Finding Melody

06: His Clothes

I couldn't sleep that night, when could I ever sleep, those clothes that Dallas had let me borrow taunted me. The smell lingered on them strongly, even if I had stuffed them into my closet, or threw them out the window, well then I would never see them again, making for a complicated apology to Dallas.

How was I even supposed to give the clothes back to him? This was becoming to much to think about, but that smell was fogging my whole mind, I'm just glad Natalie hadn't come in, she would've smelt it for sure.

I couldn't let these clothes smell on, so I would wash them.  Hopefully when I gave them back to him, it wouldn't smell like a flower field. I fumbled the clothes into a grocery bag, I had lying around and slyly slipped out of the room, hoping no one was awake.

Luckily the lights were off, as I made my way downstairs. Natalie had gone to sleep after we had watched movie after movie, because Nolan was gone on some business trip he was supposed to be back already.

I slipped into the laundry room and emptied the bag in the washing machine, and I clicked start, as it turned and turned. I heard the front door open, and bags be settled on the ground.

"Natalie", Nolan called out from the front part of the house. He must've seen the light that I had turned on and wondered why his wife was doing laundry at 2 in the morning.

"Nat- Melody what are you doing up?", he said, looking at his watch and looking up at me searching for a sign of tiredness, he definitely had it.

"I couldn't sleep", I told him, which he knew the full story of most days it was that I couldn't sleep, everyday it was that I couldn't sleep and I told them occasionally I slept perfectly, it settled their mind.

"Oh how was your sleepover?", he asked and I knew he had left last night, when Natalie was getting worried.

"It was good, a lot of outdoors activities", I said, laughing a bit as a joke to myself. He was probably just happy I had a good time, it had been a while since I had done something with friends.

I just hoped after what I had told Nolan about Lola, Natalie wouldn't let it slip that I was at Lola's. He would definitely have questions then.

"So you're doing a load?", he asked, hearing the loud machine swirl the clothes. I nodded my head, hoping he didn't find this strange.

"There's nothing else to do", I told him and he nodded his head, I was hoping he wouldn't pry more.

"I have some clothes, I'll throw those in there", he said, and panic raced across the sheerness of my face. He disappeared down the hallway to grab his duffel bag.

"Sorry it's only whites", I told him and yet he still opened his duffel bag and took a handful of stupid enough white clothes.

"I have plenty", he said, as he carried them to the laundry room and I followed him panicking.

"It's actually a girl thing", he heard the words a girl thing and then turned around with an apologetic look on his face, and luckily I had said the right words.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'll do uh my wash tomorrow", he said panicky and took his clothes and his duffel bag upstairs, saying goodnight very curtly.

For the next hour I sat by the washing machine waiting for the clothes to be done and just as they were done my eyes were getting ready to shut.

I pulled the clothes out and smelt them, closely, and they still smelt like a sharp smell of cigarettes, it wasn't even faint at this point it was so strong it would smell up my closet even.

There was a hint scent of the flower detergent that I had put too much of it in, he would definitely smell that.

I took the bag to my room and ran to turn the next light on as I shut them off fast, rushing to escape the darkness. It was the scariest place to be stuck in the dark, the scariest moments of my life one way or another I was always kept in the dark, metaphorically and physically.