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The morning sun blinded me and I rolled my face into my pillow, slamming the palm of my hand on the snooze button, silencing the alarm that so rudely interrupted my sleep. I didn’t want to get out of bed, not after the crappy night I had. Fate’s visit fueled some very nasty nightmares.
“Shower’s free,” Julia’s voice broke the morning silence along with the palm-bang on my door.
I grumbled under my breath and pushed into a sitting position, rubbing the exhaustion from my face. School didn’t appeal to me at all and the only two things that made me throw the covers off were the morning routine with Julia and the fact it was Friday.
The cold air blasted from the ceiling and I shivered as I passed under the chilling stream, but the abundance of air conditioning meant it was as hot as hell outside. I rifled through my drawers, muttering about the damn dress codes, until I found a pair of shorts that would pass inspection. I pulled out a t-shirt, wishing it was a tank instead. The only saving grace was the school was air-conditioned as well so we wouldn’t pass out from heat exhaustion.
A shower usually wakes me up, but today it just added to the fog in my brain and I nearly fell asleep standing under the warm stream. Seeing my house and the cool Atlantic yesterday really left me home sick and I wished I could turn back the hands of time. I wanted to be in Maine going to school with all the kids I grew up with.
When I opened my eyes, the darkness wrapped around me and I looked up at the shower spout. No water flowed and my gaze shot to the shower curtain. The familiar zig-zag-zebra pattern bled through the thin inner curtain and I blinked.
“Damn,” I muttered and pulled the curtain aside just to make sure. The chill in the air slapped my naked form and I shivered. The towel racks glistened with a thin layer of frost and not a cloth in sight. I also knew the cabinet in the hall was just as empty as the racks in here.
Christ, what have I done?
I yanked at the shower curtain, ripping the fabric off the hooks and wrapped the nylon fabric around me cursing the fact I’d wished myself here. While it seemed like a handy talent, I had no idea if I could willingly wish myself back to a place I hated.
The only thing I had going for me was Julia. I took a few slow breaths, concentrating, visualizing her bedroom and the warm sun streaking across the floor. My chattering teeth kept breaking through my concentration and I pulled the curtain tighter around me. After a few shifts of fabric, I tried again.
A swirl of wind surrounded me and I clamped my eyes shut, willing the breach in distance to disappear. The breeze still howled but it sounded different and I chanced opening an eye. A slow grin formed at the vision before me. Julia sat at her vanity blow-drying her hair in just her bra and underwear. Her eyes were closed as she ran the brush from the roots to tip in slow motion under the hot stream of air.
I sighed, shifting under the thin shower curtain draped around my shoulders. Her eyes snapped open, jerking to the top of the mirror, where my dripping reflection met hers. I cocked an eyebrow and she nearly dropped the blow dryer, spinning in the seat to glare at me.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a hushed whisper, her gaze taking me in for a moment before the questioning crease appeared between her eyes. “What the hell are you wearing?” she asked a little louder before I could answer her first question.
“The shower curtain from my house,” I said.
Julia cocked her head and her gaze drifted toward her closed bedroom door. “You left the shower on.”
I chuckled and shifted the fabric again. “Can you at least toss me your towel?” I pointed my chin in the direction of the crumpled terrycloth on the ground next to the chair. I could explain wearing a towel from the bathroom to her room if I had to, but a shower curtain that didn’t exist here, that wouldn’t be quite as easy to sweep under the rug.
Besides, if I didn’t get out of her room soon, something far less subtle would rise and there would be no explanation for that.
A dimple appeared in her cheek and she reached down, tossing the towel in my direction. The minute I let go of the curtain to catch the towel, the fabric slid off, leaving me completely exposed for an instant. I caught the towel and turned, wrapping it around my waist before heading toward the bathroom for the second time this morning.
“You’re welcome,” she whispered and I sent a smile back in her direction, getting one last viewing of her before slipping into the hall.
This time when I stepped under the spray, I turned the dial to cold, waiting for the heat filling my skin to disappear.