Shallows | t. drake

THREE;

PLEASE EXCUSE ME FOR
MY    P L A S T I C    TASTE

A small sigh escaped her lips as the cloth fell away from her skin, allowing her to unwind her wrist from its gentle compress. Unhooking her thumb, she let the fabric ribbon into a crude pile on her lap before carelessly stuffing it into the gym bag that sat at her feet. Peeling the sweaty tank top from her damp torso, she discarded it on top of the bag. Kicking off her scuffed trainers clumsily, she padded across the cool tile of the empty change room. Locking herself in the nearest shower stall she threw her towel over the top of the door. She wrestled out of her remaining clothing, which was equally sweaty, and placed them similarly before turning on the shower. Sighing once again, she leaned forward to press her forehead against the smooth tile of the wall as the stream of hot water pounded against her, numbing the hot skin of her back. Her body still ached from the previous night's entanglement. After her encounter with a certain unfavourable caped crusader, she was tossing up wether to forgo going out again in an effort to lay low. A few nights off would hopefully have her a distant memory in Robin's mind, all the while allowing her to nurse herself back to relative physical health. She'd stayed in late at the gym, trying to get some of the relentless, pounding anxiety out of her system but it was to no avail. Whilst it had left her body numb, internally her thoughts still raged. Droplets dribbled pathetically off the tip of her nose, the shower enshrouding the rest of her body in warm curtains of water that snaked down the back of her calves to dissipate. Gingerly, she brushed a hand over the brilliant purple bruise that had blossomed across the left side of her ribcage, trailing ribbons of water from her fingertips as she did so. Even the slightest of contact earned a rough hiss of pain at the sensation. Annalise pushed off the wall with one hand, turning her face upwards into the stream. She began gently washing away the remains of her patchy concealer job. She had sweated most of it off during training but the tender skin still ached making the process slow and painful. 

Annalise had just finished throwing on her daggy sweats and was towelling off her hair when her phone rang, almost scaring the life out of her and making her jump. Lat night's encounter had her on edge and jumpier than ever. 

"Annalise, where are you?" Annalise could hear the worried note in his voice and suddenly felt extremely guilty. The girl wedged her phone between her ear and shoulder as she moved to hastily shove her remaining belongings into her gym bag. 

"I stayed late training and helping Troy pack up. I'm on my way now." she answered as she began lacing up her shoes, trying her best to reassure him.

"You know I don't like you walking around at this time of night." Marcos chastised.

"Papi, the bus stop is only a block away. I've done it millions of times." She answered, trying to the best of her ability to sooth her father's anxiety, but he didn't budge.

"In times like these? Mija, you understand why I'm worried."
Annalise sighed her heart sinking at the thought as she felt another wave of guilt wash over her. She hadn't even considered it, she'd been so preoccupied with school and Tim Drake and her new double life. It had been barely a year since she last saw her older sister for the last time, and the pain of it all wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. 

Her heart sank, imaging what was going through her father's head when she was late. "Papi....I'm sorry, I didn't think. I swear I didn't mean to..."

"I know. I just.. estoy tratando de protegerte. I can't lose you too. You're all I have left..."

Annalise's heart felt like it was breaking all over again. Watching her father deal with the loss was almost as hard as losing her sister itself. "I know... I'm sorry. I just..have so much..I didn't realise how late it was."