Coming Clean
The sorry excuse for a dress lay abandoned and wrinkled on the floor. Shayera kicked it aside as she stumbled sleepily into the bathroom. She flipped a switch, blinking at the sudden piercing light, and then pulled aside the shower curtain.
Carter was still asleep in the adjacent room. Last night at dinner, he suggested they head to Egypt today. For some reason, she agreed.
Once the water was hot, she stepped inside. She felt filthy. The water pulsated against her skin, relieving the tension from her muscles. She tipped her head back against the flow and ran her hands over her hair. The hairspray left a thick film she found unfamiliar and unpleasant, and she shampooed three times before she decided to be satisfied.
She then pushed the water out of her face, smearing her already upset make-up. It had been a long time since she wore a mask, she thought as she turned towards the spray. She worked the soap into her face, scrubbing at the seemingly impenetrable cosmetic caked onto her skin. Eventually, the mask began to melt beneath her fingers and she rinsed it away.
Steam rose up and around her. Hot water dripped from feather to feather, and she felt Carter's hands running down her wings. She flinched, then shook the memory from her mind.
She focused on something else. There were blisters on her feet. Those were horrible shoes, she remembered, envisioning them being cast into a corner along with the dress. She washed over the blisters carefully.
Water continued to beat down on her skin as Shayera felt something weighing down on her ears. She reached up and fingered the pearls tugging at her earlobes. These were a stupid idea, she told herself, feeling guilty and foolish. She took them out and set them in a soap dish.
She then attempted to finish her shower with a clear mind, but the flow seemed to fall heavier on her. The water kept dripping down her wings, and as the lather rinsed down her legs she felt the sheets against her skin. She dipped her face back under the shower head. She absorbed the steam that rose from the spray, hoping it would calm her thoughts as it swirled silently around her form, yet when she breathed in its vapors she felt his hot breath on her lips.
She turned off the water and watched what was left swirl past her feet and down the drain. With a heavy sigh, she pushed back the shower curtain and grabbed a new white towel from the rack. She wrapped it around her, the warm fibers sliding across her clean skin.
She still felt filthy.