Boysenberry 1
Author: Casey
Story: Marina’s Worldwalker series (formerly known as Dragon World), Post-DW
Challenges: Boysenberry 1 (One Step Closer)
Toppings & Extras: Caramel
Word Count: 947
Rating: PG (vague mentions of child abuse)
Summary: Twelve-year-old Quinn has his first ever shower
Notes: Dean and Carrie’s girls and Quinn have just escaped from a horrible, abusive situation. Quinn’s been there since he was two. It took way too long to remember the tagging system. Hey, everyone, I'll catch up on all the new stuff soon! (hopefully tomorrow at work)
Quinn trailed Bethy to the bathroom, tightly holding the towel and fresh clothes Carrie had given him, although he was careful not to touch them with more than his arms, not wanting to get the filthy before he even had the chance to put them on.
“Okay,” she said. “You can put them wherever. Trust me, everything’s clean.” He gingerly sat them down on the counter as Bethy beckoned him over to an enclosed area and opened the door. “This is the shower,” she said. “See, here’s the shampoo, for your hair, and the soap, for the rest of you. Use as much as you need.” She turned a dial and Quinn jumped back as water came out of the ceiling, despite the warning she’d given him downstairs. He peeked back in over her shoulder, realizing it wasn’t actually the ceiling but some metal object.
“It looks like rain.”
She glanced at him in some surprise.
“I know what rain is,” he said. “There’s a fenced in area behind the House and Walt sometimes put me out there in the rain to make me clean. It also rained a couple times when I was gone last time.”
“Oh. Okay. Yeah, it’s like rain. Only, you can make it whatever temperature you want.” She set it in about the middle. “Left to make it warmer, right for colder, okay?”
His left and right were something he did know. “Okay.”
“Don’t move it too much at once or else the temperature will change a lot and it can get super hot and burn you.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
She smiled. “No problem.” Then she headed out, pulling the door shut behind her.
Quinn tentatively edged over and used the toilet, a much nicer one than he was used to, and then edged back over to the shower, putting a finger under the water. His eyes widened. It was almost perfectly warm, in the way water never ever was. He let himself grin and quickly peeled off his shirt and bottoms, glad to be out of them, moving his shoes out of the way and folding them in a neat pile. He wasn’t sure what Carrie would do with them and he wondered if she’d try and wash them. He hoped it didn’t do any damage. He somehow doubted that their family had bloody, filthy clothes running through their washer or dryer often, not like at the House.
Carefully, he stepped into the shower and pulled the door shut so he wouldn’t get everything wet. Then, he put his whole hand under the water and watched the dirt start to slide off his skin. He wondered what it was like to be really clean and not just have water dumped over you or thrown out into the rain. He took a deep breath and stepped under the flow of water. He winced as it stung some of the more recent injuries - he’d been whipped sometime recently, he knew that - but overall it felt wonderful. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and looked down, somehow not surprised to see that the water was running almost black, a mix of dirt and dried blood.
Out of curiosity, he twisted the dial a bit to the left and let out a happy sigh as slightly hotter water sluiced down his back. Whoever had invented showers was the most amazing person ever. For a couple of minutes, he stood in it, face up to the water, just letting it wash over him, already feeling cleaner than he ever had.
Then he made himself brush the water out of his eyes and look down at the two things that Bethy had indicated. He picked up the shampoo bottle, eyeing the words on it, wondering what it said on it. Bethy had said reading took more time then a lot of other things, but he felt a sudden surge of impatience. Considering how often he saw words, even in the House, and how Bethy had used being able to read those words to tell Morgan where the House was, knowing how to read might make the world make more sense. He could find things out on his own if he could read.
Pushing the thought aside for now, he poured a bunch of the shampoo in his hand. Bethy had said it was for his hair. He plopped it on and then rubbed it in, wincing as he hit mats and snags but deciding it felt good other than that. He squeezed his eyes shut and washed it out, scrubbing it out with equal determination. Once he was sure it was all out, he risked opening his eyes again and reaching for the soap. He curiously rubbed it between his hands like he was told and was fascinated by the white bubbly parts that came out. He wondered how it cleaned you. He rubbed it everywhere he could reach, which meant part of his back didn’t get touched, but the soap really hurt when it touched his lash marks, so that didn’t bother him too much.
Once he rinsed it off, he held up his hand and turned it over, still standing in the seriously enjoyable stream of water. It was amazing what a different color he was clean. He was a bunch lighter than Bethy and her sisters. He wondered what color that was and resolved to ask Bethy as soon as he had a chance.
Deciding that could all wait, he closed his eyes and turned back in to the water. He had managed to take a shower. That was one step, even a small one, closer to understanding the world. He’d take it.
