27- Don't put things in your mouth unless it's food or you've asked first . Jackson frowns . " I'm being an ass again , aren't I ? " He says guiltily and I shrug . " A little bit , yeah . " I say with a half smile . " Sorry . I'll back off . " He promises and I nod my acceptance of his apology . We exchange pleasantries for a little bit longer . Jackson promises to stop by the bar sometime soon to say hi then he heads off . I head back to Torin's office . The door is still open and he looks up at me as I approach . I smile but before I can so much as say a single word I yawn loudly . " You're tired . There's still time before work , you should try to get some more sleep now that it's quieter here . " He insists immediately . I'm not arguing . My eyelids feel like sandpaper , my head is pounding and I'm fairly sure my I.Q. has dropped significantly . " I'll do that . " I agree . " What about you ? Are you going to go home and get some more rest ? " I ask . Torin scrunches up his face and shakes his head . " No. Kyle will be here soon to start cooking . I need to stick around . But you should rest . " He repeats . I frown at him . He needs to sleep too , unless he's planning to get some sleep tonight . He's been awake even longer than I have . Actually , I'm not sure if he's been to sleep at all . Seeing my concern and hesitation , Torin rushes to reassure me . " I'm not human . I don't need as much sleep as you do . I'll be fine . " He promises . I'm still not sure I believe him , but I guess he DOES look a lot less sleepy than me . Well , he's a grown man . He can make his own decisions . If he gets exhausted and passes out , then it'll be his own fault and he can deal with the consequences . I head back to my room and I'm about to hop into bed when I realise my feet are all covered in white dust . Gross . I can't use the bathroom yet , so I take a washcloth to the kitchen and wet it in the sink there . I wipe the dust off of my feet then drop the cloth into my pile of dirty clothes . Note to self- order a hamper for my dirty laundry . Then I climb into bed and I swear I'm asleep before my head even hits the pillow . 29 ل ||| O < 1/4 Fri , Aug Lesson 27- Don't put things in your mouth unless it's food or you've asked first . Once again , I wake up to the sound of Torin knocking on my bedroom door . I expect to feel groggy when I get up . I only had time for a short nap after all . But I actually feel pretty good . I hop to my feet and answer the door . Torin is waiting there . " Hey , what time is it ? Should I get ready for work ? " I ask cheerfully . " It's about eight . " He says and before he can continue my eyes widen and I start to panic . " Eight ? I should have been up hours ago ! Why didn't you wake me ? " I demand , rushing to my shelf to look for clean clothes . " Relax . I let you sleep on purpose . Laura worked alone for the first part of the night . You can cover the second half . I don't expect tonight to be too busy . You don't need to rush . Why don't you take a shower and have something to eat ? Then you can go relieve Laura . " Torin suggests . Normally I would insist on getting to work right away . But I really DO need a shower . I suspect that some of the supernatural creatures who come to the bar have above average senses of smell and I would really be so embarrassed if I smelled gross and someone noticed . I'm beyond ready to wash my hair . Torin wanders back to his office and I sort through the toiletries that Laura purchased for me . I find shampoo and conditioner . It's a nice brand , definitely more expensive than any I would usually pick for myself . I grab anything else that might be useful for a shower and stack it on top of a towel then head to the bathroom . Showers are glorious . I never want to get out . It is seriously heavenly . I would love to stay here forever , but eventually my conscience drives me out . I can't make Laura work alone all night . I'm also sped along when I go out to the hallway and realise that something smells great . Kyle has been cooking again and I'm definitely looking forward to it . I wear comfortable clothes again and pull on my shoes . I am about to head to the kitchen when something on my bed catches my eye . I haven't made the bed , I was in too much of a hurry to shower , but placed carefully on the pillow is a small , mint green box . Curious , I sit on the bed and open the box . Inside is a rose gold bracelet . It's simple , but pretty . Something that you could wear every day , not just on special occasions . Did someone leave this here for me ? Why ? Who ? It could be Torin , but why would he buy me a bracelet ? And why leave it on my bed rather than just giving it to me ? This is so weird . Still , it's pretty and I'm happy to have it . Since I can't wear my silver bracelet while I'm working , this will be a great substitute . I head to the kitchen and in a way of greeting , Kyle drops a plate of food in front of me . Some kind of roast chicken I think . It must be what smells so great . Kyle grumbles 29 2/4 O < 11:21 Fri , Aug 29 Lesson 27- Don't put things in your mouth unless it's food or you've asked first . something about how I'm too skinny and goes back to his cooking . I frown . I'm not THAT thin . Although I guess compared to his round stomach I am a lot smaller . Well , whatever . As long as he keeps bringing me good food like this I'm not going to complain . I can tell his comments come from a place of affection . He means well . Once I'm so full that I will be sick if I eat any more I thank Kyle for the meal , rinse my dishes and leave them by the sink . I stop by Torin's office and knock on the door . " Come in Rina . " He calls out . " How did you know it was me ? " I ask as I open the door and poke my head inside . Torin shrugs . " You're the only one who would be knocking at my door . " He answers . Huh ... Interesting . " Well , I just wanted to let you know that I'm clean and fed and ready to get to work . " I tell him cheerfully . I'm all cheerful tonight . Having clean hair is doing wonders for my mood . It's weird how that happens . I'm still trapped here , and someone is still trying to hurt me . But now I have a comfortable bed , clean hair and I'm well fed . Things could definitely be worse . I still really want to talk to my brother . I doubt it will take long for him to start worrying , but there's nothing I can do right now . I'll talk to Torin about Damien a bit later . Maybe when we're cleaning up or something . " Alright . " Torin nods and I head down the hallway to the door leading to the bar . I hear footsteps behind me and realise that Torin is following me . Huh ... Well I don't mind it . I step out behind the bar and Torin steps past me , around the bar and takes his usual seat at the far end of the bar . Laura perks up when she sees me . Her red hair is up in a high ponytail and it swings as she spins around to face me . " Rina ! Torin said you needed to sleep a bit more . Are you feeling alright now ? " She asks , pulling me into a tight hug . I'm a little stunned . I didn't know that Laura and I were at a hugging stage of our friendship . But I suppose I don't really have a problem with it . " Yep . One hundred percent ready to go . " I declare as I get to work . 29 17