Amelia moved to get up on her own holding her side as she slightly dragged her body toward the bathroom. Her kinetic energy was starting to come back little by little; but only in small increments. She was between healed and healing. Though with some good news at hand, her side didn't pain her too much.
Warren noticed something in her hair, more the back part of it and walked beside her. "Uh, would you like to take a shower? I mean, wash your hair? Here, I'll get you a towel."
When he moved to the cabinet to fetch a towel, he heard a loud crash followed by moaning. He grabbed the towels quickly and went back into the bathroom. He found her curled up on the floor leaning against the tub, slumped over. His eyes flashed back to how he found her, almost eerily similar to when he first saw her last night. He could feel his nerves shivering. Just as quick as it happened he came out of the flash then instantly placed the towels on the counter. He knelt down in front of her observing her face already stained with tears.
"Do you want me to help you?" He touched her elbow, trying to get her to look at him.
Amelia groaned slightly. She felt so useless, like she couldn't do anything right. She looked at him through downcast eyes. She couldn't ignore that look in his eyes, it was bothering her. The way he was looking at her, she felt her free will bend at the sight. She accepted his hand as he helped her to her feet. "I feel so stupid."
"Don't be. I just don't want you hurting yourself." He cleared his throat, "Here, come on, sit up. I can help you do this."
Amelia's eyes, wide and meek were looking at him with confusion. "Help me shower?"
Warren grinned and blushed as he shook his head biting his lip. "W-wash your hair… Is that OK? I just—noticed there was, uh, something."
He was about to gesture at the dried color but caught himself before anything happened. She looked at him suspiciously and noticed his eyes glued to her hair. Her hands suddenly launched themselves into her hair and felt in the direction of his eyes. She touched dry, brittleness in the middle. Her eyes inflated and turned a powerful ruby shade. Dried blood. It was her own and it made her sick to her stomach.
She took a deep breath. What was she so nervous about? It wasn't like he was going to hurt her. What was he going to do? Yank her hair off until she was bald? She felt herself go cotton-mouthed, her words were twisted again and her heart began to race.
When he gazed into her eyes again, there was silence. The trance was there and she found her voice.
"O-ok. I'm sorry that—"
"It's ok, you don't have to apologize." He laughed, smirking while looking down. He peered at her through closed slit eyes. Her glow came back. A pumpkin-colored shade appearing brighter than all the rest of the colors he'd seen so far. They almost glittered; sparkling in the light as if it was almost too much to look at.
When she went to stand up with some assistance from him, she noticed his wings come near her, like they were beckoning outward for her hands to verge. She instinctively grasped the plushness. Almost closing her eyes until she felt the feathers come in contact with her hips. She blushed, looking to the side. He was making her flitter again. In a way, she felt like maybe she was flying inside.
She blushed, pulling away as she held onto his hands. "I'm sor-
"Don't." He breathed so only she could hear.
Her shoulders dropped, she was beginning to relax a little. Things grew quiet as she picked herself up and sat on the chair he brought.
"Have you done this before?"
He sighed, blowing out a big chunk of air. "No, this is the first time. I'm sorry if I'm doing it wrong. Just lay back." He said gently.
Amelia sat straight up so she was level with the sink, her long brown mane halfway falling inside it. She clasped her hands together as she watched him go into the shower. She had to smile a little as he fumbled with the bottles. She bit her lip and squirmed in place. The scrubs she wore became itchy on her naked skin. She poked her head to the side.
"I'll use whatever you're using. It doesn't matter." She called out, her voice raspy and strained.
Warren finally came out with a random bottle. He held it up, smiling shyly. "Just want you to be clean."
"I will be." She looked in his eyes, a soft small appearing on her lips. "I have faith in you."
Warren blushed, unscrewed the top of the bottle and set it down. He went over to the tub, turning on the water, making sure it was nice and warm. Once he was sure it was decent, he grabbed the shower head pulling it over to Amelia.
"Lean back ok? I'm sorry if I get your clothes wet, I did warn you." He smirked, looking down on her before flipping the lever on the top part of the head.
"Warren, it's alright really." She told him sincerely. It was the first time she said his name. She almost sounded like a fairy, soft and feminine. He looked at her quickly then back at rinsing her hair. He squirted some shampoo into his hand and lathered up her hair, trying hard not to get any on her clothes.
When Amelia leaned even further backward he flipped back on the shower head and began rinsing her scalp. Her eyes kept close on his face. She couldn't resist saying it.
"Your face?" She asked as he rinsed away the last remaining soaps from her hair.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, you're just so serious."
Warren bowed his head down and softened his expression, no doubt scaring her in the process. He was giving himself away and it was getting obvious. He looked down again as he grabbed the towel, attempting to dry her hair.
