CHAPTER VI
It Is Not The Fall That Kills You. It Is - In Fact - The Impact.
"Eddie?" Jane called into the apartment with no answer, her voice reverberating off the empty walls. She settled the grocery bag onto the counter and quickly put away the perishables before going off to find her fiancé.
"Eddie baby, are you alive?" She joked, looking into their bedroom and finding no half-broken man.
Then, suddenly, she felt something wet and smooth drift across her shins and she looked down to find a warm fog sweeping past her legs.
She was puzzled until she followed the fog's escape through the bottom door of the bathroom, and a shadow of a sleek smile tripped across her face.
Ever so delicately, she turned the knob and peeked into the bathroom, momentarily averted as a rush of white, warm, wet steam plumed into the cold hallway.
As soon as the wall of steam had dissipated, she slid between the barely opened door and it's frame, trying to keep as much steam in as she could.
As silently as possible, she shut the door behind her and tiptoed across the floor, silently stripping as she went.
Leaving behind a trail of clothing, she made her way to the bathtub, finally close enough to make out Eddie's dark silhouette.
From what she could tell, he was bent wildly within the tub, his bad leg and arm hanging perilously from the lip so as not to get the casts wet, and his head was laid back.
"Hey baby," She whispered as she gently caressed her fingers along his damp shoulder, smiling at his surprise. "Sorry," She said as he twisted his head back to her, cringing at the cordial movement that his body refused to do.
Without a word, he slid forward in the tub as much as he possibly could and let her slide in behind him, the water rising another two inches and threatening to slosh over the sides.
After both were comfortably situated, Jane allowed Eddie to rest his head back on her shoulder as she gently began to stroke his wet hair with her fingers, unintentionally forming peaked spikes with her stroking.
"I've missed you," Eddie whispered in a hoarse voice, and Jane guessed that she had woken him from sleeping.
"I haven't been anywhere," Jane mentioned, craning her head to gently kiss him on the side of his neck. She gently wrapped her left arm about his shoulders, holding onto him for comfort.
"I know, I just missed you." Was his empty reply.
Eddie suddenly coughed and Jane held onto him as if he might vanish at any given moment, her hands sliding over his wet and fevered flesh.
"Speaking of which," Jane absently redirected as his coughing faded and she resumed stroking his hair. "Where were you yesterday?"
"What do you mean?" He opened his eyes, but rejected the idea of turning his head to face her.
"After the fight. I came home, and you were gone."
"I…uh…just needed some air, that's all." He closed his eyes and relaxed into her body again, acting as if it was no big deal.
"You shouldn't be walking on your leg, especially with the condition you're in." Jane said, and she was confused at the sudden tension now rolling from his shoulders, down to his thighs and the explosion of goosebumps.
"Are you okay?" She asked, looking into his face as it flinched.
"Yeah, I'm just cold." He lied.
She shifted her left arm down, so that her hand trailed to his washboard stomach, her fingers dancing over the operation scar that now plagued his beautiful flesh, and a new roll of tension surged down his body.
His good hand suddenly shot up to grab onto her wrist, protectively, and she knew what was going on.
"No. No, It's okay; I'm not going to hurt you baby. I promise."
She remembered that night when she had cuddled closer to Eddie beneath the sheets to keep warm and had accidentally run her fingers over his scar, and in his sleep had accused her of being his "attacker".
Reluctantly, he eased his grip off her wrist and she calmly began massaging it with her fingertip, the scar feeling like someone had taken a piece of sand paper and scrubbed away his skin, leaving his muscle revealed.
Almost unintelligently, Jane started humming lightly, closing her eyes and relaxing into - what she noted as to be - incredibly warm water. She wondered how Eddie could be cold at all, but, whatever.
The thoughts slipped from her mind, along with her slipping hand as it fell gently to rest against Eddie's thigh, and she could feel Eddie cuddle closer to her as they relaxed into each other.
The absorbing sheen of the tiled walls gently digested the fading purr of an unknown song, as both drifted off into oblivion.
