Page 6 of Saving Lauren

“Can you help me, D’Var?” I ask and I hear him come up behind me. He is close, and I feel myself stiffen at the nearness of another person, but when I breathe in his scent my muscles relax. He smells manly in a very good way. I sniff the air; I can’t quite pinpoint his scent. There are hints of leather, but also something more, something…

“You put your hand on the screen, here, and then you push a little bit.” D’Var pulls me out of my thoughts and he puts his hand on the screen. With a slight push, the door opens. There is a toilet and a sonic-shower behind the door. I sigh, I got my hopes up by D’Var’s reaction of ‘something better’, but there must have been some sort of miscommunication.

“Come,” D’Var says and he is walking towards the hallway again. He walks up to the last door on the right and stops.

“This is my room, our bathrooms are a bit different than the guest quarters. You can use my shower, I will leave you here and go back to my crew.”

Every time he says something considerate like this, he knocks me off my feet. It feels like he can read my mind. As though he can see my doubts before I have given words to them in my head. He is really helping me, because, honestly, I have not had freedom like this for as long as I have been in outer space. Thinking about what I need or want literally hurts; let alone how to put those needs and wants into words. Him voicing my concerns before I am aware of them, feels like a balm to my soul.

I can feel tears starting to fall again, so I quickly follow D’Var into his room. We walk towards the bathroom, and D’Var opens the door and walks in. Being that close to him in such a small space makes me nervous, so I can’t stop from fumbling with the cloak. The moment I enter the bathroom though, I forget to be nervous.

“You have actual showers? And a bath?” I cry out and I spin around in this huge bathroom with a bath that could rival a small swimming pool along with the biggest shower I have ever seen.

“We Arracate are old-school, and we take great pleasure in doing some things the old way. Bathing is one of them.”

I slowly spin around in another circle. When my gaze lands on D’Var I can see that he is beaming.

“I brought you clothes,” he says, holding up the bag he has been carrying with him since we left the Command Center.

“I will put this on the bed. After that, I will be in the Command Center and you have the room to yourself. You can open the door by pushing on the panel with your entire hand. Just like I showed you in your room.”

I nod and then I look at the shower again.

“Can you turn it on for me? Show me how it works?” I ask him. He silently shows me which buttons to push and where I can find the soap before stepping out of the bathroom then leaving his room completely.

CHAPTER 4

Lauren

This is by far the best shower I have ever taken in my entire life. I am engulfed in warmth, after I have been cold for so long.

D’Var has a great collection of soaps in here. I smell them all, trying to decide which one I should use. I chose one that smells a bit like herbs that remind me of home. This warrior does not have rose or jasmine scented soaps in his collection.

I rinse myself from head to toe and it feels cathartic to be this clean. I use the same soap to clean my hair, because why not. I have not seen a hairdresser in forever and I have not been able to wash my hair with actual water since I was taken, but I will worry about that later. For now I am blissfully clean and warm, in this steamy safe space.

When my fingers are all pruny, and I tire, I turn off the shower. Mentally high fiving myself because I get it on my first try. Alien technology is not always easy to understand.

When I exit the shower I see the world’s fluffiest towel lying on a stool, it is a dream to dry myself with it. I moan out of happiness; my moan turns into a yawn. Time for bed, it is.

I walk into D’Var’s room, finding it as empty as he promised. I feel flutters because of his thoughtfulness. A little voice inside me whispers I might be able to trust him after all. I want to, but it’s hard. I ponder my trust issues as I get dressed, then walk towards the bridge, bare feet because, well, I don’t have shoes or socks.

“Hi,” I say sheepishly when I enter the room, feeling all kinds of intimidated by the big aliens. T’Rak is still sitting in the same spot, but O’Rec is seated next to D’Var. They seem to be deep in conversation.

D’Var immediately notices my entry, he jumps up and walks towards me.

“Are you okay? Do you feel better?” he asks. The hope in his voice and eyes is almost painful.

I nod. “Yes, but I would like to go to sleep now. I’m kind of tired.”

“Of course!” D’Var exclaims. “I will walk you to your room and give you the nano-tech.” Then he adds in a soft voice: “If you want.”

The insecurity in his tone is making me melt a little bit on the inside, so I put on my metaphorical big girl panties and take a step forward.

“You can give it to me now, if you have it with you,” I say, feeling braver than I have been in quite some time. When he stands, I see there is another injection in his hands. He slowly walks towards me. I pull up the sleeve of my shirt to present him with my arm. It’s over before I know it.

We walk towards the guest quarters in silence and when we stand in front of the room I am to use, my anxiety rises. I look up at D’Var, who looks back at me. I bite my lip and he frowns.

“What is the matter? Is something wrong with this room?” he asks, furrowing his brow.

---