AZALEA

Chapter 8

A Z A L E A ' S   P O V

After I finished washing myself to the best of my current ability, I leave the shower and loosely wrap my towel around myself. I look in the mirror to see what my hair looks like, it's so fucking uneven. I really need a pair of scissors, I can even cut it myself so I don't bother them anymore. I snap out of my thoughts and see a toothbrush in a package in the same cupboard I saw the soap in and help myself, hoping I'm allowed to. I brush my teeth and then put my – more like some random packaged hospital – underwear back on because I am not about to be completely naked, then wrap the towel back around me and leave the bathroom.

I feel a shiver go down my spine as I leave the cosy steamed up room. Then another shiver when I think of the fact that I'm about to show my body, well my back at least, to a random woman. Well, not really random but to me she kind of is. I'm so caught up in my thoughts that I don't even hear the knocking on the door until it creeps open a little bit.

I must look like such a weirdo just standing in the middle of the room in a towel.

"Are you okay for me to come in?" A light feminine voice questions from through the small gap in between the door and it's frame.

"Yeah, it's okay." I say loud enough, just for her to be able to hear. Maya further opens the door and steps inside before closing it behind her. In her hands she has a packet of underwear, some leggings and a massive hoodie. She also has the burn cream the hospital prescribed, bandages and a hairbrush. I have no clue how she balanced all of that together.

"Here are some clothes, I know it's not really the most ideal thing but it's all I could find that I thought would be okay for you. I promise we'll buy you new clothes tomorrow but are these okay until then?" She asks as she leaves the stuff on the bed and hands me the clothes.

"Thank you so much, do you mind if I dress in the bathroom?" I don't want to be rude by just leaving. She agrees to let me dress and I take extra care making sure the clothing does not touch my burns.

They look so gross, I mean yeah, they're not the worst I've seen but they're the biggest at one time. It's also obviously different because this was by an actual fire, not a small flame.

I walk back into the bedroom with the towel covering my front, after deciding it was best to just put the hoodie on after there's a covering on my probably bleeding back. Maya directs me to sit on the bed, working on my arms first. She uncaps the tube, telling me she previously read the instructions, so I don't have to worry about doing anything wrong.

"Tell me if anything hurts okay?" She says, I just nod as I watch her movements carefully. I don't know why but I'm already feeling slightly comfortable around her and I'm scared. I'm scared of the fact that I'm already becoming comfortable. I'm so lost in thought that I don't even realise she's finished applying the cream and bandages to both of my arms until she instructs me to lie on my stomach so she can do my back.

"Erm Maya, I think it would maybe be better if I stand, it's just, um easier because you'll probably have to wrap it around my front maybe? I don't know, that's what I've used before, I mean seen other people do before. Like all the way around, that type of bandage?" My biological mother's eyes widen, probably at the fact this is the most words I've spoken in one go since I arrived, then she nods her head.

"Of course, these are those types of bandages you're talking about so we can wrap them around your stomach, yeh?" She double checks and I nod firmly.

"Oh, also, you might want to maybe brace yourself of for what you're about to see. It's not really, um like pretty? It's actually quite unsightly and I know it's going to look bad so just yeah." I trail off, just wanting to get it over with already. I turn around so my back fcaes her and she lets out a quiet gasp. I drop my gaze to the floor, ashamed of the state I know my back is. The scars, the fresh whipping, the way my spine is so clearly very visible.