I was sitting in the dining table chair, which was in the corner of a humongous kitchen, with my legs dangling over the armrest, kicking the air and Alice was sprawled in a chair next to me, who joined me shortly after John left, exhausted from whatever she was doing.
Way to be young and fit.
I watched people move around the modular kitchen. Various kitchen equipment, most of which I didn’t even know how to use, were placed on the counter.
It suddenly occurred to me and I jumped from my seat, startling Alice.
“What’s wrong?” She gave me a confusing look.
“I’ll be back soon. Where is my luggage ?”, I asked.
“Second floor. Last room down the hall in your right. Something wrong?”, she sat up straight, confused and worried.
“No. I’ll be back. Stay here”.
I ran to the second floor through infinite steps skipping two at a time. There were only three rooms on that floor. I ran down the hall and spotted the white wooden door. Luckily it was not locked. Locating my shoulder bag on a couch, I grabbed a certain violet box I was searching for. Closing the door behind me, I ran back downstairs.
She stood up from her chair seeing me.
“What happened?”
“I went to grab this”, I handed her the box and waited, gauging her expression and my smile widened when she gasped.
“I got this for your birthday. I forgot to give you because of all the commotion that happened that day”. She smiled at me, squealing and pulled me into a hug.
“Thank you. This is so beautiful”
“Here, let me”, I clasped it around her neck. It looked perfect.
—
I sat in my room, cross legged on the bed, full in stomach after a very liberal dinner.
“Heyyyy”, a very familiar and a very cheery voice answered the call after the first ring.
“Hey you. What are you doing?”, I pulled my phone away as a very loud noise came from her side.
“I was cleaning. That was the vacuum”, she said cutting down the noise.
“At night?”
“I was bored”, I smiled although she couldn’t see Me.
“Already?”. I could hear her breathing. “Yeah, I guess. It is empty here without you”, her tone softened to one of sadness.
“I have left you my favorite cuddle pillow”, I said hoping that it would cheer her up.
“It’s already in my bedroom”, she laughed.
“Maybe you should get a new roommate. That apartment can get really lonely sometimes”
“Maybe, I guess”.
We talked for a few more minutes, about everything and nothing to the point where both of us were yawning. I disconnected the call after numerous ‘miss you’s and ‘goodnight’s.
I was sitting on the bed, deep in thoughts when a soft knock came from the door. I looked up to see Ryan coming through the doorway.
“Hey. You settled?”, he asked, coming to stand a few steps away from me.
“Not yet. I guess I was tired from walking around the house most evenings”, I shrugged. That was the truth. There was a lot of ground to cover and I didn’t even get to the first floor.
He chuckled and went to the dressing table, placing his wallet and watch on it. I watched him in confusion and around the room, and I noticed his things casually lying around on the nightstand, on the coffee table, on the couch.
“Wait. Is this your room?”, I asked as it slowly dawned on me.
“Yeah”, he said, catching my eyes in the mirror.
“And I’m sharing a room with you?”, I asked, half pissed half surprised that no one told me about it. His reaction changed and he turned around to look at me.
“I thought you would be comfortable sharing the room with me”, his voice was calm.
“than with who?”. Okay. I was getting irritated at this point.
“That with literally anyone else in this pack house whom you’ve never met before”, he stated as a matter of fact.
“Why do I have to share? What about individual rooms? ”
“Well, the pack house is full at this point. And if you want an individual apartment, you have to go further deep into the woods and I don’t think that’s safe”. There was no room in this two floored mansion. Bullshit.
“What about Alice? I can stay with her”
He chuckled. “Yeah. She’s already sharing it with John”.
I mean, maybe I should’ve known. They were mates for two years now. But nonetheless, I was shocked.
“She never told me”, I scoffed, laughing. I could feel his eyes on me, silently watching me as I looked around as if looking at the corners of the room would bring a solution to this awkward situation.
I honestly didn’t know what to make out of this. Maybe I should go for a room hunt tomorrow, to check it for myself that no other rooms were available.
“I’ll take the couch”, he said walking to the closet and coming back with a towel and some clothes in his hand.
He stopped, about to close the door and said, “Just for one night. That’s not a very comfortable couch. Good night”, he shut the bathroom door and I plopped down on the bed. I changed, keeping an eye on the bathroom door and sleep never came this fast to me. I slept like a log because of all the exhaustion.
It was 7 in the morning when I woke up. I never actually had the time to notice the interior décor of this room.
