Page 34 of The Pretty Psycho

He switched the water flow to the overhead shower, spraying us both in the process. Adrian turned me around slowly and took off his already soaked shirt, letting it fall somewhere outside of the shower stall. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to be the old me. The me before Tyler and the monstrosity he had committed.

I wanted to feel Adrian, to drag my hand over his chest, to show him I was still the same. But I couldn’t.

Not right now.

I was nowhere near ready for… that. The mere thought of even going in that direction made me nauseous.

Adrian frowned, as if he could see the turmoil in my head. His fingers lightly pressed underneath my chin, lifting my gaze to his. "We're not going to do anything but shower, Bambi." Gone was the soft look in his eyes, replaced by something deeper, darker. "I'm going to take care of you and put new bandages on those wounds and then I'm going to feed you. Okay?"

"Okay," I murmured, unable to say anything else. "It's just?—"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me. Not now, not ever. We're not here because I want to take advantage of you. We're here because I want to help you. All right?"

I had no words. Even the ones that had managed to slip through the blank wall I kept hitting were stuck in my throat. Who the fuck was this man? What happened between the fireand today? I managed to simply nod before he bent down, pressing his lips to my forehead.

"That's my girl." I could feel his lips spreading into a smile still pressed on my damp skin, and without thinking I pressed my palms against his pecs, needing the contact more than my next breath. He moved slowly, removing the bandage from my neck, letting it fall on top of his shirt. "The doctor said that these cuts weren't so deep, so they didn't need to do stitches."

"You spoke to my doctor, huh?" I joked.

"Babe," he looked down, his face serious, "I'm pretty sure the man couldn't wait to see me gone."

"That poor man." I chuckled. "What did you do? Threaten him?"

His dark eyes twinkled as he dragged his hand over my hair, slowly pushing me deeper under the stream of water. He worked leisurely, making sure that every single part of me was drenched. His hands moved over my body, and while I should've felt self-conscious or even ashamed, maybe aroused, there was nothing sexual in the way he touched me.

He covered every inch of my body and turned off the water, before taking the shampoo bottle from the little stand.

"I bought you this." He turned the shampoo bottle toward me. "I have no idea what half of this shit means," he glared at the bottle, "but I hope it's okay." Fuck. My. Life.

"You bought me shampoo?" I croaked, my voice breaking as my eyes flickered from the bottle to him. He frowned at the look on my face, stepping closer. "You bought me fucking shampoo?"

"Vega," he mumbled. "Was I not supposed to? Is it a bad one? Yolanda spoke about different kinds and all that shit, but I couldn't follow. Not fully."

My hand flew to my mouth as if that could stop the shuddering sob that erupted from my body. "You bought me shampoo!"

Realization washed over his features, and before I could fall apart and shatter right in front of him, he wrapped me in his arms, cocooning me in his embrace as my body shook and fucking shook, while the tears ran down my cheeks.

It wasn't about shampoo. Of course it wasn't about the fucking shampoo.

It was about the fact that he cared enough to even think of buying a separate shampoo for me. God, it was such a small gesture. Such an insignificant little thing, but he had no idea what it meant to me.

The Schatten made sure we had all the things we needed for everyday life, but no one ever thought of asking us what we truly wanted to get. No one had ever asked me which shampoo worked better for my hair, or what food I would rather eat. No one took care of me, and I had no idea how starved I was for those small gestures, for basic human touch, until now.

"If you don't like it, I can always get a different one," he murmured, his voice filled with amusement, making me laugh through my tears. "I also got a conditioner. Are you gonna cry over that as well?" I pinched his side, laughing at him, because it was obvious that he wanted to make the situation lighter. "And just you wait until you see the hairbrush I got you. Man, that thing could be a weapon."

My stomach clenched from the strength of my laughter now, the sound of it echoing around us.

"You're such a goof," I snickered, taking a small step back, but still keeping my hands on him.

Fuck it.

I liked who I was with him. I liked that I didn't have to wear a mask, not in his presence. And I fucking liked the way his eyes twinkled when he looked at me as I tried catching my breath.

I liked the way his thumbs swept over my cheeks, removing the tears marring my skin.

But I still needed to know the full story. I still needed him to tell me everything he had failed to mention before. Maybe not tonight, but soon.

"No more crying, baby girl," he mumbled, licking my tears off his thumbs. "Please."

---