Emerald Ashes

Safe

L

We were home by the early evening. Corvo helped me out of the car. My feet pushed into the gravel driveway, the small stones cutting through the rubber soles of my shoes. He shut the door once I was clear of its path, and his hand took mine as we started for the front door of the large house in front of us. Shadows of red light peeked around window curtains, and the sun burned behind the house with intense maroon light. Warmth filled my fingers and palm where Corvo's skin touched mine. I squeezed his hand a little harder, and he repeated the gesture.

"Are you alright?" He asked. We stopped just before the door and he turned to me. His free hand cupped one side of my jaw. He upturned my head so I was forced to look at him.

"Would you be?" I asked, even though I already knew his answer.

"No," he murmured and pulled me into him. His arms coiled around my shoulders and squeezed, my body pressed to his. The reality of my situation – the fact that my own father didn't recognize me and threatened to kill me and Corvo – hovered above us. I knew it would eventually splash down with a rush of cold fear that wrapped around my heart, but for now, I just wanted to forget.

"I leave tomorrow, right?" I asked into his shirt. Corvo pulled away, his movement sudden as if he had forgotten about me and Ethel's getaway to Emerald's beach house in New Jersey. There was a pause. Corvo's jaw clicked as he opened his mouth open and closed.

"Y-yes," he said, unsure. "Yes, you do." Corvo took one of his hands away and pushed his hair back, his head going back with the motion.

"I need to pack." I pulled at his hand. Corvo reached around me and yanked open the front door. Inside, maroon shadows dappled the room. Their heads turned our way as we entered, and their conversations quieted, but none paid any attention as we headed for the staircase. Corvo walked next to me with his hand on my waist. A combination of cinnamon, vanilla, and Corvo's evergreen scent mixed in the large hall. The odor seemed to originate from the kitchen, and as we ascended the staircase, the cinnamon-vanilla scent waned leaving the peppermint forest to waft around me in gentle wisps.

"Erin's making cinnamon rolls," Corvo commented. I lifted my gaze, my brows furrowed. "The house'll smell like this for a day or two," he laughed.

"I'm not complaining," I nudged him with my shoulders. "Erin's food is fantastic."

"She really is the only person keeping this house together," Corvo finished off the last of the stairs and we headed for the staircase off the main hallway on the third floor.

"Does she ever get a break?"

"She has the weekends off, as well as the holidays but she still helps out at Christmas and Thanksgiving. Her family is here, and she makes the best food." Corvo shrugged off the subject. My feet hit the fourth floor, and instead of immediately heading for Corvo's room on the left, I looked right. A maroon shadow, a feminine figure, leaned against a wall on the far end of the hallway.

"L," they said and pushed off the wall.

"Not now, Allison," Corvo said from behind me. I went to silence him but Alli was in front of me before I had a chance to look away.

"What, I can't have a conversation with her?" Alli asked, her eyes focused past me, on Corvo who had positioned himself right behind me. "It's not like I'm gonna hit her or anything," she smiled, her words slicing through the foot of space between us. "At least, not with you around." Allison laughed. Corvo tensed behind me. His hand on my hip squeezed into the soft flesh of my waist. I winced under his grip, but it was subtle enough that he didn't notice. The warmth from his touch settled the rising nerves in my blood, but Allison's vicious glare counteracted Corvo's touch.