Chapter 121

• It’s a small room with a bay window, an oversized couch, and an armchair cozily nestled in front of a rustic fireplace. A sizeable handmade desk sits off to the side, just in the nook of the window space, facing inward with a worn chair tucked behind. There’s an entire wall lined with dark stained bookcases, crammed full of old leather-bound journals of varying shades of tan, brown, and black, with no titles on display, and I wonder what exactly is contained within the aged pages for them to bear no mark. There are oddities and bottles of all kinds nestled among them, and facing that wall are three ample cupboards in matching deep wood that narrows the space considerably. There isn’t much floor to move around, yet it has a snug quality rather than crowded.
• The décor of dark fall hues, golds, oranges, russet, and browns, rich in color, only makes the room close in on us more. Especially with the heavy drapes at the window in dark red velvet, blocking out what should be light, but it’s almost the middle of the night already, so there’s a wall of black in the windowpane. The lamps are dim, almost candle flickering in intensity, dotted sporadically around small side tables and shelves, and add to an eerie atmosphere as the pack all sit around nestled together. Some of them are perched on the arms of chairs, lounging, while Colton stands by the fireplace, and I’m lying down on the bed, out of the way to get some rest. The bed’s modern. I can tell by its comfort and the crisp, new bedding that it was put in here recently.
• My body is weary and heavy, and it feels good to know what a comfy, safe bed feels like again. It’s been so long since I was in a room by choice, surrounded by people I care about in a safe space, and I can spread out and not have to be on high alert. Weeks of living with tension and heightened senses are all coming to an end, and I realize how exhausted I am. It feels beyond amazing to not have one eye behind me and one eye on my surroundings, worrying about my next meal or where to set up a good camp.