Ensnare

Chapter 10

                I waited for the roll of thunder to stop before raising my hand. I knocked on the door of the lodge as a flash light up the sky. The rain beat down on the roof of the porch above me. I was wringing wet and shivering as I waited for someone to come to the door.

                With a creak the door opened, shining a light on the planks of the porch. I found myself staring into Matthew’s brown eyes. He held the door open with one arm and wordlessly stepped aside. I ducked under his arm and into the warmth of the lodge.

                “Welcome back,” he said as I stood in the entryway dripping onto the tile floor. Faces turned toward me from the living room. The group was sitting scattered around the blue walled room. A fire was dancing in the stone fireplace. Katie cast me a dirty look before turning back to the book in her lap.

                Eve set down her book and crossed the room. She was already in full mother mode. Matthew walked back into the living room and sat down in one of the oversized arm chairs.

                “Come on, honey,” Eve motioned for me to follow her. I slipped off my wet shoes and followed her down the hallway. I clutched my duffel bag close to my side, becoming nervous. Here I was, showing up at a house I’d only visited once before. What did I really know about these people?

                I had awoken in their house to stories of wolves. Could they have been lying? Was there something they were trying to get me to do?

                As many questions that my mind came up with, my stomach still told me I was safe. No matter how illogical, I felt welcomed and protected here. Maybe it was misplaced confidence, but I felt more at home than I had in the past week staying at Linda’s.

                I followed Eve upstairs, expecting to be going to the red room. Instead we passed right by and turned right at the T in the hallway. This wing held many doors as well. Two stood open, directly across from one another. I could see one was a bathroom. The other looked like a messy bedroom. Eve shut the bedroom door and opened the door next to the bathroom.

                She walked inside and motioned for me to follow. Eve grabbed a pillow and fluffed it, placing it back on the bed at a perfect ninety degree angle.

                “Here’s your new room, sugar. I’ll go get you some blankets and leave them outside the door. You go on and get into some dry clothes now.”

                I nodded and Eve left. No matter what she was doing, she always moved as if she was in a hurry. I shivered once more and dropped my bag on the light, honey coloured hardwood.

                The room was larger than the red room, but smaller than my bedroom at home. The walls were painted a cheery shade of teal. The room opened into a rectangular, entry-like area. It turned into a square the deeper you went. Tucked into the left corner of the square was the bed, its head against the wall that touched the smaller rectangle area. Against the back wall were a desk and a chair. In the right front corner there was a laundry hamper placed beside another chair. A dresser lined the right wall.