Ranger [ON HOLD]

Chapter Six - Book Logic

I promised myself to never allow the torment of a sponge bath to happen again.

Ever.

I had been guided to my bed, and settled back under the sheets once my embarrassment was over. I was far more comfortable, and far warmer with the clothing Ranger had brought me. And while I was still somewhat embarrassed he had managed to find underwear (plain, thank goodness) in my size, I was grateful that he had even thought of it.

The nurse left as soon as I was settled. I had been given firm instructions for sleep, but I found myself unable to even attempt it at the moment. No matter how my muscles begged for it. I wasn't sure if it was the uncomfortable feeling of my hair bunching around my shoulders or the feeling of Ranger's eyes on my face.

With a small thought in mind, I began to shuffle through the bag Ranger had brought in, trying to ignore his gaze. To my joy I found a small comb at the bottom.

I sat up the best I could and carefully brought my hair into a knot ponytail with my hand. Roughly and quickly I began to take the tangles by force with the flimsy little comb, wincing as the bruises on my skull only made it worse. Eventually however, I let out a huff and my arm dropped back to my side. It certainly hadn't taken much to make me feel exhausted.

My grip on the comb reflexively tightened as it began to slide out of my hand, and I looked up only to jump back a fraction.

Ranger's amused expression, his face, was only a few inches away from my own. The closest I had been to any male in general. I hadn't even noticed him stand, but it didn't surprise me. He was a Hunter. And Hunters generally had trouble trying to make noise.

He slid the comb out of my hand, his free hand lifting up to carefully separate a fraction of my hair from the rest. When he brought the comb back to my hair I nearly flinched, squeezing my eyes shut as I prepared for the pain. It always hurt more when someone else did it.

And I waited...

And waited...

My eyes opened, glancing up at him to see his calm eyes watching his work. I couldn't feel a thing. Only the soft shift as he held my hair. It was practically impossible. The book had never stated he had any experience with caring for long hair.

Were the ridiculous laws of books actually real here? A guy being able to gently brush a girls hair, without any pain on her part, was purely fictional. Of course that didn't stop me from wondering.

"How can you-"

"Its not that hard." He replied shortly, moving small portions of my hair over my shoulder. I was surprised to see them wavy, and not in the wild curly state. 

And I could have sworn I heard him mutter something about it being similar to untangling nets for gremlins.

It was also with a numb sort of realization that I noticed another peculiar piece of book logic. My eyesight, which had been fuzzy at best, had somehow managed to obtain a strange high definition. My glasses, which I knew had been lost in the waves, no longer seemed as necessary as they once had been.

And I couldn't complain in the least.

He continued, making his way slowly through the tangles until once again my long mahogany hair lay over my shoulders, creating a damp curtain of hair that tickled my thighs from my seated position. The soft but frequent curls were starting to form again. Ranger had given his nod of approval before setting the brush back into the white bag, and taking his seat again.

"Thank you... but are you planning to sit there the whole night?" I frowned.

"You fell from the sky Ella." He shook his head slowly as I tried to ignore a sudden rush that ran through my bones at the sound of my name on his lips. My heart picked up once more.