Dark Places

Chapter Five

We soon come across a sign. It looks old, and it’s tilted slightly. I barely make out the words ‘Bethel Springs’.

Ethan pulls me along and I step beside him again. More minutes pass. The concrete is cool under my bare feet, it’s better than wearing my worn out sneakers. My sneakers give me blisters. I wonder if they’re still in my backpack since I didn’t get to zip it up, they might be gone. Oh well, I’m too worn out to worry over a pair of old sneakers. A few more minutes tick by before we come across fields, it’s too dark to see what’s growing, but I’m pretty sure it’s wheat.

A little further I see a small house. As we approach it I see it doesn’t seem to have an upstairs. There are no lights on, so I assume no one’s home. “You said you live alone?” I ask just to break the silence.

“Yeah, I live alone. My parents died a long time ago and I just got out of a foster home last year. I prefer the peace and quiet here, so I picked this house.” We walk up to the front door and he pushes it open.

“You don’t lock your door?” I ask. I always locked my door, but Raymond would always find a way in.

“There’s no one around here. I don’t have to worry about someone breaking in.” He answers as he walks me into, what I assume, is the living room. He lets go of my hand and shuts the door. He walks across the room and flicks on the light.

I look around the room. It’s small, but cozy. It’s got paintings of landscape, and woods, stuff like that. There’s a small couch sitting in front of a box TV. There’s a small hallway off of the living room holding three doors. If I look straight I’m looking into the kitchen. There’s a window above the sink looking out at what I imagine is a field or the woods; I can’t tell because it’s dark. The doors down the hallway are all open but all the lights are off except for in the living room.

I look back at Ethan, who’s watching me. I can finally see how he looks. He has dark brown hair, slightly curly. His eyes are blue, but it reminds me of the color of lightning; his eyes seem to buzz with life. That’s the only way I can describe them. His hair is slightly disheveled, giving him a nice look. My eyes trace his tall, muscular frame, but I don’t miss his broad smile as he catches my obvious gaze.

I realize he’s looking me over too. Though I can imagine I look like a mess. My dirty blond hair is probably going in all different directions. I probably have bags under my eyes from not sleeping well. My clothes are all torn up. I could go on and on and on.

“I like it.” Meaning his house. “It’s cozy.” I try for a small smile. He seems to snap out of his thoughts once he hears me talking.

He runs his fingers through his hair. “Uh, yeah. I like it too.” He smiles back at me. “So, I’ll show you where you can sleep.”

He leads me down the hallway to the furthest door. He goes in first and flicks on the light. He turns back to me, his gaze meeting mine. He gestures me in. “This is where you can sleep.” I hesitate; I still don’t fully trust him. Even though he seems nice enough. He seems to understand.

“You’re safe here. I wouldn’t have brought you here if you weren’t.”
I slowly step into the room.

It’s a simple little room; just the way I like it. It’s got a bed with a quilt on top that looks homemade. It’s got a wooden dresser and a window that overlooks the front of the house. It doesn’t have any family pictures, so this must be the guest bedroom. I turn back to see Ethan looking at me again, but he’s not blocking the doorway; I could get out if I wanted.

“You can go take a shower, if you want. Then you should get some sleep; you look like you need it.” He starts walking out of the room but stops. “You have extra clothes right?” He asks as he turns back toward me.