Finding My Way Home - Short Story

Chpt. 8 - Nice To Meet You

After Hailey left me some clothes, I undressed myself and stepped into the shower.

The feeling of the warm water falling on me was amazing. I had never felt this relaxed before. For the first few minutes I just closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling.

Then I grabbed some shampoo and washed my hair before washing my body with soap and then some conditioner. I still had knots but I will ask Hailey if I could borrow a comb. Lastly, I gently cleaned the cuts on my arm that still had some dried blood on them.

I shut off the water after I was clean and stepped out of the shower. I immediately got goosebumps on my skin from the cold air and quickly dried myself with a fluffy towel and grabbed the clothes to put on.

I started blushing as I noticed she also had given me underwear.
Luckily it were just some female boxers and not a lace pair or something. My pair was old anyway. And I don't think she gave me a bra because it obviously wouldn't fit me.

I put on the comfy clothing and felt like I was drowning in soft material. Not only were the shirt and sweatpants soft, they were also big on me and I had to fold up the ends of the pants so I wouldn't step on it. I don't mind though, it's ten times better than what I had on before.

I walked into the living room and saw her sitting on the couch, watching TV. As I was walking closer to her, she noticed me and stopped the program she was watching.

She gave me a sweet smile and looked over me. "I'm sorry it's so big, I hope you don't mind." She said.

"Oh, I don't mind at all. It's way better than what I was wearing before. Thank you."

"It's fine. Should I grab a comb? I can still see a lot of tangles in your hair." She asked me before I could ask her. I nodded my head and she went to grab one. I sat on the couch as I waited for her.

When she came back, she took a seat next to me. "Should I help?" I blushed a bit at that. Her offering to help me with such a simple thing was weird to me because I've mostly done everything myself all my life. Her asking this was bringing me back to my younger age.

"Please." I finally said.

She told me to take a seat in front of her. I closed my eyes as she began taking out the tangles. She was so gentle, almost like she was afraid of hurting me if she were to pull too hard.

After some time, I relaxed against her and let her take care of me. I almost cried in this moment. This is all I've ever wanted; somebody to care for me.

When she was done, it was for sure 15 minutes later and she had a bal of dead hair that had come out in her hand. But my hair was finally soft and untangled.

"There we go, that's much better." She said as she moved her hand through my hair.

She threw away the dead hair and came back with a glass of water and gave me the sandwich I hadn't finished before.

"How about we watch some TV together? Would you like that? I still have some time before I leave." Of course I agreed and got comfortable on the couch.

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*Hailey's POV

I can't believe she actually agreed to come live with me. I would have thought she was too scared. Maybe she was just exhausted of living on the streets.

All that matters now, is that she's safe and I'm going to take care of her. I can't wait to go shopping with her. Knowing her, she'll probably say no but I want to buy her some things.

Right now I was at work. Luckily my boss said it was fine to go a couple hours earlier because it's a slow night. Hopefully Sam is doing okay while she's alone. It sucks that she doesn't have a phone so I could sent her a message. Another thing I need to take care of.

As I was wiping down the counter of the bar, I suddenly heard a deep but sexy female voice.

"Hey, could I get two shots?" I looked up to see a woman with green dyed dreadlocks sitting at the bar.

"Of course, coming right up." I threw the rag over my shoulder and proceeded to put two shot glasses in front of her and filled them, using the bottle of alcohol. I watched as she immediately shugged the down.

"Rough day?" I asked. In my time here, working as a bartender, starting a conversation became natural to me. It also keeps the customers around longer.

"As you can see, yes. I just got dumped." She told me. I wasn't surprised she opened up to me that easily. It's because of the booze but the surroundings help too.

"His loss." I said back.

She huffed. "Her, and your right. She was an annoying bitch anyway." I lifted an eyebrow at her language. So she's into women, hmm.

I'm gay, but I haven't really had any relationships as of lately. It's not that nobody has asked me, but more so that I wasn't interested. Let's just say they weren't my type.

"Okay, why did she break up with you then?" She let out a big breath and asked for two more shots.

"I'll need some more booze if I'm going to tell you. It's a long story." I laughed and refilled her glasses.

She started telling me about her ex that she met in a club. They never really had the best chemistry, but stayed together for about two years anyways. The ex, Jamie, had cheated and that's when the woman sitting in front of me finally had enough. She started to break up with her ex, but then Jamie kept saying 'No, I break up with you.'

Overall, the woman was nice to talk to and we laughed a lot.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, but my work shift is almost over." I announced after a while. The time and gone by so quick, I hadn't even noticed.

"What's your name, I might come back here more often." She said with a mischievous look.

"It's Hailey. How about yours?" Now I was curious what she's called. It wasn't often that a woman catched my attention, but she surely did.

"Stella. Nice to meet you."