Broken

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

I'd been awake for several minutes before I finally remembered where I was. I rolled over, opened my eyes, groaning when I saw that the other side of the bed was empty.

Who knows what Alec thought. He'd obviously fled his own room to avoid talking to me when I finally woke up.

Donovan's gentle knock, and appearance at the door pulled me up short before I could really get going on the self-loathing. "Good morning Mistress Paige, I hope you slept well."

He limped into the room with his odd, somehow graceful lurch, and then set down a tray filled with eggs, French toast, orange juice and everything else you'd expect if you were to go to IHOP and order their 'everything but the kitchen sink' special.

While I was still trying to catalog everything on the tray, Donovan laid out a full set of clothes, everything either in unopened manufacturer's plastic bags, or with price tags still attached.

"Mistress Rachel thought you might desire a change of clothes seeing as how Master Alec carried you off without providing proper time for you to pack your things. I pray though that you not think too harshly of him. It was he that prepared your breakfast. A small act of atonement, but still a start nonetheless."

It was all so surprising that it took me a moment to find my voice. "Thank you, Donovan. Have I slept in too long?"

A gentle smile met my inquiry. "Those of us who don't require normal amounts of sleep have all been up for quite some time, with the exception of Master Alec, who remained abed for an uncharacteristic length of time, but the rest of the house is just now waking. In fact I rather suspect you have just enough time to shower and eat before Mistress Rachel will be pounding on the door as it were, in excitement for your upcoming trip into town."

A groan escaped me despite my best efforts. Donovan was too polite to ask outright, but I had to respond to his raised eyebrow or he might think I didn't want to talk to Rachel. "I'm sorry Donovan, it's just that I really hate shopping."

"Ah, yes. Might I suggest that possibly is due to the fact you've never pursued the activity in the right company?"

**

Right company indeed. I'd expected it would just be Rachel and I, and that we'd make a quick run in to Sanctuary, which seemed silly seeing as how my house was just as close as town was. I was wrong on both accounts.

The 'company' as Donovan had dubbed it, also included Dominic and Jasmin. Dominic had smiled shyly in my direction as we'd climbed into an ostentatious black Mercedes. Jasmin just looked like she'd rather be anywhere than on babysitting duty.

Rachel had explained that Alec didn't want us delicate, fragile girls traveling alone, so he'd assigned us bodyguards, who happened to also be female and delicate looking, but who weren't nearly as fragile.

Also, it turned out we weren't going to Sanctuary, or St. George, or even anywhere in Utah, a fact I didn't realize until we'd been on the road for twenty minutes.

"Oh, Adri, don't be silly. You can't do real shopping in Sanctuary. Besides, Alec wouldn't have let the four of us go alone if we'd been planning on staying so close to Brandon's territory. Vegas was definitely the best option given the time restrictions we're under."

I'd settled in for a long trip, only to realize as we crossed the state line that Jasmin was positively shattering the speed limit. I managed to limit myself to a single gulp, when I saw just how fast she was going, but everyone else was so relaxed that I finally managed to unclench my fists and join back in the conversation. It helped that the Mercedes was so smooth, and that I knew Jasmin had reflexes and reaction time that would've made any Indy racer insanely jealous.

Apparently there wasn't a single cop on duty, because we made it into downtown Vegas in what I was sure was record time. It had to be. Jasmin hadn't dropped below triple digits until we were less then fifteen minutes from exiting the interstate.

It wasn't until we hit the first store that I started to get an idea of what Donovan had been hinting at. The shyness Rachel normally exhibited at school was replaced by supreme confidence the moment we crossed the threshold of the first store. Armani, Versatchi, Prada, we conducted a tour de force of them all along with others whose names I didn't even recognize.

The shopping trip was ostensibly for me, but Rachel cajoled both Jasmin and Dominic into dressing rooms on more than one occasion. Amazingly enough, everything she picked out for them fit so perfectly, that I began to agree with them that there wasn't much point in even trying anything on.

The first store we stopped at didn't seem to take us seriously until Rachel pulled out a black American Express, after which every sales person in the entire place lined up to assist us.

Once we each sported a bag or two from some ridiculously over-priced store, things went much more smoothly. I tried on a variety of jeans, blouses, shirts, skirts, dresses, and just about every other article of clothing imaginable. I drew the line at a swimsuit, since there was no way on earth I'd ever wear one, and then felt so bad at how crushed Rachel was, that I let her drag me into a store full of formals. It was a mistake because I soon found myself being zipped into a delicate, green dress that I was absolutely positive wasn't going to survive the experience of trying to wrap itself around me.

"Oh, it's perfect, Adri. We have to get it."

I avoided looking at the mirror. It seemed like a crime to defile such a pretty dress, and I wanted to remember it like it had looked on the hanger, all shimmery and wispy. I did risk a look down at the price tag. My heart actually skipped a beat. That was more than some people spent on their first car."

"Rachel, you've already bought me way too much. I can't let you get this. Not only will I never wear it, you could literally feed small countries with what you'd have to pay for all this."

She started to pout, but I'd already been taken by that tactic once today, and caving in had just landed me in deeper trouble. "I'm serious Rachel; we are not walking out of the store with this dress. You can throw a temper tantrum if you want, but I'm not giving in."

Rachel glared at me for several seconds, and then suddenly smiled. "Ok, Adri. I mean I was just trying to do something nice for you, but if you're going to be like that, we'll leave it here."

Her grin didn't engender trust, but when I opened my mouth to call her on it, she forestalled me with an upraised hand. "I swear. We'll go home and leave the dress here."

The pout came back out for a moment. "But, if you're not going to let me buy this for you, I'm going to need to compensate by buying something for Jasmin."

Rachel flounced off, followed by a frowning Jasmin, leaving Dominic to help me out of the straitjacket I was currently using as a dress.