Cast The Die

Chapter Twenty-Six

The painkillers must have worked because I've been asleep nearly seven hours. Cole is asleep on the chair and the TV is still on. I pulled myself out of bed and walked to the bathroom, the floor is cold on my bare feet. He must have taken my boots off; he also would have had to carry me from the car. I look in the mirror and I'm shocked at what I'm seeing, I looked like a bag of bones. My face is bruised, and my hair is matted with blood, I can't smell myself, but I can imagine it's not pleasant. I throw my clothes onto the floor, turn the shower onto the hottest setting and climb in. The water runs over my body and burns the outer layer of my skin, like I'm standing under a waterfall of hell. I watch the water turn red as the blood washes away, imagining that it's the morning after Halloween and I'm showering off the costume make-up. There's only one bottle of soap so I use it to wash my hair as well as my body, as I rinse away the suds, my skin feels softer already. I stand under water until it runs cold and I watch as my skin forms goosebumps. I realise I don't have any clean clothes; I wrap the towel around my freshly washed body and pick up my ruined dress. When I opened the door, Cole was lay on the bed watching the TV, but he immediately stood up when I walked in the room. His eyes fell to the towel around my naked body and I felt exposed. He looked at the TV and then back at me and then down at the floor, like an embarrassed schoolboy seeing a girl for the first time.

"I'll um...I'll get you some clothes" he stuttered and walked out the room.

Thirty minutes later, he arrived back with a bag full of clothes, a toothbrush and more food. I took the toothbrush first and went into the bathroom. When I came back out, he had laid the clothes out on the bed, like my Mum used to.

"I didn't know what you'd want" he said, scratching the back of his head. He looks like a lost puppy; his voice is soft again.

"Thanks, they're fine" I said, picking up a pair of black sweatpants and a black pull-over hoody. There was a pair of trainers too, he must've noticed me looking at them.

"I looked at your boots, to see your size" he said, looking at the floor.

"Thank you" I replied. I went into the bathroom to get dressed, the clothes fit perfectly apart from the hoody, which was a little big, but that's how I like mine.

We got in the car and started driving, I didn't bother asking where we were going. I knew he wouldn't tell me, and I don't think I wanted to know. The radio station was playing music from the 90's and I started to think about my parents again and how much they loved these songs. I didn't notice the tears streaming down my face until Cole asked me if I was okay.

"Sorry. Yeah, I'm fine" I lied.

"You don't need to apologise" he said softly.

I must have dosed off because when I opened my eyes to check the time it was already 6.30pm. I looked out the window to find nothing but fields and trees. The road was narrow and there were no other cars around, where the hell are we? I tried to stretch but the painkillers had worn off and I could barely move.

"Here" he said, pointing at the painkillers and a bottle of water in the centre console.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Not far from Southampton. My friend has a log cabin a few miles up this road. You're staying here until I know it's safe for you to go home" he said. I felt a sigh of relief leave my body when I knew I wasn't far from home. Is he leaving me here, alone?

"By myself?" I asked quietly.

"No" he looked over at me. "No, I'm not leaving you" he said. I felt another sigh of relief. I don't want him to leave me, I don't know why but he makes me feel safe. He did save my life, after all.