Charades

Chapter 6

     I stood in front of the owner of the inn. His eyebrows were furrowed, a grim line a frown on his face, and I gulped. It was hopeless. Trying to convince him to give me one more night was hopeless, but I had to try.

     "Please Ethan," I said. "Just give me one more night. I will pay you back as soon as I find a job. I have nowhere else to stay."

     "I'm sorry," Ethan said, shaking his head. His long blonde hair was a mess of curls and it bounced at the movement. "But if I give you one more chance, I must give in to the demands of others. I'm sorry about your situation, but I can't let this go. You should have thought before you moved with no money."

     I bit my lip, my heart pounding. It was hopeless. I was about to be homeless.

     "Please Ethan," I whispered. "It'll be our little secret. Just please give me this one chance."

     Ethan shook his head. He crossed his arms over his chest and his eyes bore into mine. His foot tapped against the group impatiently.

     "Amara, take your horse and go. Now," Ethan demanded. "I'm done with this conversation."

     My heart twisted at his words. I stared up at him, my eyes wide and filled with tears, and Ethan turned around. He kept his eyes anywhere, but on me and I sighed.

     Realizing there was nothing else I could do, I left the inn. I went to stable where Eren and the other horses were locked in, and the horses neighed at the sight of me, stamping their feet with excitement. Eren was the loudest of the bunch and I let out a sigh. Defeated, I realized I only had one place to go.

     "Come on, Eren," I said, taking him out of the stable. "Looks like we're sleeping in the forest again. I'll try to find a job tomorrow."

     Eren grunted and he dragged himself forward. And together, we went to the forest. The sun had set and the forest looked gloomy. Tall trees towered over us and surrounded us, and there was nothing but rocks and logs in the area we found. I settled down on the cold grass and Eren settled down next to me, and my eyes fell shut. Exhausted and defeated, I let sleep consume me.

*****

     The sun was beaming down on me and I groaned. I was still exhausted and I wanted to sleep some more, but the sun wouldn't let me. So slowly, I pealed my eyes open and turned over, realizing I was homeless. But when I turned over, I yelped when I saw Ronan there. His eyes were hard as he stared at me and I sprung up to sit. My eyes flew wide at the sight of him. Gaping at him, I was lost for words.

     "What are you doing here?" I asked.

     "I should be asking you that," Ronan said. "What are you doing here?"

     Ronan's voice was cold. There was an anger in his voice I'd never heard before, a sound of accusation that left me gulping. I didn't think Ronan would find me in the forest again.

     "How do you keep finding me here?" I asked. I was trying to deflect and Ronan narrowed his eyes.

     "I'm a fisherman," Ronan said. "My second job involves me fishing in this forest and every time I go fishing, I find you sleeping here."

     I gulped. Ronan's eyes were unwavering. They were locked on mine, willing me to speak up about what was going on.

     "You know it isn't safe here," Ronan said. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you at the inn?"

     "I ran out of money," I confessed. "I have nowhere to go, but here."

     "You could have asked me for help! I offered you multiple times. You didn't have to do this."