Page 18 of Shrouded in the Dark
The bathroom that I shared with the twin’s room was a jack and jill set up. It was rather large with a separate shower and bathtub. The bathtub was a jacuzzi tub that I planned to take full advantage of while here but for tonight, a shower would do. It was a large walk in shower with a ceiling rain head. Even though we wanted to conserve water, showers could be ten minutes before Mom had an issue with it. The water was recycled and used for the plants outside.
The water took about a minute to heat up, I had time to scrub as much paint from my hands before I went to town on my face and hair. The hot water helped my muscles loosen up. I hadn’t even known they were so tight up to that point. I didn’t want to end the shower when the ten minute timer went off but I did. No rebelling tonight. I was starting to get tired as it was. I could be a rebel with the shower next week.
Drying my hair took a few minutes since I have to brush out the tangles before and after the hair dryer. My hair was one of the few things that I loved and didn’t want to change. Don’t get me wrong, I was perfectly happy with myself, but my hair was pretty and I never wanted to dye it. I’d gotten the color from Dad. It was reddish brown but natural highlights made it shine in the sun. I braided it over my shoulder so that I wouldn’t end up yanking on it when I slept.
By the time I went back into my room, all of the lights in the house, besides mine, were dimmed. I crawled into my bed, pulling up the comforter after I grabbed my phone off the table. I’d missed a call from Jasper and there was a text from Felicity. I took a look at Felicity’s text first.
Hey! Sorry, today went long. I’m pumped to hear you have actual service! I can’t video chat tonight, but let’s do tomorrow night? Luv ya with lots of kisses.
I grinned as I told her that would work and gave hugs and kisses back. She was such a sweetie. I was so happy she’d basically adopted me as her best friend.
After responding to Felicity, I called Jasper back. He answered almost immediately.
“Hey! I just wanted to make sure you were alright for the night?” His tone was light but I could detect a little bit of concern.
“I’m fine. Thanks, worrywart. The house is all locked up. I was in the shower when you called, sorry.”
Jasper cleared his throat. “Ah, sorry about that? Anyways, glad you’re all set. You’re still planning on coming over tomorrow? Maybe lunch time?”
I thought for a second. That would give me a few hours to work on the painting. “Yeah, that should be fine.”
“Awesome! Today was fun. I know I said that already but, yeah.” Now his tone sounded slightly worried. “Can I ask a weird question?”
“Shoot.”
“I meant to ask but I didn’t and now it’s bugging me. Why is your stepfather so security conscious? I mean, don’t get me wrong, the bullet proof glass is cool.”
I bit my lip. Here came the part to see if he would think I was crazy and I’d get uninvited from their house or he’d be cool about it and I might have a new friend. This conversation usually didn’t come around for a few months until people actually met my family, or Gary, specifically. Felicity hadn’t even met any of them yet.
“Gary is a little bit of an end of the world guy. He believes there are things out there that go bump in the night. So, he takes security seriously for any house he works on. He’s a good guy and makes my mom happy. I think it’s silly, but right now, I’m thankful for it. Think of it kind of like the house from that movie The Purge.” The flash of grey from the porch ran through my mind.
“Wait.” Jasper’s tone was amused as I sighed internally. “He believes in, like, zombies and things like that? And yeah, being alone up here, I can see why extra security would be a comfort.”
“No, more like things that aren’t human? Not specifically zombies. I mean, if the end of the world came tomorrow, there could be zombies, right? Who knows?” I rubbed my temples. “So, now, you ask me if I believe it and if I believe in the tooth fairy, right?” There was a bit more bite to my tone, even though I tried to keep it funny.
Silence on the other end was my answer. My shoulders slumped as I slid under the comforter more. Guess that was my answer.
“I’ll talk to you later, Jasper.” I couldn’t help the disappointment that welled up inside of my chest. I never thought Gary was crazy, it was just the way he thought. It didn’t hurt anyone. I loved that he made my mom happy and that he was smart. Sometimes, though, it sucked how I had to explain the strange things to people.
“Wait. Wait.” Jasper’s voice had deepened and I ignored the shiver it gave me. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. There’s nothing wrong with being prepared. Besides, it’s a free country, right? If your stepfather wants to make sure his family is protected up the wing wang, it’s none of anyone’s business, right? Please, don’t make me keep saying right. Because, I will and it’ll get annoying. Righttttt?”
A chortle was his answer and we both started to laugh. The tension that had built for a brief second went away as he joked. He wasn’t going to be one of those pricks.
“Right.”
He snorted this time.
I was grinning when I continued. “Thanks, Jasper. Some people are asshats about it.”
“Nah. Don’t thank me. I was kind of a jerk there for a minute. But it makes me feel a bit better that the security is there for you. I know we’re in Tabernash, the place that barely has any crime, but still. You’re a girl and alone.”
I raised an eyebrow and just shook my head. “I’ll be fine. I’ve got all the shutters down and it’s locked tight. There was something outside when it got dark, but because I’m blind as a bat, all I saw was a flash of grey. I think it might have been some kind of bobcat. Or something.”
It was quiet for so long, I thought the call had dropped. I pulled the phone away from my ear to check that we were still talking.
“Jasper?”
“Yeah! Sorry. I got distracted for just a second with this video game.” Jasper couldn’t lie very well but I let it go. “A bobcat? Well, those guys tend to stay away from people so you should be fine,” he teased. “Call me in the morning before you head over?”
