Silence & The Noise - Fallon's Story

The Aftermath

First things first, bathroom. No one really knows the luxury of a private bathroom in your home. I am not even sure I ever had a private bathroom in my life. As a kid it was either the one I shared with the four other foster kids in our home, the homeless shelter bathroom, hell even the one at the community was shared. Henry didn't do much more talking into the night. He didn't seem to care about much as I helped myself in looking around. He escorted me upstairs and I saw the state of his house. It was neat, white, and blank. It was like a staged home almost.

"Did you just move in?" I asked him and he looked at me confused then shook his head. Well alright then. I moved on and saw the bathroom then felt the weight of my matted hair against my head.

"Do you mind if I-" I started but he nodded before I got the words out.

"Well I was going to say use your toothbrush to clean the grout, you already agreed so. Sucks to be you" He scared me to my core by letting out a loud laugh to my sour response. I jumped and he must have noticed as he stepped back a bit, seeing my hesitancy. He then pointed to his watch and threw up his hands in a surrender type of way and made his way back to the staircase leading down to the shop. I better get real good at this nonverbal speak he does if I am staying here. If I had to guess, he needed to go back down to the shop as it was open, and he pointed to his watch to indicate the time. Not like I had much to go on so I accepted it. I entered the bathroom and found it to be a paradise. It wasn't better than other bathrooms but it was all mine. Henry was down stairs doing whatever shop crap he needed to do. I shamelessly looked through every cabinet, each thing I found puzzling. Now the things he did use were put away, he had so many random products like it was set up to be used this way. Again, like a staged house for a showing. A few things gave way to him living here, the half squeezed toothpaste and towel hung up neatly on the hook by the shower. I didn't really have any brain capacity to think further than this, so I didn't. I looked in the mirror reluctantly seeing how awful I looked, worse than I thought I could look. Those days of wandering really turned me into looking like I was homeless. My hair matted to my head in a loose dirty hair tie, my shirt was stained and slightly ripped from the library window I crawled out of. The black slacks I got from the shelter also held a sheen of brown dust from the sidewalks. I started on my hair wanting to salvage it as much as possible. I took the full bottle of conditioner because I know Henry boys sleek short curls aren't using too much of this. I first soaked damp hair with conditioner and brushed and detangled until my arms fell asleep being up so long. Then I took the most glorious shower of my existence. I used every single product I possibly could. I felt my body stiff and sore from all the events of the last few weeks. My body still a yellow black and blue all over like I was a giant bruise left to rot. I got frustrated with my hair and the ends being a matted and took scissors to the last four inches. I chopped until it was to the smooth parts. I brushed and dried my hair, yes the man with short curled hair has a hair dryer. My head felt like a cloud as I leaned back and admired myself in the mirror. I looked like me again. Of course with some great new editions of sliced open skin on my forehead and chin. I pulled a first aid kit from under the sink pristine in its unopened package. The man doesn't hurt himself? I changed and bandaged all the areas on my face that were still looking pretty bad, a few cuts I left as they looked pretty healed. The big ones with butterfly stitch bandages, they looked yellow and almost infected from all the disheveled movement of my living arrangements. I looked at my clothes realizing a problem, the gross dingy outfit I got from that shelter laid on the floor. They kept this basement smell inside the fibers no matter what I scrubbed on it. I pulled a towel tight around me and stuck my head out the bathroom making sure the coast was clear. I searched for some kind of clothing, I went to the first bedroom but it was empty, the drawers were cleaned with nothing like a hotel room would be. I looked down the hallway to another door. Must be his bedroom. I looked around again not seeing him, hoping I was right in hearing the shuffling down on the floor beneath as him in the shop. I found his closet with tons and tons of clothing. Being aware of the size difference I picked things with elastic and strings to tie and tried to pick old shirts I felt he didn't wear anymore. I grabbed a handful of outfits and made my way back to the first bedroom with the empty drawers. I closed the door behind me and took another look around. This was a pretty cute room but white and blank as all hell. I wasn't a big fan. I tried on the clothes trying not to choke with laughter. It was so funny as they hung on me, so I tied them up as best I could to at least stay on, tucked the shirt in a bit. I went back to the bathroom and grabbed my old clothes and threw them in the washer I found in the front closet and set them to wash. By this time the sun was setting outside and I felt rejuvenated, it has been hours that I took up his bathroom and the end of the day was closing in. I wandered out to the dining room and saw Henry at the stove with a pan stirring. Making dinner I can only assume. He was good with holding his word on making food. He played light classical music in the background. I walked up closer and smelled the warmth of the stove. I have no idea what he was making but I wanted to devour it now. He jumped, seeing me like he forgot I was there. He looked at me in a wide eyed kind of way then slowly smiled wide with a nod then back to his cooking.