Story: Marina’s Worldwalker series (formerly known as Dragon World), Post-DW
Challenges: Boysenberry 1 (One Step Closer)
Toppings & Extras: Caramel
Word Count: 947
Rating: PG (vague mentions of child abuse)
Summary: Twelve-year-old Quinn has his first ever shower
Notes: Dean and Carrie’s girls and Quinn have just escaped from a horrible, abusive situation. Quinn’s been there since he was two. It took way too long to remember the tagging system. Hey, everyone, I'll catch up on all the new stuff soon! (hopefully tomorrow at work)
Quinn trailed Bethy to the bathroom, tightly holding the towel and fresh clothes Carrie had given him, although he was careful not to touch them with more than his arms, not wanting to get the filthy before he even had the chance to put them on.
“Okay,” she said. “You can put them wherever. Trust me, everything’s clean.” He gingerly sat them down on the counter as Bethy beckoned him over to an enclosed area and opened the door. “This is the shower,” she said. “See, here’s the shampoo, for your hair, and the soap, for the rest of you. Use as much as you need.” She turned a dial and Quinn jumped back as water came out of the ceiling, despite the warning she’d given him downstairs. He peeked back in over her shoulder, realizing it wasn’t actually the ceiling but some metal object.
“It looks like rain.”
She glanced at him in some surprise.
“I know what rain is,” he said. “There’s a fenced in area behind the House and Walt sometimes put me out there in the rain to make me clean. It also rained a couple times when I was gone last time.”
“Oh. Okay. Yeah, it’s like rain. Only, you can make it whatever temperature you want.” She set it in about the middle. “Left to make it warmer, right for colder, okay?”
His left and right were something he did know. “Okay.”
“Don’t move it too much at once or else the temperature will change a lot and it can get super hot and burn you.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
She smiled. “No problem.” Then she headed out, pulling the door shut behind her.
Quinn tentatively edged over and used the toilet, a much nicer one than he was used to, and then edged back over to the shower, putting a finger under the water. His eyes widened. It was almost perfectly warm, in the way water never ever was. He let himself grin and quickly peeled off his shirt and bottoms, glad to be out of them, moving his shoes out of the way and folding them in a neat pile. He wasn’t sure what Carrie would do with them and he wondered if she’d try and wash them. He hoped it didn’t do any damage. He somehow doubted that their family had bloody, filthy clothes running through their washer or dryer often, not like at the House.
Carefully, he stepped into the shower and pulled the door shut so he wouldn’t get everything wet. Then, he put his whole hand under the water and watched the dirt start to slide off his skin. He wondered what it was like to be really clean and not just have water dumped over you or thrown out into the rain. He took a deep breath and stepped under the flow of water. He winced as it stung some of the more recent injuries - he’d been whipped sometime recently, he knew that - but overall it felt wonderful. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and looked down, somehow not surprised to see that the water was running almost black, a mix of dirt and dried blood.
Out of curiosity, he twisted the dial a bit to the left and let out a happy sigh as slightly hotter water sluiced down his back. Whoever had invented showers was the most amazing person ever. For a couple of minutes, he stood in it, face up to the water, just letting it wash over him, already feeling cleaner than he ever had.
Then he made himself brush the water out of his eyes and look down at the two things that Bethy had indicated. He picked up the shampoo bottle, eyeing the words on it, wondering what it said on it. Bethy had said reading took more time then a lot of other things, but he felt a sudden surge of impatience. Considering how often he saw words, even in the House, and how Bethy had used being able to read those words to tell Morgan where the House was, knowing how to read might make the world make more sense. He could find things out on his own if he could read.
Pushing the thought aside for now, he poured a bunch of the shampoo in his hand. Bethy had said it was for his hair. He plopped it on and then rubbed it in, wincing as he hit mats and snags but deciding it felt good other than that. He squeezed his eyes shut and washed it out, scrubbing it out with equal determination. Once he was sure it was all out, he risked opening his eyes again and reaching for the soap. He curiously rubbed it between his hands like he was told and was fascinated by the white bubbly parts that came out. He wondered how it cleaned you. He rubbed it everywhere he could reach, which meant part of his back didn’t get touched, but the soap really hurt when it touched his lash marks, so that didn’t bother him too much.
Once he rinsed it off, he held up his hand and turned it over, still standing in the seriously enjoyable stream of water. It was amazing what a different color he was clean. He was a bunch lighter than Bethy and her sisters. He wondered what color that was and resolved to ask Bethy as soon as he had a chance.
Deciding that could all wait, he closed his eyes and turned back in to the water. He had managed to take a shower. That was one step, even a small one, closer to understanding the world. He’d take it.