Road to nowhere - p05

They found their way back to the clearing and walked back to the room. Christy stood hesitantly in front of the door. The lights inside were turned off. She looked at the dark window and started rocking on the heel of her feet. Bill walked passed her and opened the door. He turned the lights on and looked back at her smiling. She walked forward and walked in looking a bit more relaxed. Tom was not in the room. Bill looked around and found a small post-it note on the TV screen. Bill read it and rolled his eyes.
"What did I tell you?" he read the note loud, "gone to meet some ladies!" Ladies? Here? What does my moron brother think? Does he even think?"
Christy did not laugh. She grabbed her backpack and took some clothes and a toothbrush out.  
"Do you think I can take a shower?"
"Of course. You don't need to ask for permission."
"Ok."
Christy walked to the bathroom. Bill grabbed his own bag and started rummaging in it. He got his makeup remover out and listened to the sound of water running in the bathroom. He took his ipod and shuffled through the folders until he found what he was looking for. He played "it means nothing" by stereophonics and got to clean his face. He hummed to the song and let his mind wander around as he carefully cleaned the black makeup from his eyes. He was getting ready to get some sleep.
Bill finished cleaning up his face. He took his pajamas out of his bag and lay on his back. He wanted to take a shower, too. He was humming to himself when he heard the water stop running. He looked at the closed door and hummed at a lower voice. After a few minutes, the door opened just a crack. Bill saw Christy's head pop through the small opening. Water was dripping down her hair and her nose. She murmured shyly, "Can you give me my sweat pants? I forgot to take them, they're in my backpack."
Bill sat on the bed. He looked around. The backpack was on the side of the bed. He took it and walked to the bathroom door. He did not want to open her backpack. She looked at him with wide eyes.
"Open it!" she said.
Bill shrugged, "If you say so!"
He put the backpack on the floor and opened it. The pants were on the top. Bill could not help noticing the small number of clothing and things she was carrying in her backpack. The biggest thing, which occupied most of the space in her backpack, was a big book with a colorful cover. Bill raised an eyebrow and pulled the zipper closed. He stood up and held the sweatpants to her. She got it and said a small thank you. She disappeared behind the door, but as she pushed it closed, the door clicked and opened an inch. Bill's male instincts took over. He looked through the small opening, not exactly knowing if it were out of curiosity or something else. As his gaze fell on the small bare back in the middle of the bathroom, he felt an unpleasant tug in his stomach. Something sank roughly in his stomach. The small back turned towards him was marked with deep scars. He could see them well even through the small crack of the door. His gaze was glued to one long scar, which ran down from her left shoulder to almost the middle of her spine. The skin looked pink on the surface of the scar. It looked like the impression left on skin by a whip. There were some round scars here and there. Bill held his breath in. He put his hand on his throat like he was short of breath. He knew that he had to turn around, but could not take his eyes off the angry scar, which seemed like a serpent on her shoulder. To his amazement, she had a small tattoo of a dragonfly on her right shoulder blade. Another rather thinner scar had cut the body of the dragonfly almost into half, wings broken, but still attached to the fragile body. He tried to move, but his feet were not listening to his brain. His eyes still were pinned to the wet bare back. He realized something else had him pinned to his place, the scent. The scent of the wet soil after the rain. The scent of the dry leaves after the rain. It was catching, mesmerizing. He always loved autumn and the smell reminded him of autumn.
Bill swallowed and mentally slapped himself. He turned in time and walked back to the bed as Christy finished dressing and turned her back to come out of the bathroom. She realized that she had not properly closed the door. She walked out nervously, her eyes searching for Bill. She found him standing at the window and typing a message on his cell phone. She took her sweatshirt and put it on the black camisole she was wearing underneath. She pulled the sweatshirt down and sighed silently. Bill turned and saw her stand in the middle of the room. He smiled at her. She looked at his ipod and pointed at it.
"Can I listen to something?"
"Sure. I'm gonna take a shower. I'll be back in a jiffy. Is it ok with you?"
She just nodded. Bill walked into the bathroom. He turned the water on and stripped out of his clothes. He stood under the hot stream of water. He could not stop himself from thinking about the strange girl behind the door. She was a beautiful sad creature. All he knew was that she could get panic attacks and pass out. He put a hand full of shampoo on the palm of his hand and rubbed it into his dreads. He carefully washed his hair section by section. He finished showering and walked out of the tub. He checked his cell phone, which was on the edge of the sink. He had sent Tom a message, asking when he would be back. There was no answer. Bill was disappointed. He put his clothes on and wrapped a towel around his head. He walked out of the door. He waited for the steam to clear and looked around. He was alone in the room. He blinked and looked around. Christy was not in the room anymore, her backpack was gone too.
"Christy!" he called her name. There was no answer. He called her again, this time a little louder. There was no answer again.  
Something lurked under his skin. He ran to his bag. He searched through it. His wallet was not in the bag. He panicked. He looked around the room. What could he do? He could not find the keys to the car, either. He was fucked. They were both fucked. His brain refused to function, it had simply hanged. He really didn't know what to do. He pulled the towel off his head furiously and grabbed his jacket. He put it on and struggled with his boots as he tried to put them back on. He hopped his way to the door and opened it. He almost stumbled on the body, which sat quietly on the stairs in front of the room. Bill's mouth hung agape. Christy was sitting outside the door on the stairs. Her backpack was on the ground. It was open. She was listening to the music on his ipod. She had a pair of earphones on, they were not his. He almost sighed in relief as he saw the body in front of him. He thumped his foot on the ground. He felt stupid and ashamed. He even thought Christy could read his mind the moment she turned. He tried to shake the uneasy feeling off. Christy felt the vibration and looked back. She saw Bill looking at her in the strangest manner possible. She pulled the earphones out and said, "I didn't know where you keep your earphones. I used mine if it's ok."
"Yeah it is. Come on in. your hair is wet. You'll catch a cold."
"I'm fine, but … ok."
She took her things and walked back inside. Bill still looked worried. As Christy settled in one of the chairs and pulled her thin legs up under her body, he took his phone. There was a message waiting for him. It was from Tom.
"I took the car. Didn't have any money. Took your wallet. Don't wait on me."
Bill felt the guilty feeling in the pit of his stomach again. He had thought Christy had robbed them. He could not stop thinking that she knew how he felt about her, that he had not trusted her, but she seemed too concentrated on the music, the small notebook and the pencil she held in her hand. Bill frowned and cursed himself under his breath. He felt stupid.