In the back of her mind something plagued her. Her lips where tight and her mind was struggling to stay focused. She stopped him.
"Warren? What happened last night? Really? How was I brought back? The feeling I had after I—" she paused a moment, collecting, "stabbed myself was so strong. Like I could feel heaven or something. I was sure I died in seconds. I need to know this. Please." She begged. She didn't know what else to do. She needed to know all the details since there was no way the hospital would let someone fatally stabbed check out so bluntly.
Warren took the towel gently from her hands and covered his palms over her trembling ones. He wasn't sure if now was the right time to tell her anything. Not even what happened. That was why he wanted her to stay, so he could think of finding some way of telling her in time. Was now the time? He didn't want to hold it in anymore. He didn't know this girl at all but they were connected. There was this furious pull he felt to want to keep her safe. She would keep asking him until he finally cracked. She needed to know, no more lies.
But something stopped him. It was her eyes. They were peering back at him and he found hard to look away. He smiled, took both of his hands and laced them with hers. He really was more worried about her reaction. He was so worried to scare her and make things even worse. He just wanted her to feel better. He couldn't bring himself to form the words. The flashlight in her eyes started blinking. Her glow started to die down as she looked at him with human eyes. The X-gene was nowhere near in sight. His voice croaked as he gestured.
"Do they-they always change color like that?" He asked, her eyes shining brighter, more prominent now.
Amelia looked down, her eyes tracing the tiles on the floor as she took a deep breath. "Every time."
"They seem to change a lot around me." He said, with a twinkle in his eye.
Amelia sniffed, looking to the side. "They never used to change this much. The colors are linked to my emotions. Whatever I'm feeling, somebody sees it. It's embarrassing. That's why I need my glasses. It's the only way to hide them without tear my eyes ou-" He began to cut her off by whispering close to her ear. His lips nearly touching her lobe.
"Don't ever wish that. I want you to know how beautiful you are. You're perfect, don't forget that."
Amelia began to blush as his breath began to tickle her cheeks. "Wow, um, no one's ever said that to me. I feel like I'm dreaming."
He moved her damp locks behind her ear and groaning softly. "No dream. You're really here. And you're safe. You can trust me."
Amelia knew her eyes were doing the blushing for her and she proudly let the reflection shine on his cheeks. "I don't think that's an option for me."
The corners of Warren's mouth rose as he brought the towel around her hair again to dry off the loose droplets that dribbled onto her clothes. She was going to catch a cold soon if she didn't get dry quickly. He ran the towel over her head gently one last time before wrapping all of her hair inside it.
Amelia was watching his every move like a lioness tracking nature upon everyday life. Her eyes came to his wings as she saw them absentmindedly curl outward until they were inches from her thigh. Her fingers felt the tips of his wings and she smirked, almost to the point of laughing.
Warren mirrored her expression, looking at her through perplexed eyes. "What?"
Amelia swallowed her words for a moment. How was she going to say this without getting laughed at? "Your, um, hands, they were touching me."
"My hands?"
Amelia felt through the feathers and laughed as they tickled her hand. "These are so wonderful. It must be incredible to be able to fly."
She took the towel off her head and scratched her scalp letting her hair loosely dry and hang out. She glanced back at him and the blush crept up her cheeks.
"When you're better, I'll show you how it feels one day." Warren said, with honey to his tone.
He used her looking down as the moment to bring his wings closer, so they were almost cocooning around her. The heat permeating off her body was almost burning his wings, even without contact. He singed backward as he took a breath.
Her eyes sparked a golden star and shifted to a strong yellow. "I only wish it was now. But I kind of don't wanna leave this. I already feel so much better. Thank you, Warren. I'll never know what I did to deserve this. I think you dropped out of the sky and into my life for a reason."
"You are my reason. You're enough of a reason." Warren brought his hand to caress her cheek. He could feel his pulse speed away and he knew he had to ease everything. Giving himself away again.
Before she asked any further questions he thought it best to change the subject and offer her help in standing up. His wings retracted back to his shoulder blades and she felt instantly cold as the dampness of her hair awoke her from the sudden cave of warmth she got used to. Warren immediately went to scoop her back but she held her hand on his chest gingerly.
"Oh thanks, but I think I can try to do it." She did however hold his hands as he helped her up only a little.
She stood finally with success but he was steadying her so she couldn't easily tumble. She sure was fragile enough. If he left for a second she would crumble. He was certain of that much. But he knew what she needed. First things first.
"Are you hungry?" Warren asked when she limped slightly to the door.
Amelia turned around and she felt her stomach grumble. That was supposedly the trigger. She bowed her head down, nodding.
ns 15.158.61.55da2
