Daydreamer's Tales

Warmth

The area Ellis lived in was literally a hundred miles from civilization. It was in a village, with only a few dozen houses and about 57 people. Everyone knew everyone.

There was a knock on his door, and he groaned, removed his glasses, closed the book he had on medical diagnosis, and narrowed his eyes at the door. It was half past eleven.

He shuffled over to the door, squinting in the dark to see who it was, and when he recognized her, his eyes widened in shock.

It was strange seeing her after so long, especially in the condition she was in. A bruise on her right cheek, blood on her blonde hair, cuts around her body, and she was limping. Her grey eyes seemed pleading, and she looked crazy scared.

Ellis pushed his door open wider, already thinking about what he was supposed to do. ________________________________________________________________

Violet Bray was a twenty one year old with a doll like appearance. She had a beauty mark on the far right of her cheeks and a smile that could drive away rain clouds. According to her sister, her father was a soldier that was never home, and her mother left as soon as she was born. She had a sister who took care of her instead. The first time she had gotten seriously injured was when a slicing knife slipped from her hands and cut into her arm deeply. She ran to Ellis Landey, the 26 year old who was her sister's old friend.

He wore wrinkled trousers and an equally wrinkly shirt, looking like he hadn't seen the sun in days.

From him patching up her bleeding arm, an unlikely friendship formed. She was the light to his introverted life, and he was one of the few people who could keep up with her chatter.

Every few weeks, she'd come by, with a broken arm, a bruised leg, a busted lip, a sprained ankle, or something along those lines. It always had a different story. She fell off her sister's pick up, she banged her leg against the door, she was punched in the face, she fell off the treadmill, or something like that.

This time was different.

__________________________________________________________________________

"What the hell did you do?"

Violet was mute, her expression tired, and her posture tense.

They were in the bathroom now, him sitting on the edge of the bathtub, her sitting on the lid of the toilet. The water ran into the tub quickly, the only noise coming from the room. Bubbles rose along with it, making the water translucent.

"The water's ready," Ellis said, turning around. "I'll turn so you can...uh...you know..."

There was a sharp exhale, followed by the sound of clothes ruffling and falling, and Ellis felt heat rush to his face. As the water rippled, a shaky breath drew out from Violet. The water's color changed into a reddish tint immediately and the room began to smell like blood.

"I'll go now," Ellis stated.

Violet's hand shot out to grab his arm, her eyes flashing with a terrified expression.

"Okay," he sighed. "I'll stay."

The girl withdrew her hand, closed her eyes, and submerged herself deeper into the tub.

10 minutes later, Ellis was kneeling beside the tub, his hand drawing patterns into the water. She hadn't moved yet; Violet hadn't moved from her spot and she looked sleepy.

Ellis brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face, causing her to jolt awake and smack his hand. Her eyes softened when she saw him.

"I'll wash you," he mumbled, taking a loofah off his bathroom rack and slathering some of his body wash onto it. "Sit up."