Page 27 of The Hangman's Rope

Madisyn: LOL k, fair. First measurement…

I got a diagram and everything, which was pretty handy, along with a detailed explanation.

Once satisfied I could do it, I called Lorelai over.

“Hey Sweetpea, c’mere a minute, would you?”

She unfolded herself elegantly from the corner of the couch she liked to occupy and practically floated across the area rug on the living room floor.

“What’s all this?” she asked, looking apprehensive.

“I got one of my friend’s girl’s and her friend on the line and they’re trying to help me take your measurements so we can get your sizes and find you some clothes of your own.

“Oh.” She looked relieved.

“Can I touch you?” I asked.

She looked surprised that I would ask and then stepped a little nearer and gave me a nod of consent.

I took her gently by the shoulders and moved her so she was squared up with me and dropping my hands quickly told her what I was going to do before I did it. No surprises and no quick movements.

She seemed to relax a little more knowing what was about to happen and that was good.

There was a lot of awkwardness and giggling throughout the process, but overall, I’d say it was good.

I measured for everything, one measurement at a time, carefully marking everything down on the rope with pens and tape and sending the code to the girls on the other end of the chat for each one.

Bust: blue, under bust: red, waist: green, hips: black, and so on. I had to get into the tape to make the rest of them happen. We even measured her foot which was a little trickier but not too bad. I’d never really known there was a way to measure a foot without one of those metal things – but Valory knew her stuff.

Madisyn: Bring it by the manse tomorrow. Valory is staying here, and we’ll go out shopping tomorrow and bring it by your place by tomorrow afternoon. She have any particular tastes?

Me: Whatever is probably fine and I don’t think even she knows. She’s back into her weird Jane Austen flick and I don’t want to pester her. She’s supposed to be resting and getting it back together.

Madisyn: Copy that.

I snorted a laugh; she’d been hanging around us dudes too long.

Me: Thanks, Mads. And Valory.

Madisyn: It’s shopping. For fashion. It’s a real hardship, let us tell you.

I suppressed a laugh and bid the girls a good night, my hands still tingling with the feel of the rope sliding through my fingers and against my palm.

I heaved a silent sigh and went and sat back down.

“Have some stuff for you to wear by tomorrow afternoon,” I said and she stared at me for a long moment, her mouth opening and closing as though there were so many questions, she had tumbling around in her shaken-up brain.

“Thank you,” she said finally and I gave a nod.

I got surprisingly caught up in the rest of her movie and by the time the credits rolled and I looked back over to her, she was curled up and fast asleep on the couch, her hands tucked under her cheek like an angel. Her expression in sleep was a sad one, the toll of her experiences over the last day or two, coupled with the trauma her body and mind held despite her inability to readily remember was apparent.

I kicked back in my recliner and watched her, at some point, drifting off myself.

Could I have gone to bed and let her sleep on the couch? Probably. Seemed like a dick thing to do, though – despite how my shoulders ached and my back protested whenever I fell asleep in my chair.

The quiet enveloped us as the night grew deeper, and it was split asunder by her sharp scream as she came awake, thrashing, and practically climbing the wall in the corner, skittering up the back of the couch as though trying to escape some horror.

She got with it pretty quickly, and her silvery eyes locked on mine holding my gaze as they welled up with crystalline tears and she clapped both shaking hands over her mouth as she burst into sobs.

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