Turned

Chapter Fifty Nine

I headed back to Matt's for a much-needed change of clothes only to be greeted by Lena. Her arms wrapped around me, tightly, threatening to steal someone's breath. She was never normally like that, so sweet, quiet, clingy but she didn't seem to want to let go of me and I didn't have the heart to prise her off me. Instead I just wrapped my arm around her shoulders, hugging her back. 

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"Nowhere you need to worry about" I promised her as she finally let go.

"You're so cold" she complained then pulled at my shirt. "You need to wear a coat"

"I know, I know, I need to remember to bring one" I lied quickly to avoid an argument. 

I walked past her and into my room. I picked up a new t-shirt and a pair of jeans and walked out, into the bathroom. I preferred to change in the bathroom, with a locked door. I locked the door, bolted it as I stripped and jumped in the shower. Thankfully, my dark hair hid a lot of what was in it otherwise I'd be in trouble. Lena thankfully couldn't see the red tinges in my hair or smell the iron, it seemed, at least not from me.

I watched it all go down the drain, hoping the memories would follow, the sounds, the feeling, the smell but of course, I knew better. Hoping for that was like wishing on a star, pointless, it never amounts to anything, just a waste of time and wasted hope.

I kept scrubbing my hair clean, using probably half a bottle of shampoo on it to get rid of the blood. I'd never been more satisfied to see pink, near red water pour down the drain, it meant that at least part of me wouldn't have the reminder of that night... my eyes, the darkness, the pain as they regrew... that was something I wouldn't forget in a hurry.

"Jack!" Lena complained.

"What?!" I called out in an annoyed tone.

"Come on, you've been in there for ages!"

"You can wait!" I snapped.

"I need a pee!" she called back, her fists hammering on the door.

"Five minutes!" I called back.

She continued to hammer on the door like a pest as I dried myself off and got dressed, just throwing on a pair of jeans and a simple red t-shirt.

"Hurry up!" she screeched, her fist threatening to hit me as I swung the door open. I stepped back in time, only to see her with her arms folded, glaring like there was a bad smell in the air. "Next time, can you tell me you're going for a shower? You're so inconsiderate!"

"Well, I'm sorry, I'm not used to announcing when I want a shower, next time I'll announce it with fanfare, see how that works!" I snapped as I rubbed my hair in my towel. I sighed as I touched a slimy bit of my hair, still covered in white shampoo. I stuck my head in the sink and turned on the tap, hissing as I got blasted with boiling water.

I thought it couldn't get any worse. I was wrong.

"Jack?" Nick questioned as he and Matt walked through to see me fully dressed, that would have been fine but they both saw me awkwardly, with my head in the sink.

"I... I don't want to know" Matt stated as he walked away.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"Washing my hair" I commented before I realised how bad that sounded. I sighed and pulled my head out the sink, wrapping it up as water and shampoo threatened to drip all over the floor. "Lena needed the bathroom, she was hammering on the door while I was having a shower, so I left the shower quickly, got dressed quickly and realised I still have shampoo in my hair so I decided, while I was alone, to wash it out in the kitchen sink"

"You could've waited" Nick pointed out.

"I don't like shampoo" I complained as I blushed.

"Nice towel" Nick joked.

Finally, Lena came out the bathroom, so I could look in the mirror and wash it out properly. She looked at me strangely as I darted back in with a towel on my head, covering my hair.

"Jack, you're so weird" she commented.

"Look who's talking, I don't wait until someone's showering before I announce I need a pee!" I snapped.

"True, you're just rude, inconsiderate and you've used my shampoo!" she snapped back.

I rolled my eyes and sighed once.

I didn't have a problem sharing a bathroom, Matt and I had to, it just had to be done but adding another person into it, makes things complicated. Three people, one bathroom, two beds, two sofas. I was lucky I didn't sleep but Lena would no doubt pick up on that, along with my lack of sleep and buckets of energy. I didn't know what she'd think and that oddly felt... exciting, like I was delving into the unknown, uncharted territory or something.

"I see your place is never dull" Nick commented.

"No but it's usually just myself and Matt, Lena's a guest here" I replied. "She doesn't know a thing" I whispered quickly.

She walked out of my room quickly, her mouth open, ready to shout or scream until she saw Nick. "Who's this?" she asked with a flirtatious smile.

"Lena, this is Nick, Nick, this... unfortunately, is my sister"

"Shut up, I'm the unfortunate one, I have to put up with you, especially when you're inconsiderate and rude"

I sighed, even more embarrassed than I previously was. She just pushed past me and attempted to flirt with Nick for a few minutes with me just casually tuning out, so I didn't have to listen to her being irritating. I was surprised Nick was even putting up with it all, I wouldn't have, I'd have gone, run a mile but he stayed and politely suggested he wasn't interested. He smiled at me and tapped my shoulder as he walked towards the outside, discreetly gesturing for me to follow him.