Wrapped around your finger - Post Malone

5

Hazel stares at the shower. What the fuck is this? It's clean, thank fuck for that, but there is one bottle of 3in1 body wash. She did not even know they made 3in1. Just one lonely bottle. No shampoo, no conditioner, no face wash, or anything one would find in a bathroom owned by a young girl. She turns to look at the sink area. Two toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste in a cup. A brush and comb in another and a razor in another. She opens the medicine cabinet. Some headache pills, the odd plaster, floss, hair bands, and...well that's it. She closes the cabinet and looks around the bathroom. It's clean but bare. When she was little she had colored ribbons, sparkly body washes, and all the pink and purple shit girls love - she does not even like pink or purple shit but parents buy pink and purple shit and so do aunts and uncles. If she had not known Austin had a kid living here this bathroom would certainly give nothing away. She sighs and climbs into the shower, turning on the hot water. It warms her frozen bones and feels so good she forgets that she is kind of disgusted with the 3in1 bodywash. She washes and then gets out, dries, and dresses.

The shirt Austin gave her is huge but it works. The shorts on the other hand are so big on her that they keep falling. She takes one of the hair bands and ties a knot on the side of the shorts elastic. Her clothes are a mess - wet and caked in mud so she throws them in the wash basket. She will deal with them in the morning. Once out she looks down the hall and listens carefully, she can't hear anything. Either Austin is very busy in the kitchen or he is outside. She takes Cathy to the spare room and places her under the bed. "Now don't you be running off, Cathy," she says and stands up. The room is cozy  - very cabin like. She leaves the spare room with every intention to go down to the kitchen but she turns left when she should have turned right. The office is boring and holds no interest so she skips it and opens Evelyn's door. It's a kid's room but it also seems pretty grown up. After how she saw Evelyn handle that calf - she doubts Evelyn ever spent much time playing with dolls. Her bed is neatly made with a bedspread that has cowboy hats and boots on it. There is a large toybox in the corner of the room that does not look like it's been touched in a long time, but one entire wall is covered in well-read books - Evelyn is a reader. Her bedside table has a stack of books, a lamp, and a photo frame of her and Austin. He is smiling in it and Hazel can't help but run her finger over the picture. He is very handsome when he smiles, but even more so Hazel can see from the way Evelyn's eyes are sparkling that Austin has given her a good life. She is a very happy girl. She puts the photo frame back down and makes her way quietly to Austin's room.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I was you," a woman's voice comes from behind Hazel. Oh shit. Hazel lets go of the door handle to Austin's room, spinning around. "Oh? This isn't the bathroom?" she asks. The woman chuckles and shakes her head. "No, the bathroom would be the room you came out of before you peeped into Evelyn's room," the woman says. "I would try and come up with another excuse but you don't look like a stupid woman. Who are you? Austin's wife?" Hazel asks. The woman laughs out in a loud cackle as if Hazel just said was the funniest thing she has ever heard. Hazel is not sure what the joke is so she just stares at her blankly. "The day Austin gets married or gives any attention to anyone other than Evelyn or his cows is the day hell freezes over...although...is that his clothing?" the woman says pointing at Hazel. Hazel looks down at the clothing she is wearing. "It will seem so, yes," she says.

"Well, I'll be...come on, dinner is ready and I will put your clothing in the wash. I can't promise the stains will come out though," the woman lifts the washing basket that Hazel had not realized she was holding. "My name is Linda by the way. I am Austin's housekeeper," Linda says turning and walking down the stairs. Hazel follows her silently into the kitchen. There is only one place set at the large kitchen table and looking around Hazel can see she is alone except for Lina of course. "Where is Austin? I thought he was making dinner," Hazel says sitting down. Lina laughs again, it's that loud cackle - she clearly finds Hazel hysterical. "Austin cooks once a year. He makes a mess that takes me at least a week to clean up," Linda says then places a plate of hot stew in front of her. It smells amazing and looks like that home cooking people talk about when they visit their mothers. Hazel misses her mother - she should phone her.

"Thank you, Linda," Hazel says and takes a bite. It's fucking amazing. But she feels a little off so she puts her fork down and turns to look at Linda. She is sorting through the washing basket while standing next to the stove that has a huge big pot on it. That's way more stew for three or four people. "Sorry, Linda. When are Austin and Evelyn due back?" Hazel asks. "Oh gosh, late. Evelyn will stay with that calf until Austin drags her away and Austin had to leave for the cattle while you were showering because the fence broke. It will be after midnight by the time they get back," Linda says as she continues to fuss over the washing. "Well, would it help if I took their dinner to them?" Hazel asks. Linda stops fussing and looks at Hazel with curious eyes. "Yes, actually. That would be amazing. They have all been out since four this morning," Linda says dropping the washing and rushing to a cupboard where she fishes out flasks and containers. She rushes around the kitchen loading the containers with stew and filling the flasks with hot water. Then she packs it into three bags and turns to Hazel as if she suddenly realized she was still there.

"I packed eight dinners - you, Evelyn, Austin, Ace, Jack, Josh, Amish, and Ellis. Four flasks, leave this one with Evelyn - it's tea, Austin does not let her drink coffee just yet," Linda says and passes her the three bags. "Here, don't go driving into a ditch again," Lina says passing her a set of keys. Hazel rolls her eyes and walks through the back door that Lina is holding open. "Oh stop, you are going to want some boots - take mine," Linda says taking off her boots. This is not the weirdest thing that has happened to Hazel so she just shrugs and accepts the boot's. It has stopped raining but the wind is chilly and Hazel feels goosebumps break out on her entire body. Fuck - Utah sucks. She makes her way out to a shed that she hopes doubles as a garage and comes face to face with a tractor. Fuck off. She can't drive a tractor. She looks down at the keys in her hand and then back at the tractor. How the hell is she going to do this? She sighs and then walks around the tractor and nearly smashes her face when she collides with a truck. She stares at it for a moment then clicks the button on the keys and the orange hazard lights flash on the truck. She starts to laugh at herself - like she would ever have even tried to drive a fucking tractor. Never. She places the bags on the back seat of the truck and hops into the driver's seat. She has to adjust the seat because she can't even reach the steering wheel let alone the peddles. She still has to jam a 2kg bag of seeds behind her back so she does not slide back on the chair. She puts the key in and turns it, the engine roars to life. She jumps a little when the stereo comes to life and country music is thrown loudly at her. "Fucking hell, was he having a showdown in his fucking truck," she says to herself and turns it down. Then she puts the truck into drive. "Here goes fucking nothing I guess," she mumbles to herself and moves the truck forward. She drives down the road Austin had come in on and makes her way to the barn.