She leaned into his embrace and smiled when he kissed her cheek. There was a comfort there that she'd not expected but welcomed.
"Thanks, Lance," she said as he walked out of the room. He really was a sweetheart.
Sighing happily, she set the shower to heating while she took down her sad and drooping ponytail and cheated by spelling the tangles from her long red hair. Normally she'd've taken the time to comb it properly, but she wanted to be clean too badly to wait that long. Stripping down, she stepped into the falling water and waited for it to work its magic.
But as the knots loosened, she started shaking. It was finally hitting her how close she had come to dying that day. She had to cut the shower short lest she end up sobbing in the corner. So she hopped out and quickly dried off before dressing in short sleep shorts and another oversized tee shirt - this one emblazoned with the orange UT of the University of Tennessee. Packing everything neatly back in her bag, she padded out on bare feet to find a couch to curl up on as she clutched a pillow.