Safe Haven

Fourteen

I would literally kill for a shower and some toothpaste-- I haven't brushed my teeth in almost 2 freaking weeks! Think of how utterly atroshish my breath must be! I probably had cavities, mold in my gums, foreign life inhabiting the surface of my tongue, and my saliva was most likely toxic.  

To make myself even more devastatingly disgusting, I NEEDED to shave, and the prickly forest that was festering in my armpits had to be eradicated, along with the stubble on my legs. My hair was a wad of filth clinging to my oily scalp; full of sweat, adrenaline and sketchy motel room bed lint.

I itched and itched and itched.

I wanted to dive into scalding water to just burn all this nastiness off of me. I also wondered if Aiden could smell me. I mean, he didn't smell like a saint either, but he was a guy, and thanks to the plague of double standards, I was pressed against the car door with the window rolled down and my arms clamped securely at my sides to minimize the funk that may assault his nostrils.  

My clothes were another story of grossness. My sweater, though a thoughtful gesture at the time, was now a dirty ball of sweat that hung on my frame, and my inability to change my underwear has left me a little crusty downstairs (if you know what I mean) and to make matters worse, I was despairingly certain that my period was going to rear it's ugly head sometime this week.

Ain't life a bitch?

"Do you think we'll be able to stop anytime soon?" I whined, resisting the urge to scratch furiously at my head.

Aiden gave me a side ways glance and grimaced, "You do look like you need a break..." He mused, and I wanted to scream in humiliation that he noticed how awful I looked. "I'll find a place for us to stay for a night, but you have to stay there and not run away while I get other supplies. People will really be on the lookout for you now that they know you're alive." 

This made sense, and the thought of making a dramatic break for it had lost its glamor a while ago, so I'd be perfectly fine with having a little time to myself.

"You know what to get, right?"

"Yep." He popped the P. "Everything we were gonna get last time and maybe some food."

"Umm... Could you also get me something else?"

"Sure."

I gnawed on my lip, debating how to ask, "Could you maybe get me some... Uh, 'lady' things?"

Aiden crinkled his brow, "What do you need makeup for?"

Oh God. "Not makeup. Other lady things."

"Like, soap?"

"Everyone uses soap!"

"Then perfume? That's kinda a waste of money--"

"I need tampons, okay?!" I snapped, frustrated by his ignorance.

Realization then disgust then embarrassment crossed his features, and I felt my own cheeks warm in shame.  

"How can you be pregnant?" He blurted in disbelief.

"What? Pregnant?! What are you talking about?!"

"I thought I kept such a close eye on you..." He whispered to himself, and I lost it.

"Tampons are for periods, you dumbass!" I shrieked, "No one raped me!"

 Aiden stared at me with moon eyes for a few moments before saying "ew", to which I flipped out on him with an embarrassing speech about the utter normalcy of periods, but he just seemed to withdrawal into himself and didn't say much until he found a place to dump me.