ALEX

DIRTY WATER

"Can you grab those plates for me and don't forget to grab the centerpieces," Elliot points out as she has Edith, and I fish around for a few items. I can't believe that I'm back doing this crap. I've only been here for a few days and already I am scurrying around to make Elliot happy.

"Where are the centerpieces," I ask as I search from box to box.

Edith shrugs her shoulders and points to her car that is parked in front of the house in the pouring rain. "Really," I mumble. She rolls her eyes and smirks, Edith is going to be a jerk about it and give me a hard time. Oh, how I still despise her.

A smile creeps up at the corner of my lips as I take a deep breath in and head outside. Everyone seems to pity me but not Edith, she still treats me the same. Whether it is sunshine or rain.

"You know it would be nice if you unlocked the door," I shout from outside, knowing damn well that she is able to hear me. But does she ever unlock the door? Nope.

I stand outside for another minute or two until finally the doors to the car are unlocked. I rush to the back seats where I find Elliot's precious centerpiece box. The damn thing must weigh at least seven pounds, and to top it off this pouring rain is not making my task any easier as I struggle to shut the door. God, forbid if Elliot's back seat gets soaked. She is going to give me hell about it until I pull another vanishing stunt and disappear for a few more months.

By now I am rushing back to the house tracking mud behind me as I enter the living room. Elliot and Edith look over to the front door where I stand drenched with the bride's precious box at hand. I hope that Elliot remembers this for the rest of her life. I could have drowned out there.

"The shower is that way and the dry is around the corner," Edith points out.

Yeah thank you, I think that I'm aware that I've dragged half of the world's resource of water inside with me. The two chuckle amongst themselves as I disappear to the backroom. I am most definitely going to catch a cold from this.

"Hey we're gonna go grab a few things, we'll be back," I hear Elliot shout.

My face goes completely blank as I bite down on my tongue. If only they had shared this information with me earlier I wouldn't have gone out of my way to run to the car. They're going to the car regardless.

"Yup," I answer back as I start to undress.

From time to time I find myself distracted by the thought that maybe at some point Mathew will send me a text message to figure out if I haven't killed myself yet, but he hasn't. Not even a phone call. Maybe he's figured out that I've survived and that in some shape or fashion that I'd make it back in one piece.

"Let's go swimming...dirty water, days are shorter and nights are longer. I wanna be the only lover that makes it worth it. Pulls you under, from the surface," I start to sing softly as I hope in the shower. By now Elliot and Edith are practically family to me so this awkward moment of me taking a shower at Edith's place doesn't phase me one bit.

Can you believe that I'm actually agreeing that those two are never going to disappear from my life? Crazy right, but life sure works in interesting ways. Nope, not mysterious, but interesting indeed.

"Dirty water in my system just in case I don't want to remember nothing. But you know I won't as long as I go deeper to the ocean floor. Find another lover at the liquor store," I continue to sing as I step out of the shower and make my way to Edith's bedroom.

Now I know that I do not fit in any of Edith's clothes but if I can find me some bed sheets to spare then I'll make one hell of a toga to last me a while until my clothes dry off. The curse of being a few sizes bigger. And of course to my surprise I work my magic and the blend peach bedspread has become my muse.

"Let's go swimming...dirty water," I pause for a second in the middle of the hall with my fingers fiddling about in my hair as I try to pin it up.

Standing there in the living room soaked with a few boxes at hand is Kit. I guess Andrew has him running a few errands as well.

"I'm sorry, I'll be on my way out," I spew out quickly as I march my way to the door as if I have lost all of my common sense. What in the world am I doing? I've got Edith's bedsheets wrapped around me, I don't have my car outside since I've hitched a ride with the girls and to make matters weird it is pouring outside. I literally just watched up and changed in order to dry my clothes off, but the moment I realize that no one else is here but Kit and I, my mind goes all over the place.

Yet, before I can make my way to the door Kit blocks my path by setting the boxes down.

Jesus, why am I not myself? Why do I feel so guilty? What the hell did I do wrong? You'd think that after a year of not seeing him that I would be normal.

"It's pouring out and I won't be long. I'm just here to grab a few things," he mentions as he walks around me and down the hall.

For a second there I realize that I've shut myself down completely and forgotten how to breathe. My feet weigh heavily as I remain in the same spot, probably in the same pose trying to wrap my head around what to do.

"You can continue singing," I hear from within Edith's bedroom.

Just great...

"You can't break away from the tides so you dip in that dirty water. In my system, I wanted to be out of the shower by eight thirty, and not feel dirty," Kit sings in the background.

I'm surprised that he even remembers the words to the song.

"Let's go swimming...dirty water, days are shorter and nights are longer. I wanna be the only lover that makes it worth it. Pulls you under, from the surface," but this time his voice is closer than before. He's no longer digging around in Edith's room but instead, he is behind me.

Slowly I turn around.

His hair is tied up like it usually is and he must have shaved a few months back, because the bristles on his face are growing back slowly. I don't think that I have ever seen him with a clean smooth face.

My eyes fall to his where I find myself lost in his soul. It is as if we are silently catching up with each other on lost times as we analyze each other. Every inch of his skin to the fine pores on his face I find myself studying. The hairs on the back of his arms to the small cuts around his hands from what could have been battle scars from work, I notice.

"How have you been," he asks as suddenly I find myself in his arms. My dry skin now soaked with his drench clothes as he buries me deeper into his chest.

I don't know how this all happened but never in a million year I thought he'd ever talk to me again let alone hug me like a normal human being.

I remain still and quiet as I digest the moment in slowly.

What in the world is going on right now?

"Well welcome back home," he clears his throat as he releases me. I guess he feels uncomfortable as well as he sees the blank expression on my face.

He apologizes a few times for soaking me up until finally he reaches the front door.

"Fine," I answer finally before realizing that he is just a few seconds away from stepping back outside.

Kit looks over his shoulder.

A ghost of a smile catches my eye as he closes the door behind him and leaves.

Yet in the midst of the moment all that I can hear running in my head is his voice singing the one tune that drove him insane every morning as I took a shower at his place. He remembers the lyrics. I smile to myself and slowly run my fingers along my soaked skin....and he held me.

"Let's go swimming...dirty water."