Chapter 15 #3
The bathroom door opened so I tried to look casual as I smiled at her from across the hall, my arms crossed over my chest. My clothes were a little baggy on her, especially the pants, which now that I thought about it, I probably should’ve given her something from Esty’s closet.
She looked like she’d fit into her clothes with how petite her frame was.
Too late now. I smiled to myself in some weird sense of pride that she was wearing my clothes.
“Nox?”
“Uh, hi. Sorry. Um…everything okay?” She narrowed her tired eyes, and I backpedaled. “I mean, I just, um, the clothes…they’re okay?”
Her face relaxed and she nodded, looking back into the bathroom at the floor where her dirty clothes were.
“I can put those in the wash?”
“Um.” She bit her lip momentarily before nodding. “Sure…Thanks.”
“No problem,” I smiled. I pushed off the wall and motioned for her to follow me with her things.
Our laundry machines were in the garage, so I led us downstairs and let Jae know we’d be right back. I checked to make sure the washer was empty before stepping back.
“All yours.”
She tossed them in the washer and silently asked for the detergent on the shelf above my head. I grabbed a pod and tossed it in, letting her find the setting she wanted.
“Hey.” I leaned my hip against the washer, crossing my arms as I looked down at her. “Are you okay?”
Her body froze for a moment before she closed the lid. She didn’t respond, but I figured I would wait a little bit longer and watched as she adjusted the settings.
“I’m fine,” she said as she turned her body to face me.
“You don’t…exactly look fine,” I challenged, giving her a ‘don’t bullshit me’ gaze. “You showed up to my house clearly having been crying, you were pale and shivering uncontrollably. And then you ask to use the shower. So, please…tell me. Did something happen with your boyfriend?”
My heart was racing as I stared at her, wishing I could read her mind. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, wincing.
“I’m sorry for being weird,” she eventually said. “I had a bad migraine. Which is why I was crying. I asked to shower because it usually helps me feel better, you know with the allergy reaction and everything. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything. And I’m sorry for being late tonight.”
There was a beat of silence while I studied her, trying to determine whether she was lying to me.
“Shit. I’m sorry,” I frowned empathetically.
I relaxed a little, maybe too willing to believe her, but it sounded more believable than Jae’s theory that her boyfriend was her drug dealer. And most of all, it explained why she had wanted to shower, allowing the worry in my chest to subside.
“Do you want me to take you home?” I offered.
“No,” she said forcefully. She sighed. “I’m okay. I’ll be okay.”
“Did you take something?”
Her body tensed and her eye twitched. “What?”
Okay, maybe Jae wasn’t too off with his ‘vibes’. Shit, why was I looking for lies? I should just trust her.
“Medicine? Did you take any medicine for your migraine or your eyes?” I clarified, watching her intently, trying to figure out everything she wasn’t saying that seemed to be hiding in her body language.
“Oh, um, I could use something more. You got anything super strong?”
“Best I can do is ibuprofen.”
Her whole body shuddered, and I realized that she must be cold out here with her wet hair and bare feet on the concrete floor. Should’ve given her socks, Nox. I led her back inside, her feet tripping over themselves and I followed her gaze to my mom who was sipping her tea.
“Hey, honey. Good to see you again. I fixed up the couch for ya. Nox can get you more blankets or pillows if ya need it.”
Shiloh nodded and I gestured towards the table for her to sit.
“There’s pizza and I’ll grab you some medicine.”
Shiloh pursed her lips and stared into the kitchen for a minute.
“Shy?” I touched her arm gently and she turned her gaze up at me.
“Yeah, okay.”
My mom handed me the bottle of ibuprofen from the medicine cupboard in the kitchen and quietly asked me what was wrong.
“Shiloh’s got a bad migraine,” I whispered back.
She nodded her head with a sympathetic frown and excused herself, letting us know she’d be upstairs if we needed her.
I didn’t want her to feel weird eating alone, so I grabbed another slice, and I joined them at the kitchen table, handing her the pills.
“Are you still up for watching Stranger Things with your migraine?” I asked as she slouched back in her chair.
“Yeah,” she shrugged.
Jae and I shared a ‘doesn’t seem like it’ look, but we didn’t comment aloud.
Shiloh seemed to be in her head as she mindlessly nibbled on her pizza slice, taking off the olives one at a time and popping them into her mouth.
“We already set up the living room, so whenever we’re done eating, we can go ahead and start the first episode,” Jae commented to fill the silence.
“I honestly can’t remember much of season one. Is it as intense as this last one?” I tossed my crust to Jae’s plate, and he smiled in thanks.
“The first season is pretty tame, but it definitely gets way creepier as the show progresses. Do you like scary stuff, Shiloh?”
She looked between us, blinking a few times and Jae repeated his question.
“Oh, um. I don’t know. I’ve never really watched anything scary before,” she said.
“What’s your favorite show?” I asked, curious to learn more about her.
She shrugged, picking off pieces of crust and dropping them onto her plate.
“Come on, at least tell us what kind of shows you like. Comedy? Drama? Reality?”
I trailed off waiting for a response and she scrunched up her mouth as she thought.
“I guess, comedy.” She quirked her brow like it was a question not an answer.
“Like The Office or those animated shows like Rick and Morty?” Jae said.
“Uh…The Office.”
I flicked my gaze to Jae, confused as to why Shiloh was being so weird about something as simple as TV. He put his thumb and finger together, mimicking that he was smoking, and I kicked him under the table. I made sure that it was his shin and not Shiloh’s.
After it was clear Shiloh wasn’t going to eat anymore, we settled into our spots in the living room. Shiloh was on the sofa, and Jae and I were on the floor on a mattress topper we kept around for guests.
I was admittedly engrossed in the show more than I had expected seeing as I had already watched it before and when the first episode ended, we both turned to discuss our thoughts with Shiloh.
I stopped, my mouth open to ask her a question, but the light from the TV illuminated her sleeping face. She was curled up on her side hugging herself. Jae waved his hand in front of her face to test if she was really asleep and he chuckled softly and turned to me.
“Out cold.”
I stood up and secured the quilt around Shiloh’s body.
“Well,” Jae sighed, laying back down. “You wanna game or head to sleep?”
“Nah, my dad will be home from work soon and just wake us up anyway.”
He nodded and I grabbed our controllers for the Xbox, glancing back at Shiloh one more time.