Tainted, Book One: Possessed

32. Just As You Are

Kerry

I was half-awake when she started squirming around. I smiled a little as I plowed my nose into her hair and took a deep breath. The scent of pure goodness filled my lungs and made the taint cut into me.

Happiness and pain. Always at war.

But the pain didn't matter. The only thing in the whole world that mattered was this girl in my arms.

"Are you awake?" she whispered.

I was halfway to drift back to sleep, but she wouldn't stop moving.

"Stop wiggling around." I shifted some parts away from her. She didn't need to know my brain wasn't the only thing waking up.

"So you are awake!"

"Grr."

"I need to rescue my hair."

"Huh?" My eyes snapped open and swiveled to look down at her.

"My hair came down. You're lying on it, and it pulls."

I nearly fell outta the bed, I stood up so fast.

"You should have told me right away!" I glared at her red face.

"It's nothing." She shrugged and sat up, gathering all that hair in one hand and draping it over her shoulder. "I do it myself all the time when it comes loose in the night."

I bent down and cupped her cheek in my palm.

"Don't let me hurt you, angel. Not even by accident. Not even the littlest bit."

"Okay."

I didn't trust her easy agreement, but let it go when she suggested we wash up and get some breakfast. She gave me a washcloth, a bar of soap, and a towel and even found an extra comb, but didn't have a spare toothbrush. It seemed to bother her.

"I can use my finger, dummy." I made a funny face at her.

She giggled and drew a line of toothpaste on my index finger, then led me out of her room and down the hall to the guest bathroom.

I brushed my teeth, visited the toilet, hurried through a shower, then rubbed the towel over my hair in a half-hearted effort to dry it. After I threw on the same clothes, I rolled everything into the towel and went back to wait at her door. Leaning a shoulder against it, I crossed my arms and closed my eyes. I was almost asleep again when she came out of the girls' bathroom at the other end of the hallway.

Her whole head was wrapped up in a towel, making me smile. She opened the door and waved me in.

"What about," a yawn caught me, "your hair?"

"I'll just braid it back or put it up. It won't take long."

"Maybe you'll wear it down sometime. I like it like that." I yawned again.

"Oh. Okay." She blushed and looked away. "Are you sure you don't need more sleep?"

"Nah. Just not a morning person."

After putting on my sneakers, I sacked out on the bed while she sat in her desk chair and began to comb out her hair with long, smooth strokes. She was in a zone, and I used her distraction to stare.

She's so lovely. My heart tried to burst outta my chest. What am I gonna do when she wises up and ditches me?

The thought hurt, so I pushed it aside for now. This moment was too precious to waste on that crap. I'd deal with it when it happened.

"Ready for breakfast?" She finished her braid and stood up.

"That's it?" I swung my legs off the bed and got up, too. "No makeup or anything?"