12

Twelve
February 2 Imbolgen 8
SWEAT clung to her neck as humidity clings to haze after a storm. Her scarlet curls plastered themselves to her face, which rested on Hadassah’s chest. A slightly congealed liquid pooled across her back. The sun of mid afternoon barely peeked through the heavy, midnight blue curtains, casting the pretense of dawn across the two sleeping bodies. Hadassah slid her sleeping hand across Adrienne’s back, smearing the liquid like substance in brash strokes. Adrienne opened her eyes slowly, letting the night before seep into her consciousness; she sat up eventually, glancing around the room for her clothes. All she could see were Hadassah’s jeans, assorted dirty clothes, textbooks, burned out candles, and an abstract poster of blue lilies. Adrienne smirked. Now she remembered; her clothes lay all over the floor in the living room.
Adrienne rose from the bed and rummaged around in Hadassah’s laundry for a t-shirt to wear while she looked for her clothes. Hadassah awoke to the absence of Adrienne’s body heat. She stared at Adrienne’s back, her eyes transfixed on her hips and the blood that ran down her back in a smeared fashion. “Don’t wear white,” she began, breaking the silence, “I’ve marked you.” Adrienne touched her back, smearing blood across her fingers. She half smiled at Hadassah and tilted her head. “So that’s why it felt so good.”
“You don’t have to put a shirt on. Reuel’s not here,” Hadassah teased, taking the oversized red shirt from Adrienne’s grasp. Adrienne looked at her questioningly. “My brother,” she explained. “He left for work sometime before it was light outside. Speaking of light, what time did you have class?” she said flatly, attempting to downplay the fact that they both hand missed an entire day’s worth of classes. “Fuck!” Adrienne yelled, and threw Hadassah’s jeans at her. Hadassah smiled playfully. “Under normal circumstances, I don’t take direct orders, and I don’t know if you can survive another round anyway, from the looks of your back.” Despite herself, Adrienne cracked a smile.