His Protection

5. speechless

I'm running through a green forest. But all of a sudden the leaves within seconds turn to brown crisp and fall to the forest floor. I keep running. I don't stop, I can't stop. Why can't I stop? Why is it getting so hard to breathe?

I woke up with a start as my eyes opened suddenly and I breathed hard to welcome air into my lungs. I looked up to the blotches on the ceiling that were a pale, dirty, yellow. For a sight that wasn't clean, it was surprising it was so comforting in this very second.

I sat up in bed and my duvet was slipping to the floor on my left. Oh shit! I couldn't have the duvet touching the floor, so I lunged over the side of the bed, pulling on the duvet just before it touched the floor.

I closed my eyes in relief and straightened up. That was close. I opened my eyes and saw Vince staring at me like a deer caught in headlights, his eyes wide and unmoving from me.

"What? Is everything okay Vince?" I asked deliberately slowly. I couldn't have this man having another panic attack or me triggering something in him again.

He gulped and nodded his head as he began to turn his head and walk to the coffee table. I let out a breath I didn't even realise I was holding.

I looked down and my white tank top was now covered with a layer of sweat around my stomach and on the parts of my breasts that sat above my bra. Great, he probably freaked out because I looked like I had ran a mile and he could probably smell me from where he was standing. I shuddered, that must have been disgusting for him. Eww.

I got up and radioed in to the guys next door that I needed a shower so both of them within seconds were at the door and did the specific door rap. Even then I took my gun with me. All it took was someone in the corridor hearing that and copying it and then next thing Vince and I knew it was bullets flying across the room rather than our breakfast being handed to us.

I opened the door the littlest I could and peered cautiously with my gun just in front of me but behind the door so no one could see it. As I saw their two grinning faces with breakfast in their hands, I opened the door and let them in.

"No wonder you called us, did you just exercise or something?" he laughed.

I rolled my eyes and narrowed my eyes at him in particular.

"Damn woman, go have your shower" he held up his hands in surrender.

"I thought so" I smirked.

I quickly dove into my mini suitcase and grabbed my essentials; a new t-shirt and some leggings along with my underwear and of course my own towel.

I ran into the bathroom and allowed myself ten minutes to scrub myself harshly and then wash my hair with apple and cinnamon shampoo, it was the only thing I let myself splurge on. My hair had to smell nice.

After washing and rinsing my hair for a second time I quickly dried myself and was careful not to let the towel touch anything but me, even if it meant I had to hold onto it with my mouth while I changed. It was not touching anything else in this motel bathroom. Who knew what kind of fluids were all over this thing if I took a UV light to it? NOPE. I refused to think about it. I shook my head as the towel still hung from my mouth.

As I pulled the waistband of my leggings up and let it go around my waist, I grabbed the towel from my mouth and slipped into my flip flops. I exited the bathroom to each of the guys turning to me. I furrowed my eyebrows as I met Vince's gaze and then the two guards who I had learned were Samuel and Jason.

"What?" I stared at all three of them expectantly.

"Thank fuck, we all were just sitting here in absolute silence, it was driving me crazy!" Samuel widened his eyes at the prospect I guess of having to sit in silence longer than this. Now that I noticed his buzz cut made him look younger even though he had some lines on his forehead but he couldn't be in his forties, late thirties I was guessing.