Trusted Fate

by Lara Jones

  John smiled gently at her and picked up another forkful of egg.

  “Open up.”

  For the next few minutes, John would give her a bite of the different foods on the plate and then take one, too. By the end of the meal they were both laughing, and he could tell she was starting to really relax around him.

  Lily lay back with a groan and pressed a hand to her stomach.

  “Ooohhh. John, I can’t eat another bite.”

  John pressed the fork up to her lips and chuckled.

  “Maybe just one more?”

  Lily’s head dropped back.

  “Not even one. I don’t remember ever being this full in my whole life.”

  “If we have our way, we want you to have a full belly a few times a day.”

  Lily chuckled. “I’ll get so fat you’ll have to roll me out of here.”

  John picked up the tray and sat it on the floor before handing her a glass of orange juice.

  Lily took a small drink, and her eyes widened.

  “Oh, this is really good.”

  “It’s orange juice.”

  “I know that, silly. I’ve just never had it before. Granny and I didn’t have enough money to buy comfort things a lot. But I’ve heard of it.”

  John’s heart tightened.

  “Well, you’ll be getting this every day.”

  Lily’s mouth dropped open.

  “Really? But that’s too expensive, John. You can’t waste your money on this.”

  John took the empty glass from her and handed her the milk.

  “There is so much we have to teach you. Living here is different than in your mountains. It’s going to be very easy to spoil you.”

  Lily scrunched her nose up at the glass of milk.

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t like milk, John.”

  He set it back down.

  “That’s okay. Are you ready for a bath or shower?”

  Lily was excited to feel clean again.

  “Yes, please.”

  John pushed back the covers and helped her out of bed. He kept a hand on her arm even though she seemed to be steady.

  “Where’s Alec?”

  “He had to go to work. Our boss is going to let us take different shifts until you get comfortable living here.”

  Lily stopped at the bathroom door, gripped the edge of it, and turned toward him.

  “John, we don’t know yet what is going to happen, and I certainly don’t want to take you away from your work.”

  John’s thumb rubbed over her bottom lip.

  “But we do know, baby.” He settled against the doorjamb and pulled her between his legs and up against his chest. “Tell me this, Lily. Are you happy here?”

  Lily felt an overwhelming urge to rest against him.

  “I am. But I won’t let you two change your lives for me. Don’t you have women in your lives?” She didn’t understand why the thought of that made her so sad.

  John chuckled. “No, we don’t. Now we have you.”

  “No, I meant as a girlfriend.”

  “We have you now.”

  Lily giggled. “You’re being silly. I can’t be both your girlfriend. Besides we don’t know each other.”

  “Answer me this. If you could be our girlfriend, would you want to at least try?”

  “I don’t know, John. I’ve never been a girlfriend before, and I have to say honestly I wouldn’t be able to pick one of you over the other.”

  “That’s good because you would have both of us.”

  “At the same time?”

  “Yes, honey.” He chuckled at her disbelief.

  “How is that possible here?”

  “There are several places in the United States that people live in different families than what’s considered normal.”

  “The normal being a man and a woman?”

  “Yes.”

  “What is it here in this town?”

  “In our situation, we would be two men and one woman. There happen to be a lot of that kind of relationship around.”

  “My granny talked once about a few families in the mountains like that. The women are scarce, so the men tend to share them. It’s the same here, right?”

  “Exactly right.” He was trying to keep his lower half away from her because if she felt how hard he was, it might scare her. But it was damn hard with her leaning against him and fiddling with a button on his shirt. He gritted his teeth. “So, what do you think of that?”

  Lily looked up at him through her lashes.

  “I’m not sure. I don’t know how that would work.”

  “We’ll go slow, but remember, if there is a time you’re afraid, or you don’t understand something or get overwhelmed, you come tell us so we can talk about it.”

  “I will.”

  “Now do you want a shower or a bath?”

  “How does the shower work?”

  She kept reminding him how innocent she was about the world in general.

  “Let me show you.” John showed her the lever and how to twist for hot and cold water.

  “This reminds me of a waterfall Granny took me to bathe until I started becoming a woman, and then I couldn’t be out naked anymore.”

  “Did you like the waterfall?”

  Lily smile grew as she looked up at him.

  “I loved it.”

  “How about this, you take a shower now. It will make you happy and keep the injury to your thigh from being submerged under water. I’d like to ask Sherice when you can have an actual bath.”

  “All right.” Lily pulled her braid in front of her, pulled off the ribbon, and started tearing her braid apart.

  John leaned against the wall and watched as a waterfall of silky blonde hair became longer and finally touching the top of her butt.

  “John…John.”

  John shook his head. “I’m sorry. I love looking at your hair. Do you mind if I touch it?”

  Lily shook her head and held some out to him.

  “Not at all. It’s not really clean. I haven’t been able to bathe in a tub since leaving the mountain.”

  John stiffened. Every time she talked about the mountain, it made him angry. He rubbed the strands between his fingers and then held it up to his face to rub against his cheek.

  “Lily, I can tell you in all honesty, you have the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen.”

