Page 40 of A Whirlwind of Color (The Light to My Darkness 2)

“Um. Okay.” Melissa gave me a weird look.

“I’ll be right back!” My voice came out weird and high-pitched. Stop it. I practically ran out of the kitchen to avoid her scrutiny.

I glanced around the bathroom. It definitely seemed like there was only one camera. This could work. All I needed was to move the camera. And get some kind of disguise. First things first. I began humming and started to pull down my pants like I was about to use the toilet, but then paused and stared at the camera. I shook my head like I was truly disgusted that there were people watching my every move. Which was easy to do, because I didn’t even have to pretend. I even gave the camera the middle finger for good measure. Please believe I’m just pissed about you watching me. I climbed on top of the sink and pushed the camera toward the wall so that it was no longer monitoring the bathroom.

I walked over to the tub. I didn’t want to cause anyone distress, but I couldn’t think of a better option. It wasn’t like James would just let me walk away. There was an air of desperation around him. I felt bad for thinking it. I felt worse when I turned the faucet on in the bathtub and plugged the drain.

It probably wasn’t the best idea, but it was the only one I could think of. I had been in here long enough. They’d be suspicious that I had irritable bowel syndrome if I took much longer. I slipped out of the bathroom and glanced around the master bedroom one last time. There were definitely no cameras pointed at the bathroom door. I locked the door from the inside, and closed it as quietly as I could.

I didn’t know how much time I had, but it probably wasn’t much. The tub would overflow soon. And I needed to hide. I walked as quickly as I could out of the room and down the stairs.

“Penny?” Melissa said from the kitchen. “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”

“Sure. You pick one. I’m going to ask Josh if he wants to watch too.” Smooth. I ran to the guest room, knocked on the door, and opened it before he had time to answer.

“Um…hey, Penny,” Josh said as he looked up from his laptop. He was sitting on the bed working. “I heard Melissa ask about watching a movie. I’ll be out in a few minutes. Just gotta send one last email.”

“It’s freezing in here,” I said.

He looked back up from his screen. “Yeah? It feels fine to me.”

“Oh, good. Could I borrow your hoodie then?”

“My hoodie?” He looked at me like I had asked to borrow something much weirder than a sweatshirt.

It wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t even the weirdest thing I was going to ask him for. Give it to me, I silently pleaded.

“I guess,” he said. He pulled it off and tossed it at me.

I quickly pulled it on over my shirt. “That helped a little, but geez, it’s still freezing. Our air conditioning must be broken in the way that it won’t turn off. Can I borrow your pants too?”

This time he stared at me like I had asked to borrow his pants. Which made sense, because I had. I'd earned his stare this time.

“Um…no.”

I laughed awkwardly. “Why? They’re just pants.”

“They wouldn’t even fit you.”

“I know. That’s the point. They’ll be big and comfy…”

“I pack light, Penny. I didn’t bring a million outfits with me like Melissa did.” He laughed. “I can’t just give you my pants.”

“Please?”

He just stared at me.

“I don’t have any comfy clothes here. And I’m so freaking cold. And all I want in the entire world is a warm pair of sweatpants to make me feel normal again.”

“If it seriously means that much to you, why don’t you just borrow a pair of sweats from James?”

“I don’t want his. I want nothing to do with him.”

He pressed his lips together as he stared at me. And then he shook his head. “Fine. Turn around will you?”

I turned away from the bed. In a few seconds, I felt a rolled up ball of sweatpants hit my back. “Thank you!” I pulled them on over my workout leggings. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Eh, I’ll just come watch the movie after I put on another pair of pants.” He set his laptop to the side. “Work can wait until tomorrow.”

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