What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

27. The Shower || Aslan ||

Cold water isn't helping; it's freezing, is what it is. I knew it would be freezing, but this is not helping with anything at all! Isn't cold water supposed to do something in such situations? It's not like I ever had to use cold water for... such situations. So, I don't know.

This is useless. What am I trying to do? I am in a woman's apartment bathroom, and all I think about is the way she calms baby Esden down. The way she refers to me as his daddy so casually, the cute nickname she's given him. . .

I don't change the water temperature, having gotten used to it. I scrape my skin as roughly as the water could touch it.

The bathroom is a comfortable size, but the shower head is so short that I have to bend down to get it to pour on my head.

I look around, getting the understanding that this is where she'd be most of the time. Most of the time, she has to... care for her business.

What the hell are you thinking of?

I scold myself for the thoughts, but that doesn't help. When I'm close to her, things feel heated. I don't know whose fault that is.

She doesn't cling onto me anymore... that shouldn't upset me. No, I'm not upset—

Well, she has reasons of her own. Nothing worth getting my head around...

I spent quite a time just standing, the shower of water just lightly punching into my chest. Frozen with thoughts, I cursed myself not to have, the idea of wanted answers not being given to me is what's so desirable, that's all.

Knock Knock.

In an instant, I look to my left, staring at the slidable doors of the shower, at the curtain blocking both me and the other side from one another. I wasn't able to say anything because I was interrupted.

"Sorry—oh good, still behind the curtain—I'll leave the towel and clothes here. Sorry for the lateness of it!" And bang the door was shut closed before I got much of a sound out.

Clothes? At the thought of clothes being able to fit me at all, reasons unknown, pisses me off. I didn't care for the shower being short; it's her apartment. The clothes are also from her, why does that... does clothes piss me off?

I'm not pissed.

Having my mood soured, I turn off the cold water and get out of the tub with a struggle. My neck hurts; it hurts getting out of the bathroom as well. I couldn't see anything while inside.

While I was taller than the showerhead, looking at the metal pipe they secured on either side of the wall for the curtain, they've raised it higher than the shower head itself and more, so it also doesn't touch the floor.

It's so cold right now; the excessive water dripping down onto her bathroom rug. Just when I was ready to fetch for the towel, I heard, "Oh, by the way, if you haven't yet, you're more than welcome to use my products. They should be in different colors; Ginni's ones are all pink, so that's easy to tell apart. Esden! Sorry, that's all—Esden, don't touch that!" That's the last of it.

I was worried, ready to get out with a towel hanging around my hips because something outside was loud. What was Esden up to—

Use her products? You know... it really is cold here.

I went back into the bathtub, turned on the shower water, hot, and warmed myself up in there. Looking around, I just noticed it. The two women's piles of products are on different sides of the shower corner shelves.

I looked, reading the different products Joell has, and, well, everything is the same product with different smells and... a flower smell? Peach? She has so many types, is this why she always smells so different?

I pick a random, smelling it. This is her most used smell...

Having been done with the shower, I'm staring still at the clothes on the sink counter, the towel hanging around my hips.

What's given is a large white shirt... similar to that night. And some large pants. Where has she gotten these? What for? who—

Whose clothes are these?