The Loyal Alone

Chapter Six

I slept for a long while. A dreamless sleep which I attributed to my recovery, but when I woke; I woke with an instant thought. The sun had barely touched the horizon and the sky was bright and purple, I didn't care for the time, or for the warm blankets. I wanted to see my father.

Strange how little sleep meant to me when I knew my father was under observation, when just a day before, I'd have done anything for an extra moment of sleep. Was it only a day? Maybe it had been two.

I sat up and glanced at the door. It was early, I'm sure it was too early for most of the people here. I wouldn't want to be awake at this hour. I wondered if Lowell was awake and if he'd take me to see my father if I asked him too. Considering how 'warm' he has been so far... I'm going to assume he's a tight ass and probably won't let me leave my room, even though I'm here as a 'guest'.

I laid back down. How much trouble would I really be in if I tried to see my father? I didn't want to spend any time in a cell. Would they really imprison me for seeking him out? Did I really want to push that limit? I laid back down, waiting for the sun to rise higher in the sky so I could reasonably wake up and see him. I lasted ten, maybe fifteen seconds.

Slowly I got out of bed and crawled to the door, placing my head to it so I could listen. I heard Lowell sleeping, soft doggy snores brushed against the hard wood in the halls. I heard him move... Maybe he wasn't asleep. Did he know I was there?

With nothing left to do, other than attempt to make it to a hospital I didn't even know where it was, I decided that a shower would be the best use of my time.

I set the clothes given to me on the counter to make sure they didn't get wet, this was, after all, the only set of clothes I'd been given, and I might need to make them last. I tried to pull a brush through my hair but with little use. Instead, I climbed into the shower, noting that I needed a haircut soon anyways. And maybe I could convince someone here to shave it all off- well, most of it. I hopped in, enjoying the warmth for a moment, taking my time to really wash my hair and my body, trying to make sure that the sun would be 'up' by the time I got out.

While in the shower, I also noted that once I left this room, I may be subjected to social activities, of which I am not found of, and have never been very good at. Like I said, I'm most comfortable in bitch mode, most people find that off putting; so usually I'm just quiet. Suddenly, staying in the shower was tempting, and had it not been for the fact that my father had been found in a bear trap. I might have stayed in my room all day.

In the end, hunger won over my social awkwardness. I toweled my hair good, not wanting to deal with wet hair on my clothes, and ran a brush through it, it was a little easier to do when it was wet.

As I dressed, I caught my reflection in the mirror, and my heart skipped a beat when the fog obscured it, making me think, perhaps, that my brush with hypothermia had damaged my eyesight completely. But, after I wiped my hand through the fog on the mirror, I saw I was still whole and still able to see. My face was thin. Thinner than it had been in a while, part of my growth spurt, becoming less of a child, and more of a woman. I noticed angles along my jaw and chin and cheek bone that hadn't been there even a year before. Even though I was small, my stature often reminded me of some foreign Spanish Princess from the 16-hundreds. All I needed was a ball gown and some jewels.

There was a knock on the bathroom door, and I jumped. Immediately covering myself. Even though I was dressed.

"Yes?"

"Mira, It's Cole. I heard you get up. Thought I would come check on you."

Cole, I smiled a bit. Glad he was the one to wake me and not Ulric, who was too big to not be intimidating. Or Lowell, he creeped me out.