Stay(17)

I spit out what I could on the floor. “What the hell?” I shouted.

“I hate seeing people get their ass beat,” she told me. “It’ll take a while to kick in. You need to shower. I’ll do your hair and makeup. Get up.” When I didn’t move, she grabbed my wrist and gave me a shake. “Addie! Come on! You’re going to regret this.”

“Yes,” I said when I moved my feet to the floor. “I will.”

In a haze, I got up and moved to the shower. I turned on the water and waited. I had no clothes to change into, no towel, and soon I would have no dignity.

“Here,” Lily said and pulled an unfolded towel from a basket that was stashed under the make-shift vanity table. “The water, like, never warms up, either,” she advised. “It’s best, like, to get in and get it over with. Oh,” she said suddenly and turned around. She pulled a package of disposable razors from the bottom of the towel basket. At least it was unopened. “Make sure the only hair on your body is on your head.”

I nodded, feeling devoid of emotions. Was it from the drugs? Or was the situation too much for my mind to handle?

“And,” she continued, bending over again and rooting though a box under the sink. “You need to take one of these. Everyday.”

Immediately, I recognized the little yellow plastic container. I took it from her and opened it. I stared at the little pills and didn’t hesitate to pop the birth control pill into my mouth, swallowing it dry. I stepped out of my filthy shorts and pulled my shirt over my head. I moved behind the slimy shower curtain and took off the rest of my clothes, dropping them on the cement floor. I took the razor, my fingers barely grasping it, and stepped into the freezing water.

It stunned me at first, sending a wave of shock and awareness through my mind. A few seconds later, the drugs pushed all logic away and I just stood there, letting the cold water pelt down on me. Soon my body was as physically as numb as it was emotionally. Feeling like someone set me on autopilot, I began washing my hair.

I nicked my legs more than once, since I was shivering nonstop. I watched the blood swirl down the yellow stained drain. Teeth chattering, I tipped my head and stared, wishing I could disappear down the drain as well.

“Addie?” Lily’s voice spoke from outside the curtain. “You okay in there? It’s been a while. You have to be freezing.”

I slowly blinked and shook myself. I turned the water off and pulled back the curtain just far enough to grab the towel. I wrapped it around my goosebump-covered torso and walked back to my cot, water dripping on the floor. Dirt and grit stuck to my wet feet. Normally, that would have grossed me out, but what was a little dirt compared to what was going to happen to me?

Phoebe and Lily exchanged sorrowful looks. Phoebe came up behind me and gently towel dried my hair. I just sat there, completely still except for the shivering.#p#分页标题#e#

“Here,” Lily offered and held out a robe.

Holding the towel up with one hand, I snaked my arms through the crushed velvet robe and tied it around myself.

"I don't get your tattoos," she said and tipped her head.

"Theban," I simplified and looked at the squiggly characters that surrounded a triple moon symbol my left shoulder blade. "It's an old alphabet. It’s from a book."

"Oh." Lily nodded. "What about that one? It's a circle inside a triangle with a line through it?"

"From another book," I summed up, looking at the tattoo on my wrist. I had one more tattoo on my left side. I parted the robe to show her. "Get this one?"

"Nope. 'To infinity'," she read. "Don't get it."

"'And beyond'," Phoebe finished. "I like Toy Story. Who has other half?"

"My best friend, Lynn," I told her, my voice hollow.

"You must miss her," Lily said quietly. I bit my lip and nodded. Lily looked at me for a few seconds, her blue eyes flashing with emotions. She closed them, shook her head, and put on a small smile. “Rochelle will do your makeup,” she said. I nodded and rose from the cot and made my way over to the makeshift vanity. Rochelle was leaning on the counter, keeping the weight off of her injured ankle. I sat on a rickety stool and faced the mirror.

It was the first time I had allowed myself to look at my face since I’d been taken. I had bruises on my face from being hit by Nate and Zane. My right eye was swollen a little on the outside. I knew I had bruises on my body, both from being beaten and from the trunk ride to wherever the hell we were.

“You have nice skin,” Rochelle told me. “It’ll be easy to work with.” She said it in such a way that it wasn’t a compliment. Before she started on my makeup, she brushed and blow dried my hair and set it in curlers. Then she spun me around so that I couldn’t see in the mirror anymore.