Shower Breakdown
It was a bad day.
They happened less often now, being pardoned by the Queen and having his guardian status reinstated helped to reduce the number of eyes he had on him. Slowly as the weeks passed, people stopped making comments until it was rare for some to confront Dimitri.
Today was one of those days.
I didn't hear what the woman said, she was dhampir, I knew that much. I was grabbing us something to eat after our run, leaving Dimitri waiting outside in the fading afternoon sun. I watched through the window as she approached him.
His posture became stiff as she spoke, watching his shoulders hunch and his head drop. I quickly paid and made my way out to them, but by the time I did, they were standing in silence.
Once I joined them, the woman left, not saying anything else. Just a hard look on her face.
Dimitri didn't say anything as we walked back to the apartment, and didn't eat either.
He removed his shoes and then disappeared into the bathroom, leaving me behind to figure out what happened and what to do next. I tried to give him space, Dimitri liked to have time to work through his emotions first and then would come to me. But as I stood outside the bathroom, I knew that I needed to go to him.
Opening the door let the steam blow out, the bathroom covered in a hazy.
"Dimitri?" I called out to him, seeing his outline through the shower curtain. When he didn't respond, I crossed the room, pulling back the edge to look in. Dimitri was staring at the tiled wall, arms in front of him, palms pressed flat. The water was cascading down his head and back, the skin red from the constant heat.
He didn't say a word, not even moving to show he knew I was there. I studied him closely, trying to decide if I should stay or leave, but when I noticed the shake of his shoulders my mind was made up.
Not caring for the fact I was dressed still, I stepped into the shower and reached for him. The temperature of the water was scolding, making me flinch back at first from surprise. Sliding past him, I turned the tap so he wasn't burning his skin anymore.
The temperature change shocked him from his trance, looking over his shoulder at me. I had expected his stare to be blank or pensive, instead, his eyes were wide and red from tears, a look of pure guilt and regret in them.
I stepped around him, holding him close even as he tried to fight my embrace. But slowly the fight left him until his hands were clutching at me desperately, bending himself to bury his face in my hair. Hearing his sobs as his body shook.
My hand trailed up and down his back, whispering soothing words to him, waiting for him to tell me when he was ready to talk.
Until then, I would give him what he needed.
