Chapter 40 Hide
>>Clio
The way I jumped into the water was record-breaking.
I never knew I was capable of such speed.
I practically launched myself in, letting the hot water momentarily burn my skin since my body was cold, and normally a person should slide in but desperate times call for desperate measures.
The water splashed around me as I grabbed the shower curtains while half drowning myself and pulled them to the side, just enough to cover most of my body. Only my legs could be seen if anyone peeked into the tub but the rest was covered by the curtains.
OH! Lord have mercy!!
"Clio?" The splash alerted Matthew that something was wrong, "Are you okay?" From where I sat, I could see the mirror through the slightly open curtain and I saw him coming my way with folded clothes in his hands.
!!!!
"I'm fine!" I yelled and he paused, "Just felt like splashing around!" I blurted it out, "No need to panic or anything!" I was the one panicking.
He frowned at my words and I saw those expressions clearly through the mirror, "Okay..." The steam from the bath swirled around me, creating a hazy veil while I held my breath with my heart pounding in my chest.
Oh! MY GOD! OH, MY GOD!!!
Is the lock broken!?!? Or does it work some other way I'm not aware of?!?!? I kept my eyes on Matthew, the temperature of the water getting to my cheeks and making them a little red as I found this whole scenario strange.
The boss wasn't sure if he should come to me or not so he stayed in his place.
I have never allowed anyone to see my naked body, I was never comfortable with it.
...
Never
I brought my legs near me and folded them to cover my chest but the movement was noticed by Matthew.
I gulped when he looked at the water, my heart trembled at the thought that he might come over. To him, I'm still a guy.
For many people, this situation isn't awkward. He's just helping after all.
I wrapped my arms around my knees, creating a full defense to not get exposed.
"Is the water alright?" He didn't move from his place.
"Oh? Ah, yes," I nodded and watched as he nodded too.
"Good," He then placed the clothes on the sink counter, "Dry yourself nicely once you've warmed up." He got a clean towel out from under the sink cabinet, "I'm putting the towel here too."
"Yes," I replied, "Thank you,"
He turned to leave but then remembered something, "Did you eat?" He looked at the curtains, "I mean did you have dinner before coming here?"
"No," I answered, "I didn't have much of an appetite."
He nodded again, "Okay," And turned around to leave when something that should have been expected happened since I'm an idiot and didn't pay any attention to it while I was too busy panicking.
I didn't turn off the water tap that was filling the water and it started to overflow the tub
!?!?!?
Matthew looked back at the tub and we both panicked at the same moment. The tap was on the opposite end of where I was sitting.
"Oh shit!?" And although I shouldn't have done it, I reached for the tap at the same time he did but somehow he was faster than me. His hand came in, reaching for the tap while I crawled towards it, splashing the water around like crazy, letting much of it fall out onto the floor.
But the moment I saw his hand come in, I knew I made a grave mistake
SHIT
I'm a goner.
Matthew slapped the water tap down, closing it while the first quarter of his body was in the tub, through the space where the curtain wasn't drawn.
My heart was beating so violently. At this point, even if he didn't want to, he'd catch a glimpse of my body. My pupils shook as I looked at Matthew's side profile while I was down on all four, wait, no, I had one arm out trying to reach for the tap. But since Matthew reached for it first, my entire being had frozen
I felt my entire being compressed when the boss moved, his eyes blinked and as he was moving back to stand up again, and at that time his face started to turn towards me.
The fear of being discovered, of him seeing me in this vulnerable state, gnawed at me. I couldn't help but imagine the embarrassment and awkwardness that would follow if I were found out. Plus how could I ever explain myself to him?!
He would start to hate me too and would he bully me like the rest?!?!
My mind raced with thoughts with so much speed I couldn't even comprehend them and it felt like my brain was blank.
OH! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
But none of my thinking was working and in the end, his gaze came towards me