“Shit!” Hearing a man’s voice scares the shit out of me causing me to jump and slip. When I try to get my balance back, it causes me to slip even more so I do the only thing I can do…I grab onto the shower curtain to try and save myself. It didn’t work. The curtain rips off the bar and I go crashing down landing in somewhat of an awkward position.
“Fuck. Are you okay?” Zach rushes forward then leans down and offers me a hand.
“What are you doing in here?” I shout, pulling the shower curtain a little closer.
“Sorry. The other bathrooms were double occupied already. I thought one of the other girls were in the shower. I didn’t mean to scare you. Here…let me help you up.”
I grab ahold of his hand and try to stand while still managing to hold that shower curtain in place. “Oww…I can’t. I hurt my ankle.” There’s no way I can put any pressure on my left foot.
“Did you get to finish your shower?”
I know I give him a rather odd look. “Yeah, but…”
“Okay…” That’s all he says before he leans over the tub and grabs me, placing one arm under my knees and one behind my back.
“What the hell? Put me down, Zach.” My arms automatically wrap around his neck in fear that he might drop me. I’ve never had anyone pick me up before.
“Shush. You said yourself you hurt your ankle. You can’t walk on it. I’ll take you to your room and get one of the girls to help you.”
He’s standing in the bathroom with me in his arms, and I just look at him. For the first time, I really look at him. His dark eyes, dark hair…he doesn’t…I look down, and that’s when I realize that he doesn’t even have a shirt on. I quickly look away and realize that it’s too late. I know my cheeks are bright red. Of course, that’s when I also remember that I’m wearing a shower curtain.
“Don’t worry about it.” He must realize that I’m embarrassed. “All your naughty bits are covered.” He laughs a little and starts heading toward my room just like he said. He dips down, and I tighten my grip around his neck for fear that he might actually drop me, while he turns the handle and nudges it open. “Now, you just sit here.” He sets me on my bed, careful not to move the shower curtain. “I’ll go get one of the girls, and we can figure out what we need to do.”
“Thanks, Zach. What are you, a boy scout?” I ask him in more of a jokingly manner only because he seemed to know what he was doing.
He gets this huge-ass grin on his face. “No.” He ponders for a minute like he’s trying to decide if he’s going to continue or not. “But, I do believe I ate a brownie once.”
Ate a brownie? What the hell is he… “Oh, God. That’s terrible.” I must admit that it took me a minute to comprehend what he was saying. Jesus, that was a horrible joke. Ate a brownie…ha…ha…ha…
He turns and leaves, only to return with not one of the girls, but everyone in the freaking house. All asking what happened, not giving a care in the world about my current state of dress. Finally, Jenny notices how uncomfortable I am and starts ushering everyone out of the room. I know the guys showed up just to see what they could see. Thankfully, they couldn’t see anything.
After a short discussion, we…or I, decided that it wasn’t bad enough to go to the hospital. Kaylee helped me balance while I dressed and helped me wobble downstairs where I promptly plopped down on the couch, elevated my foot, and had a bag of frozen peas tossed on it.
“There…that should do it. Here…take this. It’ll help with the pain,” Sam says, placing two tablets in my hand while reaching for a glass of water on the table with the other.
“What is it?”
“Pain killers. Trust me…you are gonna need them.” Against my better judgment, I take the pills then recline back further on the couch. “Thanks, guys. I gotta get this better so I can find a job.”
“Why are you so set on finding a job? School’s gonna start in a few weeks. By the time they get you trained, you’ll have to quit,” Brendon pipes up for a minute.
I hadn’t thought of that…I mean, I thought I would be able to cut my hours back, but it never crossed my mind that I’d have to quit work. Don’t most students have a job while they go to college? Where will I get my extra spending money from? “It’d still be nice to have some extra money.” Jesus, I’m so confused now.
“Haley…let me ask you something.” Sam turns so she’s facing me, “Did you read everything about your scholarship? I mean all the small print…every. Single. Thing. I only ask because everyone in this house gets the same scholarship,” she asks with a serious look on her face.