd become someone I cannot even imagine being without? I hope that once this is over and we get back to the real world, he'll stay in touch and not disappear from my life.

Will we still feel the same about each other when our lives return to normal? I really hope so. The thought of not seeing David anymore is causing my throat to swell shut with sadness.

I do not want to wash my hair right now. If I do it too often, my hair tends to become oily on top and dry at the ends. Twice a week is more than enough unless something specifically makes it dirty, so I've draped my hair like a curtain over the back of the bathtub to keep it dry while I wash myself.

Sighing blissfully, enjoying the fragrance of the bubble bath, I lie back against the side of the tub, sliding down until my chin touches the soapie foam, relishing the warm embrace and the steam rising mesmerizingly from the surface, drawing pretty pictures in the air around me. Though this feels extremely good, I cannot stay here forever; David will be done with his shower soon, and I don't want him to hang around on the landing waiting for me for too long. I lazily scoop some water onto my face to rinse the facewash I'd applied to it.

With my eyes closed, focused on scrubbing the residue from my skin, I feel the unmistakable sensation of spidery legs crawling over my scalp as something tugs on my hair. It jolts me upright, choking on the water I inhaled in fright, and I anxiously turn to look at the bathroom section behind the foot of the tub. There are myriads of water drops clinging stubbornly to my eyelashes, and I cannot see anything. Impatiently brushing over my eyes with agitated hands to rid them of the water, I try looking again, but the bathroom seems quite empty, except for my presence... 

I did not imagine it! I know what having your hair pulled feels like. Craig loves tugging at the ends of my long tresses whenever he wants my attention, and I'm lost in my drawings. No, I'm not going to freak out. There might be a logical explanation. Perhaps I am just overwrought and nervous. Maybe my hair got snared on a rough part along the edge of the bath, perhaps... 

Something bangs against the side of the tub, the sound echoing dully in the small room, sending vibrations through the water.

Terrified, I turn my head to look in the direction from where the sound came, but the shower curtain hides me from who or whatever might be lurking on that side of the tub. I left the curtains open because I didn't want to be surprised by intruders, and now the one section that is not open is hiding a visitor from me.