The Half-Giant's Guide to Seeing the Future

The Day I Got An Unexpected Bath

I woke up in a strange bed, completely soaked. Gayle stood over me, holding an empty bucket that dripped slightly. She had a slight smile on her face and then had the nerve to look slightly embarrassed as I gasped and spluttered, pushing wet hair out of my face.

My body was dripping with water, and when I shifted, I collided with another wet body. I turned and jumped away from Moreno. He was wearing athletic shorts and a tank top and lay next to me in the bed.

"Wha-" My brain was racing as I tried to place my surroundings.

Then my eyes fell on the bookshelf and the set of photographs, and I realized I was back in Moreno's room with no idea how I'd gotten there.

"We had to sedate you," Moreno said. "And I said I'd keep an eye on you. Kaleb helped me move you to a more comfortable bed, and I thought I would just lie down for a second."

"It's morning, and Alana told me to wake you up," Gayle said. "My mother always says that a cold shower is the best remedy for a tussle with poppy."

Moreno's chuckle was throaty. "That's cold, Gayle. Really cold."

"It worked," Gayle smiled again. "And Alana has you on a double patrol, Lord Ethesis. She said I could keep an eye on Terri today."

"A fitting punishment for me," Moreno shook out his wet hair. "Don't know about Terri, though. Why are you on babysitting duty?"

Gayle grimaced. "Maybe I volunteered."

"To change the sheets, absolutely," Moreno said. "You ruined my bed."

He stood and water dripped off his tanktop and onto the floor. He reached around to pull the towel hanging on chair by his desk. Then instead of drying himself he handed me the towel.

"Here," he said. "Since darling, Gayle seems to have decided we both needed a dip."

He held out his hand and pulled me from the bed. Then he wrapped the towel around my shoulder and glared at Gayle.

"How did I get here?" I asked.

"You started having visions, and you started to scream," Moreno said. "Nothing we could do would bring you back. Hellene has mentioned that sometimes Victor will fall into a stupor when your mother and grandfather start trying to pull visions at the same time. Kaleb decided it was best to sedate you. Then I brought you here to keep an eye on you overnight. Apparently, I fell asleep, and I apologize for that."

I remembered the vision and all the spinning colors. My head ached dully, and I remembered screaming until my throat was raw. The pain was agonizing, and then suddenly, it had all stopped.

"You were wailing for a good while," Gayle said. "It was a good thing sedating you helped."

Moreno gave Gayle a look. I dried off my arms, and I realized that my shirt was sticking to my skin. My face heated, and I buried my blush in my towel under the guise of drying my face.

"Guess we should get going," Moreno said. "Wouldn't want to ruin Alana's timetable."

He disappeared into his bathroom. I squeezed water out of my hair and turned to look at Gayle. She twirled her purple highlight around her finger and smiled.

"Guess I should clean this up," she said. "You should change. I left you something cute on your bed. You don't have to thank me or anything. After all, we can't ruin Alana's precious timetable."

I made my way down the hall to my room, clutching my towel to my chest. I traded it for a dry towel once I entered my room.

As promised Gayle had layed a set of clothing across my bed. There was a short black strappy shirt with a sheer panel across top. Then there was a pair of gold pants that were high waisted and a pair of black combat boots.