  Lily stood a foot away from him and watched him. She lifted up some hair and really looked at it. She hadn’t ever liked it because of the way people acted on the mountain, but watching John made her look at it in a new way.

  John smiled at the confused look on her face.

  “How about a shower?”

  Lily looked up at him. “Yes, please.”

  Chapter 9

  John turned on the water and waited until it was the right temperature and then turned to her and reached for the buttons on the shirt she wore.

  Lily grabbed onto the front of the shirt.

  “Wait, what are you doing?”

  “I’m helping you with a shower.”

  “No…you can’t John…I’ll be…naked…”

  John rubbed his thumb over her cheek, and he just about lost it when she closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against his palm.

  “Honey, let me…”

  “No.”

  John stood to his full height and crossed his arms.

  “Lily, you’re too weak right now to shower on your own.”

  Lily bit her lip and shook her head slowly as her eyes stayed glued on him.

  He could see the determination and a hint of stubbornness in her eyes and decided not to push her right then. John made a sound of frustration under his breath.

  “All right, but I’ll be right outside the door. If I hear any type of distress, I’m coming in.”

  Lily nodded and watched as he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. She made use of the horrible toilet and undressed quickly.

  She realized she actually felt wonder
ful. Better then she had in a while. The shirt, her bra, and her panties lay on the bathroom floor as she stepped carefully under the spray and stood as it beat down over her head and shoulders.

  Lily couldn’t help the groan that slipped from her lips. A spike of nervousness slid down her spine as she looked toward the door. She relaxed. Thankfully, it was too low for John to hear.

  She lifted a bottle up from the shower shelf, smelled it, and put some in her hand. It didn’t smell like her lilac soap she made on the mountain, but it had a flowery smell to it that she liked. She used her fingers to rub the soap through her hair, getting it cleaner than it ever had been before. After she rinsed she put more on a washcloth and scrubbed her body, being careful of her injury.

  She rinsed off the soap and squeezed as much water from her hair as possible before stepping out and grabbing a towel to twist her hair up in and one for her body.

  She couldn’t remember how John turned the shower on. Her eyes went to the shower and back to the door. Her gaze took in the clothes on the floor, and her nose wrinkled. Dirt, blood, and grime stained them. She wasn’t going to put those clothes on again because she knew the stains wouldn’t come out.

  Lily cleared her throat. “Joh—”

  He was through the door before she finished saying his name, making her squeak and tighten her grip on the towel.

  She stared for a second. “I don’t know how to turn it off.”

  John smiled at her and turned the lever.

  “You’ll get used to it, honey.” He turned and closed the lid to the toilet. “Come sit here, and I’ll work on your hair.”

  He didn’t notice she didn’t follow his directions until he turned back with a comb.

  “Honey, come sit down on the toilet…”

  Lily shook her head with a thread of fear in her eyes.

  “Why don’t you want to sit, baby?” Does it hurt your leg?”

  Lily shook her head and looked down at her toes as tears burned her eyes. He would think she was so stupid if she told him the truth.

  John walked to her and lifted her chin with the side of his hand.

  “What’s wrong, honey?”

  Lily pointed at the toilet. “I don’t like that thing.” She turned slightly away, hiding her embarrassment.

  “Lily, look at me.” He waited for a moment. “Sweetheart, look at me.” This time he used a harder voice. “Tell me why.”

  Lily turned suddenly to John. She didn’t know if she liked it when he used the tone. She couldn’t help but obey him, but it also did strange things to stomach, made it all quivery.

  “It scares me. I don’t like how the water is sucked down so quickly. I feel, if I’m close enough, I will get sucked down, too.”

  John took a second to try to see it through her eyes.

  “I can see why you think that.”

  Lily looked up, surprised, her mouth open.

  “You can?”

  “Absolutely. If I hadn’t grown up with one, I’d be terrified.”

  “Really?” Her tone was hopeful.

  “Honey, I won’t ever lie to you, okay?”

  Lily bit her lip, nodded, and wiped the lone tear from her cheek.

  “How about we go sit in a chair by the bed?”

  “John, you don’t have to do this. I’ve brushed my own hair since I was five.”

  “What if I say it would please me if you let me help?”

  She looked from him to the comb.

  “All right.”

  John walked with her to the chair and stood behind it and waited for her to get comfortable. He untwisted the towel and let the weight of her hair drape it down her back. He first ran his fingers through it, getting out some of the snags.

  “Honey, did you use the conditioner in the shower?”

  Lily looked over her shoulder.

  “I just used the first bottle I picked up. I don’t know if it was conditioner. Is that bad?”

  “No, not bad at all. There are bottles of hair shampoo, conditioner for your hair, and a different one for your body.”

  “I was supposed to use all three?”

  “Next time I’ll show you. It was my fault, so don’t look so worried. It’s just going to take a little more time to get your hair smooth and the knots out.”

  “What does the conditioner do?”

  John turned her head away and started at the bottom and worked his way up her hair, being careful to not pull her hair.

  “It helps soften your hair and easier to comb.”

  “My granny made a paste that helped like that. Do you use it?”

