Chapter Nineteen

My eyes drift open slowly and I realize the water has gone cold. Pushing up from the tub, I go under the shower and reach for the shampoo one more time, lathering my hair. This will be my third time washing up today and I still don't feel clean. I close my eyes and massage my scalp, the events of the day running through my mind in a loop for the umpteenth time. It still jolts me how an event went from 100 to 0 so quick. Embarrassed and covered in eggs, I had been more or less flown to the palanquin for shelter. As I glanced out the window as we began the journey back home, I had seen Trish anxiously talking to a gamma and right there behind her, standing where I left her was Eva, a barely concealed smirk on her face. That moment told me everything I already suspected.

Regardless of everything, my heart still warms at the fact that majority of the people had actually been excited to see me. When I think of their cheers and excited faces, it reassures me that the situation isn't all tha