This is what I love about Helize. You can say anything to her and she'll come up with something even more wild.
I get her up and in her chair, and start pushing her toward the bathroom. As we pass her mini fridge, I fish in my pocket for the magnet and slap it on there.
"I got you a souvenir from Hawaii," I say, stopping so she can look at it.
"Oh, sweetheart!" Helize peers at the magnet, then frowns slightly. "Violet! Is that a vagina?"
"What?! No—it's a humpback whale with its mouth open! Here, put on your glasses."
I hand them to her and she slips them on. "Oh, I see it now!" she exclaims. "It's like one of those paintings that you have to stare at a funny way until you see the picture."
"No, it's actually nothing like that," I say, wheeling her into the bathroom.
After getting her situated in there, I get to work on straightening out her room. I make her bed the way she likes it, and throw away all the crumpled tissues she has stashed everywhere. Gross.
It's weird how easily I fall back into my old work routine. I get all my residents down to breakfast, then before I know it, it's after lunch, and time for shift change. I stay for a few extra minutes to catch up with the mid-shift girls, and then I'm clocking out and on my way home.
That went good! I'm not even tired. I can't wait to have a nice long soak in the tub, and then eat something. A whole cake, maybe. I'm so hungry! All that running around.
I check the garage like usual to see if Zane's home, but his car isn’t there. If that's disappointment I'm feeling, I do my best to ignore it.
As soon as I get in the house, I grab some clothes, my ear buds, and some candles and make a beeline straight for the bathroom.
I really need a relaxing bath right now. I quickly peel off my yucky scrubs and start the bath. While it's running, I light the candles and turn off the lights. The sound of running water and the flickering lights makes me feel calm and spiritual, like I should have a dagger and an altar, or something.
Pretending that I'm a virgin sacrifice drowning myself in the waters of purity, I step delicately into the tub.
Aaah.
My whole body sighs in happiness as I sink into the hot water. The jets are all fired up, vanilla candles wafting their vanilla-ness...heaven. I pop my ear buds in and play some Aiden Cross on my phone.
I guess I drift off for a bit. The next thing I know, I'm blinking my eyes open and stretching languidly in the now cool water, completely relaxed.
That was great! I climb out of the tub and my stomach growls fiercely. Right, time to eat. I towel off and slip on a long white sundress, then I clean up after myself. Wouldn't want Zane to think I'm a big slob. I gather my things, open the door, and—
Aaaaaaughh!
The first thing I see is a naked chick, crawling around on Zane's bed.
It's not Natassia this time, it's some blonde chick, according to my shock-filled eyes.
I'm rooted to the spot. The naked blonde girl notices me standing there and screams, grabbing a sheet to cover herself with. Zane is lying on his bed, fully clothed, hands tucked behind his head in a casual position.
"Hey," he says, turning his head to look at me. "I didn't know you were home."
He says this so calmly!
"Oh, my god, I'm so sorry!" I blurt out, clapping a hand over my mouth. "I swear, I had no idea you were home! I was just taking a bath with candles, and I had my music on, and I think I fell asleep—ear buds…"
"No worries," Zane says with his half-smile. "Violet, this is Anna. Anna—my roommate, Violet."
"Hi." I wave lamely, trying desperately to imagine her completely dressed.
Quick—I need to say something to her to diffuse this awkward situation!
"Um...nice ass!"
Not that, though.
"Oh, god, I didn't mean that!"
Naked Girl stares at me, mortified. She crosses her arms over her chest, and angles her body away from me—like I'm some kind of peeper!
"I was just trying to make conversation. I didn't mean it, like, sexually," I babble, making it worse. "It was just an observation. Yeah, I'm gonna...go. Now. Okay."
I stare down at the ground and make a run for it. I don't stop until I reach my room. I throw myself on my bed, facedown, and order myself not to move as punishment for gross stupidity.
Maybe twenty minutes later—or an hour—there is a knock on my door. I don't answer, but someone comes in, anyway.
Zane. I could sense his presence in the pitch dark.
"Hey," he says, and I feel a tug on my foot. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," I say into the mattress. "Thanks for checking. Bye."
The bed dips down from a sudden weight. Holy crap! Zane is sitting on my bed!
I flip over and scramble into a sitting position, scooting away from him like he's fire.