The king-sized Futon bed was mounted on a platform, with crisp white linen bedding linens matching the padded headboard. The walls were a pale icy shade of blue, giving a serene and intimate vibe. Walnut stained nightstands stood on either side of the bed, night lamps on top of them with expensive looking night shades. The draperies were white, going the wall color.
The wood flooring contrasted the whole white vibe, covered by a plush white rug. The furniture was minimalistic, matching the interior.
There were two doors other than the main door. Probably bathroom and walk-in closet. I shoved the quilt aside and got up from the bed. A gentle gasp escaped past my lips when my feet touched the feathery carpet. I curled my toes savoring the feeling of the carpet massaging my soles.
Cold breeze coming directly from the woods through the wide open window, carrying a fresh, rich pine scent brushed past my face. It was all silent. No noise. No traffic. It was so serene that the entire view looked motionless.
I jumped back at the sound of twisting of a door knob. I turned around.
Wrong move Bella.
He stood there, wet from the shower, a fluff white towel dangerously low on his hips and another on his hands, drying his still damp hair. I totally forgot that I was in his room and he slept here last night.
For someone who was used to getting walked in on or walking in on by girls, this was a new sight. My mind was too foggy from just walking up and this freshly showered specimen in front of me, I took too long than it was socially acceptable to avert my eyes.
A smirk played on the corner of his lips, when I finally looked up at his face.
Few strands of his wet hair were sticking to his forehead reaching his eyebrows. Water droplets rolled down from his face to his neck and then through his hard torso and got lost in his towel.
Focus.
Does anybody have a sexy neck? Heck . He had. A long and se-. Focus.
“You are staring”, I let my breath out that I didn’t know I was holding, shuffling awkwardly.
“You.. you should’ve knocked”, I said looking at nowhere but his eyes, never letting my eyes stray downwards and it wasn’t helping either.
“Knocked what? A bathroom room?”, He raised his brow and walked towards me, still not bothering to cover himself up.
He knew what he was doing and he’s having a great time at it. I was checking him out and he caught me red handed. The awkwardness in the air was hitting the highest points.
I grabbed my bag that had my change of clothes, that was sitting by the sofa and walked past him to the door.
I walked as fast as my legs could take me, grabbing my phone on the way out and ran as soon as the door was shut, leaving behind a very amused Ryan.
I dialed Alice and she directed me to her room. Knocking on the door, I waited outside recalling what just happened back there, sending a wave of shudder through my spine. The door opened revealing a half naked John in his trousers.
“Hey. What are you doing here?”, he asked me, yawning.
“She wanted to use the bathroom”, Alice answered him from behind. He nodded his head and moved aside, letting me in. I went to the bathroom and locked the door behind me.
The water pressure was heavenly. After the shower, I slipped into my dress and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. Alice joined me shortly.
“Come on Bella. Let’s go “. She gave a quick peck to John on his lips. We headed towards the main door but stopped on tracks by a completely dressed Ryan.
“We need to talk”, he climbed down the stairs, his focus on me. He was in a white button up shirt and black pants with his black blazer in his hand.
“About what?”, I asked, confused.
He looked between Alice and me and continued, “There were rogue sightings at the border”, John came to stand beside him, a deep frown on his face.
“So?”, I looked at him and between John and Alice, waiting for an answer.
“For some safety reasons you will have to stay here, at the pack house, until the situation is cleared. I can talk to your management regarding it”.
I scoffed. “Excuse me?”. He wanted me to sit here and not leave? Not even for college? Like hell I would.
“I’m going to college. If you are afraid of these “rogues”, your beta female and Gamma will be there to protect me. Don’t you trust them?”, I retorted, clearly getting pissed.
That was what I agreed to. Everything would be on my terms. He agreed. His eyes studied me, contemplating his decision. If he wanted me to stay here, what could I do? Walk through the woods to college? Ask Nora to pick me up and expose this to her? I stood, holding my breath, waiting for him to say. something.
“I’m concerned about your safety. You are here because of me and I’m responsible for it”
“I’ll be fine”, I said, almost pleading. I could see the wheels turning in his head. He sighed, shaking his head.
“Take two pack warriors with you. They will be in the parking lot. You wouldn’t even know they were there. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it”, he said waiting for my answer. Two dudes sitting in the parking lot without bothering me? I felt bad for them but hey, I had to be the one sitting at the same place all day long if I didn’t agree.
“Okay”. He talked to Jimmy, probably threatening him to tail me all day throughout the college while we waited for him by his car.
He came back and drove us away while a red Chevy tailed us all the way to the college parking lot.
I prayed for the day to be uneventful or else I would never hear the end of it from a certain someone who probably derived pleasure from saying ‘I told you so’.