  John smiled at her. “No, women use it mostly, especially ones with long hair.”

  “You’ll show me next time?”

  “Absolutely.”

  They stayed quiet as John worked on her hair and Lily enjoyed it.

  “All right, I think I did a pretty good job.”

  Lily laughed when she caught his proud expression.

  “John, what should I wear?”

  “Let me get you another shirt until we can shop for you.”

  Lily grabbed his arm. “Oh, John. No. I have plenty of clothes. If you could just bring my bag to me.”

  “What bag, Lily? You didn’t have a bag with you.”

  “Oh, no. All my clothes, a picture of Granny, a bracelet from my cousin, and a necklace my mother wore was in there. It’s all I had.” Her hand pressed against her mouth and tried to hold back her sobs.

  John knelt down in front of her.

  “Hey, Lily, honey, listen. Just tell us where you think it is. I’ll have Alec go now and get it. Stop worrying.”

  Lily took a deep breath and sniffed then nodded.

  “Okay.”

  John stood and took his phone out of his pocket and pointed at her with his other.

  “You stay there. I’m going to get you something to wear.”

  Lily clutched at the towel around her. Her fingers came in contact with the bandage wrapped around her thigh and started pulling at the tape and then unrolling the wet bandage with one hand.

  “Lily, honey, let me help you.” John threw a large shirt around her shoulders and the towel before buttoning up the buttons. When he was done, he finished unwrapping the bandage.

  Lily made sure the towel and shirt were between her and John. She poked at the injury a bit and was astonished by how fast it was healing.

  “It looks like it’s doing well. I’d like to air it out a bit.”

  “Sherice will be by after work, she said.”

  Lily yawned and nodded. “What did Alec say?”

  John picked Lily up in his arms, walked with her to the bed, set her on her feet, and pulled the covers back.

  “Lily, do you want to unwrap the towel under the shirt now that you’re covered?”

  It was a hard step for her to take. The towel gave her an added security, but she didn’t want them to think she didn’t trust them. She let it drop to the carpet and crawled under the sheet.

  “I’m going to get a towel for the pillow. Your hair is still very wet.”

  Lily nodded as she felt fatigue pull her down. She vaguely felt him gently lift her head and spread a towel underneath. When she had more energy, she’d braid it. Right now, she had none.

  Chapter 10

  Lily awoke to the sound of several voices. She recognized Sherice, John, and Alec, but another woman was standing just out of sight. Lily pushed herself up and then back against the headboard.

  “I don’t want you going in there and scaring her, Mora.”

  Mora crossed her arms. “You’re kidding, right. Dude, I’m a freaking social worker. I work with people.”

  Alec wiped a hand down his face and looked at Dylan, frowned when he shrugged and stood back. Well, he wasn’t going to be any help. He looked back down at Mora. How the hell could someone this little cause so much trouble?

  “Okay. I’ll let you go in, but if Lily starts getting upset, I’ll pull your ass out of there so quick your head
will spin.”

  Mora stiffened up and saluted Alec’s chest.

  “Aye, aye, sir.”

  Alec’s mouth twitched. Little shit.

  Alec and John went first and sat on either side of Lily, and Sherice sat by Lily’s hip and started pulling things out of her bag.

  “How are you feeling, Lily?” Sherice asked and started to pull the blanket from her leg.

  Alec held up a hand. “Wait. Dylan, get your ass out of here.”

  Dylan rolled his eyes and then winked at Mora, turned, and left.

  Alec nodded to Sherice.

  Sherice hid her smile and started to expose Lily’s injury.

  “It looks really good, Lily. I’m glad you let it air. I think we should bandage it up for a day or so. What do you think?”

  Lily tried to pay attention to what Sherice was saying, but her eyes kept running to the other lady in the room. She was beautiful and as small as Lily.

  “What do you think, Lily?” Sherice asked and chuckled.

  “I agree with you, Sherice.”

  Sherice put some more cream on the wound and then wrapped it up again. She pulled a syringe out of the bag and started filling it.

  “One more injection and then we're done.”

  Mora moved closer and watched and cringed when Sherice stuck the needle in Lily’s hip. Ouch. Mora looked up at Lily. She didn’t cringe at all. Tough girl. Mora liked her already.

  “Well, I’m going to head out. I’ll stop by tomorrow if it’s okay?” Sherice asked Lily.

  Lily pressed her hands together and smiled.

  “I would love to see you tomorrow. Thank you so much.”

  Sherice smoothed a hand over her head. “

  “You’re very welcome.” Sherice started for the door and at the last second turned to Mora. “Behave yourself.”

  Mora rolled her eyes. “Everyone needs to get a grip.”

  This time Sherice snorted and walked away.

  Mora turned back to the woman staring at her with keen interest. She was so small sitting in between the two Neanderthals, but it was her eyes and hair that caught people’s attention.

  “Hi, I’m Lily,” Lily whispered.

  Mora sat on the bed, ignoring the men’s scowls.

  “My name’s Mora. I’m sorry I’m staring. You're as pretty as a peach.”

  Lily giggled. “A peach? Is that good?”