Roommates Unraveling

Chapter Six- Shower

Showering seemed to be my favorite part of the day. Water, scalding hot, poured down on me, drenching and soaking my body. Music hummed from my waterproof speakers, offering a beat I could bop along to. Soap gels and scrubs in every color and scent cluttered around me, seeping out vanilla, lemon, strawberry and sugary aromas.

Shower time was the best.

Once I was done, I swiveled the faucet to the right until there was no more water gushing down on me. I twisted and rang my hair, now fully conditioned and velvety, to get rid of excess water. I peeled back my lime green shower curtains with little daises printed on.

And then, I looked for my lilac towel with Mia embroidered on it in violet lettering.

But it wasn't there.

My towel. Where was it?

I hopped out of the shower, frantically looking around the bathroom, scavenging.

Realizing that I'd left it in the laundry room, I mentally cursed myself. Shit. I hurried into my room, wrapping a cashmere scarf around my wet, sticky body and bolted into the laundry room down the hall.

Thankfully, no one was inside. I bent over the laundry basket, flinging boxers and tees away, looking for my towel.

Bingo.

"Just a sec –" I heard someone say. Harry. He opened the laundry door room. I ducked behind the basket, clutching my scarf, praying he wouldn't come this way.

But, of course, he did. He made a beeline straight towards me, but luckily stopped a few feet ahead of me. "Mia? Is that you?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yup. I'm fine... Just, um, looking for something."

"Do you need help?"

"Nope!"

"I can help." He offered.

"Go away!" I urged.

But he didn't go away. Because he was Harry. Stubborn as ever.

"What the hell..." He said as he came closer and took a good look at me. I was squatting on the floor, dripping and dribbling with water. With all the dignity I could muster, I got up, gripping my towel, and walked away.

"Mia..." Harry said, extending his arm out towards me. I kept walking, so he grabbed onto the scarf.

The scarf fell down. I managed to grab it mid-air, but my top half was still exposed.

I stood there, motionless, unable to breath. Stark naked. Only half covered. For a few seconds, I thought I was dreaming.

This couldn't be happening.

This was far too humiliating, even for my standards. This was a freeze-frame of a nightmare.

But when Harry raised his eyebrows and he began to smirk, I knew it was reality.

"Not a bad sight." He said, not taking his eyes off of me.

I clutched the scarf in a feeble attempt to cover my body- particularly my scars. "Look away!"

I turned around and ran. Ran so goddamn fast. Down the corridor, into my room. I locked the door. Huffing and puffing against my door, I wrapped the towel so tightly around me, my blood supply was almost cut off. The only solace I had was that I'd managed to cover my scars. But Harry had seen everything above them. Oh God. This was horrible.

Struggling to fight back tears or pure and utter mortification, I occupied my brain by getting dressed, rummaging through my wardrobe and color coordinating my socks.

A few hours later, I still wanted to dissolve into a puddle of nothing, but at least my entire room was clean and orderly- a neat freak's paradise. Even my books were arranged by genre, theme, and author's surname.

Amidst the silence and tranquility of my safe haven, the knock at the door startled me. "Who is it?" I called; wanting to make sure it wasn't Harry. I wasn't sure if I could face him.

"Liam!"

Grinning, I opened the door, welcoming him in. He wore a raglan sweater and broken up jeans. "We're going out again tonight. To a small gathering, it's fairly low-key. Wanna come?"

"Can I bring Kyle?" I asked, referring to one of the stockier bodyguards that patrolled the house. He was the nicest one working here.

Liam let out a deep-throated chuckle. "Sure, but even we don't need bodyguards."

"Oh, stop being cocky," I grinned. "Change the band's name and maybe then you'll get fans."

Liam shook his head, barely able to suppress his laughter. "We leave at eight." He managed to say in between muffled chuckles. What so funny about their boy band?

God, they were weird.