practically falling over. I didn?t want to wake Cassandra to carry
her back to the guest room, so I had her lay down with me. Obviously,
we just slept. Now, can everyone but Hector or Jase get out
of my room, please? That includes you, Mom. I need a shower.?
Helen made it back to the guest room without accepting any
more help than she had to. She was so embarrassed all she wanted
to do was run screaming out of the house, and to do that she was
going to have to prove she was healthy.
?No thanks, I got it now,? she said to Ariadne when asked if she
needed help bathing.
?Okay. Just shout if you need me,? Ariadne replied with narrowed
eyes.
Twice Helen had to sit down on the shower floor to rest, but she
eventually managed to clean all the itchy sand out of her hair and
towel off without calling for Ariadne. It took her ten minutes to
struggle into her own freshly laundered clothes alone, but it was
worth it. All she wanted do was say thank you and slip out without
drawing too much attention to herself.
When she got downstairs the whole family was in the kitchen, including
Lucas. His face lit up like Vegas when he saw her. She
automatically went straight to him and sat down, her hopes of a
quiet escape ruined by what felt like a knee-jerk reaction. She
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hadn?t intended to stay for breakfast, but it was almost as if she
needed to be near him.
?We were just about to send someone up to make sure you hadn?t
washed down the drain,? joked Noel.
?Helen?s modest. She wanted to dress herself,? Ariadne said,
drizzling honey over a bowl of oatmeal and putting it down in front
of Helen.