you show me where the nearest bathroom is?” I ask.
Taking my hand, Ares guides me over to the wall opposite the bed. He pushes in at a seam and the entire wall moves inward, revealing a large bathroom done up in mostly greys. There’s a glass wall dividing the shower stall from the rest of the room. I can see three black showerheads running down the wall, with a few semi-circle shelves built into the corner, holding bottles and a bar of soap. Next to the shower are free standing shelves, which hold several white towels. On the left there is a single sink with a mirror above and black cabinets below.
Ares takes minimalism to the extreme. So, this is where he came from. The floor of the shower is still wet, as well as the glass wall. So, this is where he came from when I thought I was alone in his room earlier. I wouldn’t have even known this existed had he not showed me. Looking back the door is open into the room, so I can see space on either side. There’s no handle so I’m assuming it would open in both directions.
“I need my bag.” My voice sounds hollow in the space. The ceiling is high, as high as the ceiling in the bedroom.
Milo walks forward with my ratty overstuffed bag, holding the strap in his hand. Just as I open my mouth to tell him to hold the bag itself, the jerry-rigged strap snaps again. I scramble to pick it up.
“Sorry,” Milo winces, bending to nab it from the floor just as I am. “I’ll get you a new one, this one looks pretty beat anyway.”
I gather the bag to my chest. “It’s fine I’ve fixed it before.”
Ares ignores us, instead passing me to head to the sink. He opens a drawer and pulls out a gray and white toothbrush still in the packaging. What is it with him and all the dark colors? “You can use this until we get you a new one.” He brings out a tube of toothpaste to set next to it.
“Ollie gave me a new toothbrush yesterday, it’s upstairs in the yellow room—well the bathroom.”
Milo disappears around the wall to wait in the bedroom.
“That one can stay up there, this one is for here.” He doesn’t give me a chance to argue, just brushes past me on his exit. “Take your time, use anything you’d like.” Milo disappears around the wall.
“The shower?” I’d really like to wash my hair.
Ares turns to face me. “Of course.”
“Could you show me? I’ve never used one like that.” I wave my hand out behind me. Feeling stupid that I have to ask.
Ares dips his head as he walks over to the glass wall. His bare feet stop just outside the stall. “This is for the overhead.” He leans over, tapping on a lever. “Hot is to the left. This will turn on the wall heads.” He points to a button. “These can change the type of spray, but we’ll play with those later. If you turn the water off, all of the heads will shut off, so don’t worry about hitting the button again.”
I commit the simple instructions to memory, I probably could have figured that out on my own, but I was afraid I’d mess something up. Scanning the shelves, I see two bottles of shampoo, but no conditioner. My hair is already a tangled mess, I could really use some. “Ares.” I catch his attention as he turns.
“Yes.” He keeps his back to me but stops mid-stride.
“Do you have any conditioner? I hate to ask. It’s just… I didn’t have any yesterday either. And…”
Spinning to face me, he cuts me off saying, “Anything you need, just ask. We’ll take care of anything you need.”
I swallow the lump in my throat and nod.
“Milo, run up and find some conditioner, I’m sure we have some in one of the bathrooms. If not, ask Mia. She’ll definitely have some.”
My back goes straight “Milo, do not ask her.”
Ares’s eyes narrow. “Fine, if we don’t have any someone needs to run to the store.”
“No, they do not Milo. I’ll get some tomorrow as long as I have a brush I’ll be fine.”
“Go look,” Ares grates, never taking his eyes off me. I hear Dante’s muffled voice from outside the door.
Ollie pokes his head in. “Why didn’t you ask yesterday? I have some.” I should have known Ollie would have conditioner, his hair is almost as long