Oblivion

Chapter 8

Shit! My head hurts! Was my first thought when I first woke up, my second thought was lost to me when I rolled over and puked up the last of what remained in my stomach onto the floor beside me.

       "Now that wasn't pretty." For a moment I forgot that this was the guy that sewed my foot up, Alister Monroe. He had the smuggest grin on his face and if I could, I would smack it right off him. But the thought of standing only made me feel more nauseous, so I just flipped him off and even that slight movement made bile raise to m y throat.

        "That wasn't very lady-like, Red."

        "I'll show you how "lady-like" I can be." I wheezed trying to force that queasy feeling down.

       "I'd like to see you try, Red."

I wiped my mouth, "Why are you calling me that?"

       "Calling you what?"

     "Red. Why are you calling me, "Red"?"

      "Two reasons actually. One: you never told me your name, even after I told you mine-"

I cut him off, "For good reason!" The bile rose and this time I couldn't keep it down and I puked all over the floor.

Alister kept going, "and two: your hair is very, very red." I rolled  my eyes and instantly regretted that motion, because I didn't have a chance to recover from my last puking session, I hurled all over the floor. Once I was over and done I rolled back over, rubbing my aching head.

        "That's not a very cleaver name."

He shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets, "I wasn't looking for cleverness. I'm just calling you by the name that suits you the most." he came around behind me and grabbed me under my arms and in an instant I was struggling to get away from him.

       "Let go of me!" I wailed trying to reach around to hit him.

       "Hey quite it! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm trying to help you!" He groaned when I hit him where it hurts. I felt his hands let go of me and I was on my feet in a matter of seconds. Alister was on the ground in pain; his face red.

          "If you were trying to help me, why did you grab me?!" I leaned against the wall; my vision was foggy and I had to choke down the puke I felt crawling up my throat. Alister took a deep breath and very slowly and very painstakingly got to his feet.

         "I was trying to help you to the shower, you bitch!" he gasped, his face was red and his eyes burned like fire.

I snorted at him, "Bullshit! You seem to forget that there's barely enough water for people to drink let alone take a shower. There hasn't been that much water in years!" I spat at him.

         "Oh yeah? Go check, prove me wrong." and he pointed to the bathroom behind me. "Go on, I won't even follow you."

I was suspicious, but the seriousness of his voice brought skepticism to my heart and very cautiously I moved to the bathroom. The old white bath tub was rusted from years of salt and not being, was filled to the brim with clear water. I gasped, It's only an illusion from the pain in my foot. When I touch it, it'll go away. My mind rationalized, but when my fingers touched the surface of the water, I was shocked by how cool the water felt. How is this--...? I didn't hesitated, I spun around on my heels and ran back to the living room where Alister was leaning against the wall trying to not show any pain. He looked up when he saw me rush in.

        "How is that possible? How did you get that much water?"

Alister smirked, "My little secret." he said with a shrug.

My eyes narrowed, "Did you steal it?"

        "Who cares? You want a bath go take a bath." he didn't seem to happy by what I had suggested.

         "There could be people dying out there that need the water?" I argued, hands on my hips.

He pushed himself off the wall, "So what? Don't forget, in this world it's a eat or be eaten; you have to take what you want when you want it and not care about others!"

I knew he wasn't wrong, but I didn't need a bath, I wanted one but a bath wasn't going to keep me hydrated. I stood my ground and with confidence I explained my reasoning. Alister groaned, "Alright, fine! I'll go in there and bottle up ALL that water and give it back to people who'll die anyways! Is that what you want me to do?!"

     The notion of him taking the water back to it's rightful owners didn't sound very appealing and suddenly I didn't feel so confident with my reasoning. He seemed to notice that and very somber look washed over his face.

         "What do you want me to do, Red? Do you want to take a bath... or would you like me to bottle it all up and take it back to the people who were too irresponsible to look after it?" I was silent now; I didn't know what I wanted now. I wanted a bath but I didn't need it. 

I jumped when I felt his fingers brushed against my arm, he was close to me now.

         "What do you want to do, Red?" he whispered in my ear; he placed his hands firmly onto my shoulders and he whispered to me again. "You have to tell me what you want to do Red." He said it so faintly I almost missed what he said.

I looked from him, biting my lip, "So they just left the water... sitting alone and unprotected?"

Alister smiled, "Most defiantly."

       I let myself me led from the living room to the bathroom.

         "Would you like me to help you out of your clothes?" Alister whispered again and I whipped around and slammed my fist to his nose and shoved him outside.

         "No way in hell would I let you help me out of my clothes!" I sneered at his as he grabbed his nose in pain before slamming the door in his face.

Asshole.