Fire Proof

Chapter Four

The sun is bright, but familiar, as Jasmin pushes me onto the sidewalk. Apparently they walked here, so now we're walking to her house.

The building we came out of is big, and simple. It's built of brick and has windows along the front and sides of it. The roof is flat on top. I think I heard Jasmin call it a Doctor's Office. But if she's a Werewolf, wouldn't we go to the Pack Doctor?

She pushes me down the sidewalk in silence, occasionally saying something to Jupiter. I take this time to observe where we are.

Next to the flat-roofed building is another big structure, but this one has a pointed roof and isn't as big. A wide, roofed patio with picnic tables circles it. I want to keep my speaking to a minimal, but my curiosity overcomes me.

"What is that?" I point to the building I've been studying.

Jasmin stops the wheelchair so we can look at the structure some more. "That is the Lodge. We eat group meals there sometimes and that's where meetings are held." I nod and she continues walking. What she meant is Pack meetings and dinners are held there.

I look to the left, across the street, where a row of modest-size houses sit. Except for one; the one closest to the Doctor's Office.

This one is different. It's slightly bigger and has two people standing outside the door. The people are rigid, unmoving. Like soldiers.

Jasmin must see me staring, because then she says: "That's our group leaders' house." The Alpha's. That would explain the guards.

The curtains on the second level swish and I swear I see dark hair flash behind the window. I blink and it's gone.

I return to observing my surroundings. Every house looks similar, but with their own styles and gardens put in. Peering between houses, I notice more rows. It seems as though the houses circle around the Alpha's house, the Doctor's, and the Lodge. The format kind of looks like a target, I guess.

We turn down a few different nameless streets and I start picturing it in my head. The target format of houses. It's like some kind of neighborhood and kind of reminds me how the Caves worked. But the Caves were under a mountain. This is a neighborhood. A Wolf Pack neighborhood.

"Here we are!" Jasmin says suddenly, pushing me up a concrete path much wider than the normal sidewalk. The house we're going towards is two stories high and painted pale blue. The shutters and trim are white, along with the front door. I smile a little; it's cute.

Jasmin stops at the top of the wide sidewalk. We've come to a white wall that's different than the house siding. I'm not entirely sure why it's different. Until she punches in a code and the wall moves. I jump, not expecting that.

The white wall makes a rickety noise as it climbs towards the roof, disappearing into wall above. I stare, completely fascinated.

Jasmin giggles at my expression, "Have you ever seen a garage door before?"

I don't answer, I just watch until it comes to a stop. Jasmin pushes me inside and I find out the wall didn't disappear, it just folded backwards and was just sitting against the ceiling. I don't know what to make of that.

Jasmin stops at steps leading to a white door. She opens it and calls inside. "Cole! Will you come help me?"

The man from the woods appears and helps lift me through the doorway. I wish they'd just let me heal the fast way.

Inside, the house is beautiful, decorated carefully and wonderfully. Through an open door next to the garage entrance, I see a small bathroom. On the other side of the short hallway is a closet. It holds coats and shoes. The only thing that bothers me is that the place smells like wolf. I guess I'll have to get used to that.

Wait, what?

I backtrack my thoughts, reminding myself that we're not staying. The first opportunity that arises, we're out of here.

A flash of guilt stabs my heart though. I was starting to enjoy Jasmins company. Not quite to a comfortable level, but still.

"Because of your injured leg, I thought it would be best to have your room be on the main floor, that way you don't have to deal with stairs." She pauses, waiting for my reaction. I nod, and she continues. "I didn't know what you like, so I just did neutral. But we can change anything if you don't like it!" She adds quickly, pushing me down a hallway. "Don't be afraid to tell me if you don't like something. I want you to be comfortable."

She stops in a doorway and I suck in a breath. The room is gorgeous, and not to mention huge. Through a big window on the right, I can see the front yard, and a small child playing in the grass across the street.

A queen bed is on the left, sticking out into the room from a smaller window that views the backyard. The bedspread is white, with little scrunches dotting it to give it fluff and texture. Red and black accent pillows are thrown on top.

The walls are painted a very light grey and the curtains on either side of the front yard window are white, matching the bedspread.

My favorite part, though, is the reading corner. A wide bookshelf runs along the entire far wall, practically filling the entire space. And from the ceiling, an odd, bubble-like chair hangs. It sort of looks like a cocoon. I desperately want to run to it and curl up to read. I'll have to do that sometime later.

"Do you like it?" Jasmin asks. She sounds nervous, as if she's worried I'll hate it.

She shouldn't be worried, though. I freaking loved it! I twisted my head around and beamed at her. "I love it!" I breathed.

She fiddles with her hands, "Are you sure? Because we can change anything you want. The color of the walls, the bedspread, the pillows. . . I picked red because you seem to like red. Your dress thing was dyed red and you have that red bracelet—"

I giggle and touch her hand, making her go still. She blinks down at me. "I don't want to change anything." I whisper.

She smiles, still seeming nervous. I realize she must be new at this. She mentioned having a son, but he must still be young.

"Oh!" She gasps, pushing me further into the room. "Over here, is your bathroom. And here, is your closet." On the same wall as the doorway, two more doors led to dark spaces.

"There's a few outfits in the closet for you. They're old clothes of mine and they probably won't fit you right. But don't worry, I can take you shopping soon for your own stuff." She rambles, "Ooh! And we can get you makeup and shoes and hair things!"

I wince, hopefully unnoticeably. Did she think I was staying here forever? I don't want to make her feel bad — she seemed so excited!

"Well I'll leave you to get settled, holler if you need anything. I'll come get you for dinner, alright?" I give her a nod and she leaves the room.

I sigh, alone at last. I wheel myself over to the front yard window and peer out. My heart skips a beat when I realize my direct line of sight leads to the Alpha's home. It's a few streets away, but I can see a few windows through the spaces between other houses. That's not what made my heart skip, though. It was the emerald green eyes staring right back at me.