The Lavender Butterfly

Chapter 10

I opened my eyes to see the rising sun through the curtains. I looked up at Meredith, who was awake, still cradling me in her arms. “Good morning, sweetie,” she whispered. I replied, “Am I still…” she interrupted by nodding her head, confirming what I dreaded. I rolled over on my back, arms crossed with my hands behind my head, still draped in my bath towel from the night before. “Where do we go from here, then?” I said, staring at the ceiling. Meredith shook her head, “I don’t know…” she sat up in bed. “What I do know, is that checkout is at 11, and it’s 5:30. And you, you are sitting in nothing but a towel, with no clothes to wear.” She was right. Not a single article of my wardrobe would still fit on me. I was stuck here until I could get something to wear. She held up my bare feed and examined them. “What size shoes…” she said, talking to herself. She got herself dressed and started to head to the door. “Not many stores are open yet, but I’m going to at least attempt to get you some clothes so we can walk out of here,” she said firmly. I just nodded yes. “Are you hungry? I can go downstairs and grab some continental breakfast for you,” she said. Once again, I said nothing, and shook my head no. “I’ll get you some food anyway, you need to eat something.” She left the room and I burst into tears. What would I do from here? It seemed that I was going to be stuck in this body for the time being, probably forever. What about my past life? What about my family, my friends, my colleagues at work? Meredith will probably have to sell the house eventually without my income. More importantly, my love for Meredith had never been stronger. I was her husband, her companion, and her lover. I cannot fill these roles now that I’m a 13-year-old girl! Was the old me dead? It’s starting to look like all the people I know would never see me again, so my old self may as well be dead. Just then, Meredith walked in, juggling two armfuls of food. A bowl of cereal, various fruit, and a bottle of water. “Please get something to eat, I’m going to go get you some clothes and essentials,” she said. She continued, “Please do not leave the room under any circumstances……and whatever you do, DON’T answer the door!” I nodded affirmatively. “I couldn’t if I tried,” I replied. She walked out and once more I was along with my rambling thoughts once again. I looked at the food blankly. I practically pounced on the food, eating it all. Thinking to myself, maybe all this stress and worrying had gotten me hungry. At least I wasn’t going into the day with an empty stomach. Just as I finished devouring my food, my phone rang. I answered it right away. “Are you stupid, what did you do that for?” I thought to myself.  “Hello?” I spoke. It was Corey from the office. One of my subordinates. “Hey, Chris, I know you’re on vacation, but we really need to talk about the Lyon’s Gym client. They asked us for their design a month ago and we still haven’t delivered.” I stuttered, “Chris…he’s……he’s not here right now. I’ll let him know that Corey called.” “Thanks,” he replied. “Wait, who are y—” I hung up the phone before he could continue.  I buried my head in my hands. I couldn’t keep this charade up any longer. Quite frankly, given my situation, I didn’t think I had a choice.