Chapter Seventy - New Room - Maya's POV

Evelyn is silent while escorting me to his room. I barely can lift my gaze from the long rug that lies over the hardwood floors. Its patterns mesmerize me, though they shouldn't, but I think it's because I'm tired. It's not the physical kind of tiring, either, though I am from training. I feel mentally drained and unsure of what comes next. When we reach the door, she opens it for me, and I don't even notice until I almost walk through. Everything feels like a blur. 'Are you okay?" She asks when I finally stop near the bed. 'Yes, I'm fine." I've said it three times now, but I don't feel fine. No, I feel like a wreck or a ticking time bomb. So much is happening so quickly that I don't know what to think or feel. My emotions are just as bad because they're in a whirlwind. I want to accept what is between Damian and I. But then there is everything else weighing on me. It makes it hard to go with the flow when I don't even know what the flow is. 'You don't look fine," she whispers, admitting what I'm not willing to. 'It's okay. Really. I think I'll just go take a shower and then rest, if that is okay with you." She reaches up right as I look at her to pull some of her hair over the front of her gown. 'It's fine. I was just getting ready to go to bed myself. But when he called for me, it sounded too urgent to finish up everything else." Water drips from her hair, and she tries to keep it from doing it, but it's no use. Not without a towel. Without thinking, I wander into his bathroom and go through the cabinets until I find where he keeps the towels. I pick a plush white one to take back to her. She glances up as I offer it to her with a smile. 'Here, you look like you need this." She only smiles back and accepts it. 'Thank you, though I'm not sure that he wants my scent on his towels. Then again, I've always been there for him and have been like a mother figure, so if he fusses, I'll just get the stick after him." I laugh as I think about him as a boy, with her chasing behind him. It makes me wish my mother had lived longer, yet I don't say it out loud. 'Did you lose your mother, too?" 'Yes," I say, swallowing hard. 'A long time ago. Which reminds me. I need to go get something out of my room once I'm clean." 'That's fine," she mutters as she wrings the water out of her long locks. 'Go get cleaned up, and I'll wait right out here." I don't waste any time as I hurry to go into the bathroom and strip off my white t-shirt and black yoga pants that are more brown than black. Once I'm free, I strip out of my undergarments and walk to his shower. The tub on the opposite side looks inviting. As I reach to turn the knob in the shower, my eyes keep wandering back to it, thinking of how wonderful it would be to soak in it. It's large enough for me to sink into it and stretch my legs out, which is definitely larger than the tub I had back home. I almost cave into the dream, but decide a shower works better at a time like this. I don't want Damian to return while I'm in it, enjoying a bath. Without another thought, I turn the knob and wait for the water to get warm before stepping under the spray. Cleaning myself doesn't take long. Most of the dirt is only on my clothes and maybe some of my exposed skin. I wash and scrub until I feel good, then tackle my long, dark locks. They're gritty and a bit greasy, which drives me insane. It takes me longer to do my hair than wash my body. After I'm clean, I step out, then remember I forgot to lay out some towels. With a sigh, I travel over to the cabinet where I found one earlier and dig two out. I wrap myself with one while wrapping my hair with the other. When I walk out, the room is quiet, and I find Evelyn sitting on one of the chairs near the fire. Her eyes are closed, but I know she's not sleeping. That woman is always on alert. 'I'm going to my room to grab clothes and my bear." She only smiles. 'I will wait right here since you're only going next door." I laugh and head to the door, but freeze once I reach for the knob. All I have on is a towel, and I'm not sure if I want anyone to see me like that. 'They're still at the meeting," she says, as if sensing my thoughts. I chuckle to myself, even though it freaks me out a little. 'Thank you." I quickly leave out the door and head straight to my room next door before anyone can see me. When the door is shut tightly behind me, only then do I let out a breath. Memories of yesterday flood to the forefront of my mind as I see the room. The comforter on the bed is now a pale purple with little blotches of a darker purple color, almost like a tie-dye pattern. The pillow cases match. There is a fresh scent of clean laundry hanging in the air. I turn and look at the furniture, taking a moment to realize that it is all new. Now I have a light wooden dresser, vanity, and chest around the room with a large flat-screen television hanging on the wall above the dresser. Panic seizes in my chest at the thought of everything else being different. I rush to the closet, only to find my things as I left them. The bear my mother gave me sits on top of one of my bags, completely fine. I breathe out a sigh of relief. 'They must have moved my things fully into the closet when cleaning." It's a relief, but I inspect everything anyway to ensure my things are there. It's odd that I didn't see all of this earlier, but then I remember the bedspread wasn't new when I walked in to get my training clothes. Earlier, it was the old one from when I first arrived, meaning they switched everything while I was gone. 'But it was fine, wasn't it?" I push that thought into the back of my mind and make a note to ask Damian about it later.