When she finally gave herself over to sleep, it was a restless night full of position changes and clock glances. She awoke still exhausted. Although she blamed the time zone change, deep down, she knew that this trip would be much more difficult than she had anticipated. How could she expect to turn up unannounced after all this time and not get questioned by her family? Of course they'd be curious about her life. She thought she'd mentally prepared herself, but she recognized now that her efforts had been minimal to non-existent.
Alexis remained in bed until she heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. Her father going to work. Must be six o'clock. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, cursing the jet lag, and urged herself forward. She padded down the hall to the shower. She wanted to be refreshed, cleaned, absolved. Sadly, she wanted more than a simple shower was able to give.