Page 56 of Hit and Run
“That’s a good idea. Would you like me to make you some coffee or anything,” he asks.
“Some peppermint green tea, please. There should be a teapot on the stove and in the drawer to the right of the stove is where all the tea is,” I explain to him.
“You got it.” He winks at me and walks into the kitchen. I watch him for a minute before I head into the bathroom to get the bathwater going. While I wait for it to fill up, I head into my closet for some of my own clothes. Maybe Shade will help me burn the ones I came home in. Bra and panties included. I sure as hell don’t want them. They would be a constant reminder of that asshole Scarface.
I take my clothes into the bathroom and set them on the counter. The tub is almost full so I add some lavender-infused Epsom salt to the water. I take a long look at myself in the mirror. I look so different. My hair is disgusting, despite being able to wash it recently. I have dark circles under my eyes and I look like I could put on a few pounds.
I’m eternally grateful for Finn and Lochland. Listening to them talk about saving other trafficked women opened my eyes even more. I think about the girl in the basement again. I hope the Savage Menaces can get information out of Scarface about where they kept me. I would like to go back and save any women or girls that may still be there.
I slip out of these nasty clothes and step into the bathtub, slowly lowering myself into the water. You never realize how much you take for granted until your whole life is snatched away from you. I dip my head under the water, making sure all of my hair gets wet. When I come up for air, I lean back against my bathtub pillow and try to let everything go.
There’s a light knock on the bathroom door and I realize I forgot to close it. I look over and Shade is standing in the doorway with my tea.
“Hi,” he says.
“Hi.”
He walks in and sits on the floor next to the tub.
“I brought you your tea.” He sets the mug on the side of the bath.
“Thank you,” I say with a smile.
“Sketch went out and got us some basic groceries,” he tells me. “I thought I would cook us some breakfast.”
“I would like that,” I reply. He gives me a quick kiss on the lips, then stands to leave.
“Oh, also, I called Wren,” he says. “She’s gonna come by around lunchtime.”
“That’s great. I can’t wait to see her,” I tell him.
“She’s really excited to see you too.” With that, he walks out, leaving me to soak.
After a bit of relaxing, I wash and condition my hair and wash my body. While the water drains, I stand and grab a towel. It feels good to be able to stand without needing someone to steady me. I dry my hair, then the rest of my body, and step out of the bath. Once I’m dressed and brushed my hair out, I head into the kitchen
“Mmm, it smells good in here,” I tell Shade.
“Perfect timing. It’s ready,” he replies. We take our plates to the living room and eat on the couch. I turn on Netflix to the car show Shade likes to watch.
“This is what you wanna watch,” he asks, shocked.
“Yeah, I kind of missed it while I was gone,” I admit. He shakes his head, laughing. I take a few bites of my food then set the plate down.
“Is that all you’re gonna eat?” Concern is etched on his face.
I turn my body so I’m sitting, facing him. “Shade, they starved me to keep me weak because I wouldn’t stand down and do what they wanted, when they wanted. I was told that Scarface, I mean, Ricardo, wasn’t allowed to beat me like he did with the other women. He still smacked me around a bit, but that was nothing. I’m going to have to work up to eating more, though.”
Shade sets his plate down and pulls me onto his lap. He brushes his thumb across my bottom lip that’s still a little swollen from the last time Scarface smacked me.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he says. “He’ll pay for what he did to you.”
I scoot off his lap so he can finish eating, but he doesn’t let me move too far from him. We watch his car show until Wren comes over. The knocking on the door isn’t very loud. I start to become nervous about seeing her. She was so mad last time I saw her. Shade opens the door to a red-eyed Wren. When I stand from the couch, our eyes connect. We stare at each other for a beat, not sure what to do. Then, at the same time, we rush to each other, wrapping the other in a hug and start bawling.
What feels like hours of crying later, in reality, it was maybe ten minutes, we pull away from each other.
“I’m so sorry,” we say simultaneously and giggle.
“I should have told you about Shade and me,” I tell her.
