Taken by a Stranger (Meadema)

Chapter 6 - Getting Comfortable 🧖🏼‍♀️

There was a slightly awkward silence in the guest room, the kind of silence where Beth thought Viv was going to leave the room to get the bathroom ready for her, but Viv stayed quietly next to her on the bed. Very carefully Beth looked to the side, towards Viv, who seemed to be very lost in thought. Of course, a hundred thoughts immediately raced through Beth's mind seeing Viv like this. Did Viv suddenly regret taking her home? Did she regret offering her a shower? She had actually assumed that Viv would show her immediately where the bathroom was after they stopped talking, since Viv was so adamant that she had to take a shower, but instead Viv stared at Myle, who was still sleeping in her lap, on whom she still had one hand.

'Oh god Viv, I'm so sorry, do you want her back? I'm sorry for taking her so long'. Viv suddenly seemed to be pulled out of her thoughts, because of the vibration that shot through her body. 'No, no, it's fine. She looks comfy with you. Do you want to keep an eye on her while I get you some towels and clean clothes?'. Beth nodded, enjoying every second that Myle was still sleeping so peacefully in her lap and enjoying every second that Viv kept her in her house.

Suddenly Viv was gone from her sight. Here she was in a bed, with a strange dog, in a strange house, with a woman who was still a complete stranger to her, in surroundings she didn't know. But somehow that familiar feeling kept growing. And it was very strange, but she hadn't felt this safe in the past few months. Safer than when she was home alone, safer than when she was home with Steve, and yet she had only met Viv and her dog an hour ago. Was it Viv's radiance, was it the warm atmosphere in Viv's house, was it the touch Viv had just given her?

'Beth, I've placed two towels down for you in the bathroom. The shampoo is in the shower, you can use it of course. I've got a light blue tracksuit. I've got a slightly bigger one, so it's nice and comfy around your belly. I hope it fits you, it's on the sink. If you need anything else, you can of course shout. I've closed the blinds everywhere, so no one can see you. I'll take Myle from you, and in the meantime I'm going to let her out into the garden for a little while, so she can do her business. I'll stand in the doorway so I can hear you if you need anything. Is that okay with you?'.

A moment of gratitude and disbelief, shot through her. Viv, who had taken a complete stranger into her home to help her? Viv who had given her everything she needed? A shower, towels, shampoo, clothes, even thought about it so much that she picked out comfy clothes for her. Viv stood in the doorway so she was always available to her? How? How had her fate, what determined that she would almost die out there in the woods, suddenly changed so much?

'Viv... uhm.. I don't even know what to say. It's more than okay obviously. Are you really 100% sure you want to do all this? I don't want to be a burden...'. Viv walked over to her from the doorway, sat down next to her on the bed and placed her hand on top of Beth's hand that was on Myle's back. '100% Beth, come on. Warm up and get fresh. Take as long as you need. I'll leave you alone. And I'm sorry for seeing you naked and undressing you without permission. I understand that this wasn't necessarily comfortable, but I wanted to protect you'.

'It's okay Viv, really. It was what you had to do and besides, I'm so grateful that you treated my body the way you did. I think I would have frozen to death if you hadn't stripped me, so it's fine'. Viv carefully picked up Myle from Beth's lap, who slowly woke up and abruptly started to squeak when she realized she was being taken away from Beth. 'Look, here's someone else who would like you not to leave yet. They're expecting another big thunderstorm in an hour, so I would try to be done with the shower within an hour if possible, since thunderstorms and water aren't a very good combination'. Viv wanted to walk out of the bedroom door with Myle to give Beth her privacy as soon as possible, until she suddenly heard her name. 'Viv?'

'Yeah?'. Beth looked at her, a big smile slowly appeared on her face. Viv saw the stress and tension completely disappear from her at that moment. 'Thank you, seriously. For everything. I don't know what I would do without you'. Viv looked at her, a look of sympathy came over her face. 'No problem. Enjoy your shower'. And then she actually walked out of the bedroom, placed Myle down on the floor and opened the door, the raindrops flew in immediately, Myle started sprinting and the only thing she focused on was Myle and whether she would hear Beth's voice.