Mountain River Girl

Chapter 10: Connect The Dots

CONNECT THE DOTS

Kieran and I had chatted until the early morning hours. Shortly after I pointed out the bright pink that colored the sky, I must have dozed off because I couldn’t remember much after. Only a few hours later, the creaking door awoke me from my slumber. Looking up from my pillow, I’d seen Anna frown at the sight of Kieran sprawled half on the chair, half on the foot of the bed.It had looked plenty amusing to me. With a small shake of the head, Anna decided against bringing up her unconscious son’s presence, and whispered that the bathroom was free, that I could shower if I wanted to. Despite the scanty few hours of sleep I had been able to get, a shower sounded remarkably enticing. I nodded my head a drowsy yes. In return, Anna walked over to the bed and assisted me to the bathroom like she had done the previous day when I had needed her help for my bathroom breaks. I still suffered from some morning stiffness in my muscles, but the stabbing pain had disappeared.

“I have put a towel and washcloth ready,” Anna said, pointing over to the sink. “Feel free to use whatever shampoo you find. I’m going to put some of my clothes on your bed so you can pick something you like.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh,” Anna said while opening the cabinet under the sink. “I almost forgot. Here’s a new toothbrush.”

I smiled my thanks as she placed the toothbrush on top of the towel.

“Okay, we’ll see you downstairs when you’re ready.”

Once again, I nodded and waited for Anna to leave. While getting undressed, I heard Kieran groan loudly as Anna ushered him out of my room and told him to finish his sleep in his own bed. Still chuckling, I stepped into the shower. The hot water really did me good and I hated having to step out of that shower a little while later when the water started switching between hot and cold. Only when I was wrapped up tightly in my towel, did I realize that Kieran probably would have wanted some hot water as well. I sent my reflection in the mirror a mischievous smile. After brushing my teeth, I wrapped my dirty clothes in a ball under my one arm and held strongly onto my towel with the other as I peeked my head outside the bathroom. When the coast was clear, I hurriedly made my way to the bedroom I had been staying in. There, I found clothes on the bed, just as Anna had promised. However,I feared none of them would fit seen as Anna had such a slender and petite figure. After a few failed attempts, I finally found a jeans that fit okay. It still wasn’t perfect but definitely the best out of my options. I didn’t have nearly as much trouble picking a shirt, however, the long sleeves came a little short. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed though. With my sleeves rolled up, I left the comfort of the room. Other than the bathroom, the yellow bedroom had been the only part of the house that I had set foot in. The first thing that caught my attention was the giggling that came from downstairs, and Anna’s voice telling Braydon and Lewis to be quiet. Her message fell on deaf men’s ears.

“Oh! Good morning, Seda.” Anna greeted me when I came to the bottom of the stairs. “It’s kind of a nuthouse this morning, I’m sorry.”

“That’s all right. I kind of like it actually. Being an only child, I can assure you that waking up in a quiet house isn’t nearly as much fun as this.”

“I beg to differ,” Anna chuckled just as a dark-haired boy came running into her side. “Braydon, say hello to Seda.”

I laughed quietly as Braydon gave me a quick look and then buried his face even deeper in the fabric of Anna’s shirt.

“Well, as you can see, he’s the shy one,” then she looked over her shoulder and called, “Lewis, come over here. Come say hello to Kieran’s friend.”

No more than two seconds later, an exact copy of Braydon ran past us, except, this one wore a cape. Just as fast as he appeared, he disappeared again.