Fallen + Marli & Lalo (Fallen Invasion, #3) Read Free Page B

wooden, white cabinets that hung over the toilet.  I surveyed my towels . 
    Now, which one means the least to me? That grime will never come out.   The yellow one.  Perfect!   That was one I knew took pleasure in trying to tear my skin.  It was the one I bought back when I denied myself at least a couple of luxury, soft towels.  And there was no way I would use those. 
    Are you sure?  His skin felt soft to me, exactly like humans.  What if it was highly sensitive?  From all of the alien movies I watched, with the slimy appearing aliens, they sure did look sensitive. 
    Fine.  I decided to sacrifice an orange one.  That way if the soot—Oh no!  The soot was on me—on my face! 
    Horrified, I pivoted and rushed to the mirror.  I saw something jolt upwards out of the corner of my eye, which made my stomach clench.  Hopefully it was Lalo.
    Quickly turning around, I looked up to the ceiling.  It was him; he was up in the corner.  His feet comfortably held him to the wall along with his hands, which were positioned behind him, making him appear as if he was going to attack.
    Using my peripheral vision, I peeked at the reflection of my cheek in the mirror.  At least there wasn’t a rash.  I faced Lalo again.  I opened my arms to give the gesture of a hug because there was nothing else to do.  This means peace.  I won’t hurt you.
    My arms begged me to let them rest after a while.  Lalo was fixed in his position.  Since no ideas popped up, directing me on how I could get him down, I placed Lalo’s towel set along the sink and began to run water into the tub, making sure it was lukewarm. 
    No, I didn’t know what temperature Lalo liked.  I decided lukewarm was a good middle ground.  As I put the stopper in, I heard Lalo retreat to the floor.  He put his hand on my back then analyzed the running water himself, running his fingers and hands through it.
    He wasn’t repulsed by the water.   Good.  He could take that temperature.
    After I stood up, it took a few seconds for me to realize that the water didn’t continue to fill the tub.  I squatted back down.   No way!   It was hard to trust what I was seeing.  No, the water didn’t fill the tub.  It filled Lalo instead.  I wanted to run and grab my camera to get a picture, but I felt the pressure of Lalo’s hand on my back.
    How did he know what a camera was?  He couldn’t even talk.
    Not wanting to upset him again, I decided to stay put and inspect the phenomenon with my hands instead.  I held mine under his.  It wasn’t a visual illusion.  Nothing fell through.  Slowly, I brought my hand up to his.  I watched to see if he had any change in expression as I embraced his hand.  None.   I inhaled.  Directly below the running water, I felt a spherical water pressure.  At the same time, currents traveled towards his arm.
    They must have some system designed to transport water.  Or their blood stream, if they have one, gets the water directly through osmosis.
    I removed my hand, stood up, and stepped back.  How long had beings like him existed?  What else was special about him?
    I probably would find that out once he was comfortable.  And if I was him that would first mean clean.  I thought about removing the jacket that I draped over Lalo, and he stood to face me.  I put my palms up and thought about how I wouldn’t harm him.  I took his unwavering expression as permission to remove the jacket.  After it was off, I spun around and dropped it into my laundry hamper.
    My thoughts switched to how I would get him to take a bath.  I knew there had to be a point where the saturation of water in his body was equal to the water in the tub, so he could use the water to take a bath.  I imagined Lalo using a towel, water, and soap to clean himself, hoping he would understand, get in the tub, and follow my directions. 
    Okay... Maybe he didn’t possess the ability to read my mind.  Just like the other times when I tried to