Redamancy

Brand new person

"Are you listening?" The man frowns, stopping his babbling about the shower. I nod, staring at the girl who is staring right back at me. "Who is that?" I ask, pointing at the filthy girl.

He just stares at me, his expression half concerned and half amused. "That's you. It's a mirror," He chuckles.

"A mirror?" I repeat. 

"Yes you can use it to see what you look like," He clarifies. That's what I look like?

I press my hand against the mirror, marvelling that this man owns this type of technology. He must be really rich.

"Alright pay attention," He orders, turning back to the shower.

"So just press these buttons and you can adjust the temperature to however hot or cold you want it," He explains as I gawk at the cool screen imbedded into the wall of the shower.

"I'll wait outside for you," He says, turning around and heading towards the door. "Wait," I whisper causing him to turn his head and look at me curiously.

"Are you my new owner?" I question, still wondering why I'm here. "No," He scoffs in disbelief. "So who is?"I question wearily. 

"You don't have an 'owner'," He says, using air quotes. "You're free here, we're just going to help you get better before we find your family." He explains.

Family?

He excuses himself, leaving me just as confused as before. If I don't have an owner who will look after me and tell me what to do?

I want to ask him so many questions but I also don't want to risk making him angry so I stay quiet.

I start to undress, leaving my dirty clothes scattered around the floor. To be honest, I was so enthralled with this fancy shower that I didn't even pay attention to the instructions he explained to me.

I press random buttons until eventually water starts coming out. I step in, slightly recoiling when the freezing water hits my skin.

I grab the thing the man described as 'shower gel' and slather it all over me just like he instructed. The cold water flows over my skin, causing the dirt and dried blood to drip down revealing my much lighter skin tone.

I lean back, letting the water hit my hair as I squeeze 'shampoo' on it. I'm there for what feels like hours, just running my hands through my hair and watching all the dirt and grime fall out.

I climb out the shower, leaving the once white tiled floors now covered in brown muck. A smile graces my lips as I look at myself in the mirror, my light orange hair now being visible and my skin now being as clean as it's ever been.

I trace the bruising covering my entire body, gasping slightly when I touch a painful one on my abdomen.

"You okay in there? Are you done?" A male's voice I don't recognise calls out from behind the door. "Yes I'm done," I reply nervously while drying my hair with a towel. 

"I can take your clothes down to the laundry room-" He says as he opens the door but immediately stops when he sees me, clamping his hand over his eyes. "Fucking hell put on some clothes," He exclaims, rushing back out of the bathroom.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, not understanding what the big deal is as I continue to dry my hair.

I stare at the clothes that are folded on the counter. I'm not really used to wearing them, in the cells there was no need to unless it was a special occasion. 

Judging from the reaction of that man, wearing clothes must be one of the rules here so I pull on the fluffy top and shorts.

When I reenter the bedroom I make eye contact with the two men sitting on the bed. One I recognise as the man that helped me with the shower but the other one is a complete stranger. 

Upon seeing me their eyes both widen in shock as I stand there awkwardly, shifting on my feet.

They both stand up simultaneously, approaching me. I back up slightly, their large stature scaring me.

I feel their eyes burning into my face as they both loom over me.

"Aria?" The man I recognise says, grasping my face in his hands.