on it.” She rolled her eyes.
Janet guided me up the stairs and into my room before demanding I shower. I still had a small part of my dignity left, so I refused her help to the bathroom. As soon as the cool water hit my face, the stomach upset subsided, the cold sweat trickling down my back warmed, and the uncontrollable shaking in my limbs slowed. I stayed in the shower until Janet banged on the door, forcing me out.
When I finally exited the small bathroom wrapped in my fluffy robe, I found Janet sitting at my desk with coffee, water, and a plate piled with slices of toast.
She rose when she saw me and motioned for me to sit. I dutifully complied and wasted no time replenishing the calories that I’d unwillingly purged from my body. The bread was soaked with butter that poured into my mouth with each bite. The coffee was too hot and a little on the bitter side, but I was too impatient to wait for it to cool or to bother with sugar. I felt the last hints of uneasiness leave my stomach and my head pounded a little less. By the sixth piece of toast, I was as good as new.
Janet watched me devour my breakfast without comment. Instead, she picked up my brush and began winding my long dark hair into a braid down my back. The motherly gesture comforted me. By the time she finished, I had consumed the entire loaf of bread.
“Better?” she asked once I’d wiped the excess butter from my hands.
“Like a million bucks.” I smiled.
“Good, get dressed. Be downstairs in ten,” she directed in a gentle voice.
“You don’t need to walk me. I can find it on my own,” I replied. Now that I was once again in control of my gag reflex, I was more than a little embarrassed at the condition she’d found me in.
“I’m not worried about you finding it. Get dressed.” Her voice had a slight edge to it now. She’d expected my reaction to Donavon’s unwelcome presence yesterday, but like she’d promised last night, no more freebies.
I dressed quickly in black stretch pants, a tight white tank top, and sneakers, still damp from my morning run. Grabbing a light jacket, I set off to meet Janet out front. At the last second, I remembered that Mac had promised to send the personnel files of the Instructors that I was assisting. I hurried back to grab my communicator before leaving the room.
Janet escorted me just far enough to ensure that I arrived at Donavon’s class. I could feel her gaze until she was sure that Donavon had seen me and my opportunity for escape had passed.
Donavon gave a slight nod in my direction as I approached. I didn’t reciprocate. Instead, I took a seat on the ground in the back of the mat, folding my legs underneath me. Donavon began by describing, in excruciating detail, each move that he wanted the students to work on. He droned on for so long that I actually thought he might break down the name origin of each skill. I guess my musings were louder than I’d intended because Donavon stopped mid-sentence.
“Enough talk,” he said, smiling at the class. “If I could get my assistant, Ms. Lyons, to come up front, we can demonstrate each of these maneuvers.” I would have known, even if he didn’t have a shit eating grin on his face, that I was about to be sorry that I hadn’t kept my thoughts to myself. I slowly made my way to the front of the class, giving a small wave and half-smile to the seated students. They stared back, wide-eyed.
Standing next to him, the two of us made quite the pair. Donavon was lean and muscular, biceps straining the sleeves of his shirt, his forearms corded with sinewy muscles. I was small and wiry in comparison. Prior to being shot, I’d actually had a fair amount of muscle; now, I was practically skin and bones. Donavon’s height was impressive next to an average-sized person. He must look larger than life standing next to me. More than a few of his pupils looked skeptical about Donavon using me as a demonstration dummy.
“Do you want to suit up, Lyons?”
Janet guided me up the stairs and into my room before demanding I shower. I still had a small part of my dignity left, so I refused her help to the bathroom. As soon as the cool water hit my face, the stomach upset subsided, the cold sweat trickling down my back warmed, and the uncontrollable shaking in my limbs slowed. I stayed in the shower until Janet banged on the door, forcing me out.
When I finally exited the small bathroom wrapped in my fluffy robe, I found Janet sitting at my desk with coffee, water, and a plate piled with slices of toast.
She rose when she saw me and motioned for me to sit. I dutifully complied and wasted no time replenishing the calories that I’d unwillingly purged from my body. The bread was soaked with butter that poured into my mouth with each bite. The coffee was too hot and a little on the bitter side, but I was too impatient to wait for it to cool or to bother with sugar. I felt the last hints of uneasiness leave my stomach and my head pounded a little less. By the sixth piece of toast, I was as good as new.
Janet watched me devour my breakfast without comment. Instead, she picked up my brush and began winding my long dark hair into a braid down my back. The motherly gesture comforted me. By the time she finished, I had consumed the entire loaf of bread.
“Better?” she asked once I’d wiped the excess butter from my hands.
“Like a million bucks.” I smiled.
“Good, get dressed. Be downstairs in ten,” she directed in a gentle voice.
“You don’t need to walk me. I can find it on my own,” I replied. Now that I was once again in control of my gag reflex, I was more than a little embarrassed at the condition she’d found me in.
“I’m not worried about you finding it. Get dressed.” Her voice had a slight edge to it now. She’d expected my reaction to Donavon’s unwelcome presence yesterday, but like she’d promised last night, no more freebies.
I dressed quickly in black stretch pants, a tight white tank top, and sneakers, still damp from my morning run. Grabbing a light jacket, I set off to meet Janet out front. At the last second, I remembered that Mac had promised to send the personnel files of the Instructors that I was assisting. I hurried back to grab my communicator before leaving the room.
Janet escorted me just far enough to ensure that I arrived at Donavon’s class. I could feel her gaze until she was sure that Donavon had seen me and my opportunity for escape had passed.
Donavon gave a slight nod in my direction as I approached. I didn’t reciprocate. Instead, I took a seat on the ground in the back of the mat, folding my legs underneath me. Donavon began by describing, in excruciating detail, each move that he wanted the students to work on. He droned on for so long that I actually thought he might break down the name origin of each skill. I guess my musings were louder than I’d intended because Donavon stopped mid-sentence.
“Enough talk,” he said, smiling at the class. “If I could get my assistant, Ms. Lyons, to come up front, we can demonstrate each of these maneuvers.” I would have known, even if he didn’t have a shit eating grin on his face, that I was about to be sorry that I hadn’t kept my thoughts to myself. I slowly made my way to the front of the class, giving a small wave and half-smile to the seated students. They stared back, wide-eyed.
Standing next to him, the two of us made quite the pair. Donavon was lean and muscular, biceps straining the sleeves of his shirt, his forearms corded with sinewy muscles. I was small and wiry in comparison. Prior to being shot, I’d actually had a fair amount of muscle; now, I was practically skin and bones. Donavon’s height was impressive next to an average-sized person. He must look larger than life standing next to me. More than a few of his pupils looked skeptical about Donavon using me as a demonstration dummy.
“Do you want to suit up, Lyons?”
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