Page 97 of Light As A Feather
As if she can hear my scheming, Sol enters the bathroom.
“You’re back,” she says with a soft smile before wrapping herself around me. I clutch her against me, needing thereassurance that she’s still here, safe and sound and within my reach. For a moment, I forget that she’s dead, but with our chests pressed together, I miss the beating of her heart.
For a few minutes, we just stand here. The simplicity of it reminds me of better days when there were no greater stakes than making it home by sunset or sneaking her up to my room without waking my parents.
How times have changed.
“I wasn’t expecting you home so soon.” She steps back to look up at me. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“I did. We should talk about that, actually.”
“Later.” Her hands massage my shoulders. “You’re so tense.”
“I—”
“You look so tired. Let me do something for you.” Sol brings in the cushioned seat from just outside the door and directs me to sit on it. “May I?” she asks, gesturing to my hair.
I nod and lean forward, resting my arms on the bathroom counter. It’s been so long since we’ve done this, but she slips right into the routine like she’s done it every day of her life.
For some, it might be considered a tedious process, but I’ve always found it relaxing, almost like meditation. Sol appears just as at ease.
Sectioning my hair, she methodically starts applying the defining gel, taking care to avoid catching my earrings. She’s patient as she works from section to section, using pressure as she coats my hair until each curl is smooth.
We sit in amicable silence, me lost in the simple pleasure of being cared for, her focused on the task at hand. I would enjoy my wash days much more if this was part of the routine. Although maybe I’ll suggest that next time she do it naked.
I can’t fight the smirk that reveals the turn my thoughts have taken.
“Don’t even start with that,” she laughs. “You’re insatiable.”
“For you? I’m starved.” I reach around and run a hand up the back of her thigh, but she bats me away.
“Stop distracting me. I want to do a good job.”
“You always do,” I remind her as I tilt my head back to gaze into her eyes. I could get lost in them, but she pushes my head down and gets right back to it. She’s always been like this; if she’s committed to doing something, she’s going to do it efficiently and she’s going to do it right.No distractions.Even to her detriment sometimes. I can’t even count how many days I’d have to remind her to stop and drink some water or eat something out of fear that she’d go the whole day without doing so if I left her to her own devices.I guess that’s not really a problem now, though.
I can’t help but wonder if it’s a relief for her. To not have to worry about such trivial things that always seemed to be the bane of her existence. Something to ask her about another time when she’s not so laser-focused.Not that I’m complaining.
Once each curl has been gelled, she sprays all of my hair with water and scrunches it. Eagle-eyed, she finger-coils the curls that need more definition, giving special attention to the one that hangs closest to my eyebrow piercing. She hesitates when she gets to the white portion of my hair.
“Penny for your thoughts?” I ask when she continues staring, lost in her own head.
“It’s just…I thought you would have dyed it at some point. Didn’t think you’d want the reminder of, well, everything.” She avoids my gaze in the mirror.
“I did, actually. For a bit, but I relinquished my remaining blue dye supply to Jayden, and the rest is history. Covering it up didn’t change the fact that my place in the world had fundamentally shifted. Something as simple as dying my hair couldn’t make me stop thinking about you and all that I’d lost.” Itake her hand and kiss the top of her knuckles. “Besides, I like it. It suits me, don’t you think?”
“Everything suits you,” she answers, her smile going shy as she pulls her hand back and twirls my hair in small sections around her finger.
As soon as she finishes the last piece, I swivel around in the chair and pull her into my lap. Instinctively, she wraps her legs around me for stability, and I relish the feel of her against me.
“Thank you.”
“Of course. I like taking care of you, too. You should let me do it more often.” Sol kisses me softly like I’m the one who’s at risk of disappearing.
“I’ll take it under consideration.”
“Thorne, I mean it.”
“I know.” I kiss her permanently plum lips again, but I can’t get lost in them, not when there’s so much hanging over us. “We need to talk about my trip.”