It Is Not The Fall That Kills You. It Is - In Fact - The Impact.
"Eddie?" Jane called into the apartment with no answer, her voice reverberating off the empty walls. She settled the grocery bag onto the counter and quickly put away the perishables before going off to find her fiancé.
"Eddie baby, are you alive?" She joked, looking into their bedroom and finding no half-broken man.
Then, suddenly, she felt something wet and smooth drift across her shins and she looked down to find a warm fog sweeping past her legs.
She was puzzled until she followed the fog's escape through the bottom door of the bathroom, and a shadow of a sleek smile tripped across her face.
Ever so delicately, she turned the knob and peeked into the bathroom, momentarily averted as a rush of white, warm, wet steam plumed into the cold hallway.
As soon as the wall of steam had dissipated, she slid between the barely opened door and it's frame, trying to keep as much steam in as she could.
As silently as possible, she shut the door behind her and tiptoed across the floor, silently stripping as she went.
Leaving behind a trail of clothing, she made her way to the bathtub, finally close enough to make out Eddie's dark silhouette.
From what she could tell, he was bent wildly within the tub, his bad leg and arm hanging perilously from the lip so as not to get the casts wet, and his head was laid back.
"Hey baby," She whispered as she gently caressed her fingers along his damp shoulder, smiling at his surprise. "Sorry," She said as he twisted his head back to her, cringing at the cordial movement that his body refused to do.
Without a word, he slid forward in the tub as much as he possibly could and let her slide in behind him, the water rising another two inches and threatening to slosh over the sides.
After both were comfortably situated, Jane allowed Eddie to rest his head back on her shoulder as she gently began to stroke his wet hair with her fingers, unintentionally forming peaked spikes with her stroking.
"I've missed you," Eddie whispered in a hoarse voice, and Jane guessed that she had woken him from sleeping.
"I haven't been anywhere," Jane mentioned, craning her head to gently kiss him on the side of his neck. She gently wrapped her left arm about his shoulders, holding onto him for comfort.
"I know, I just missed you." Was his empty reply.
Eddie suddenly coughed and Jane held onto him as if he might vanish at any given moment, her hands sliding over his wet and fevered flesh.
"Speaking of which," Jane absently redirected as his coughing faded and she resumed stroking his hair. "Where were you yesterday?"
"What do you mean?" He opened his eyes, but rejected the idea of turning his head to face her.
"After the fight. I came home, and you were gone."
"I…uh…just needed some air, that's all." He closed his eyes and relaxed into her body again, acting as if it was no big deal.
"You shouldn't be walking on your leg, especially with the condition you're in." Jane said, and she was confused at the sudden tension now rolling from his shoulders, down to his thighs and the explosion of goosebumps.
"Are you okay?" She asked, looking into his face as it flinched.
"Yeah, I'm just cold." He lied.
She shifted her left arm down, so that her hand trailed to his washboard stomach, her fingers dancing over the operation scar that now plagued his beautiful flesh, and a new roll of tension surged down his body.
His good hand suddenly shot up to grab onto her wrist, protectively, and she knew what was going on.
"No. No, It's okay; I'm not going to hurt you baby. I promise."
She remembered that night when she had cuddled closer to Eddie beneath the sheets to keep warm and had accidentally run her fingers over his scar, and in his sleep had accused her of being his "attacker".
Reluctantly, he eased his grip off her wrist and she calmly began massaging it with her fingertip, the scar feeling like someone had taken a piece of sand paper and scrubbed away his skin, leaving his muscle revealed.
Almost unintelligently, Jane started humming lightly, closing her eyes and relaxing into - what she noted as to be - incredibly warm water. She wondered how Eddie could be cold at all, but, whatever.
The thoughts slipped from her mind, along with her slipping hand as it fell gently to rest against Eddie's thigh, and she could feel Eddie cuddle closer to her as they relaxed into each other.
The absorbing sheen of the tiled walls gently digested the fading purr of an unknown song, as both drifted off into oblivion.