The shoe exchange

Bri

If there was ever a time I really wanted to stay in bed it was right now. However, the light gray walls that surround me, the nice black furniture, and the fancy rugs on the dark hardwood floors, let me know I'm not where I should be.

I throw the thick rumpled blankets off of me and rush towards the closed bedroom door. I open the door and step out into the long hallway, I see a set of stairs at the end and I quietly hurry down them. As I walk down the stairs, I see multiple pictures of Alexander hanging on the wall. I sigh in relief at knowing where I am, now.

I walk through a small foyer and into what looks like a huge living area. This place is massive, it's definitely bigger than my apartment, but then again, I guess most places are.

I shake that thought away. I'm thankful for my place. I have a roof over my head and sometimes that's more than what most people have. I know what I have now is way more than what I use to have.

Which was nothing.

No family, friends, home, food, bed, or water. Now, I have all of that and then some. I often find myself looking over my biggest blessings, and that's something I definitely want to work on.

I don't see Alexander anywhere in the living room. So, I walk further into the enormous space to look around, the walls are a light cream color and most of the furniture is a navy blue. There's a huge fireplace and sitting above it is the biggest tv I have ever seen.

Better than any of that, though, are the huge windows along the back walls. I walk over to them and look outside, it's daylight now and the city is so busy this morning. The sun is touching the tallest buildings making them reflect its golden orange color, I could look at this view forever.

"You're awake." Alexander's deep voice startles me, I quickly turn my head towards him and I watch as he walks into the room. "What are you doing?" He asks, coming to stand closer to me.

I point to the window I'm standing in front of, "admiring the view," I tell him with a shy smile. I think being in his space makes me feel nervous in some way, but I'm not scared about being here. It's actually quite opposite, I feel comfortable here, like I actually belong.

That thought alone makes me almost lose my breath. I've never felt like I belonged anywhere and out of all the places, this is it.

I hear him hum, and it's a sound that reverberates in my ears, reaching places it shouldn't. "Me too," he says, his eyes shifting from mine down to my lips. "How are you feeling?" He asks, I watch as he comes closer to me and I turn my gaze from him and focus on the world outside the window.

"I'm okay, how come I'm here and not at my apartment?" I question him. My eyes lock onto his that are reflected in the window. I look over my shoulder to see him standing directly behind me.

"I wanted you here." That's all he says for a moment, he comes to stand beside me and he looks out at the beautiful view before him. I hear him sigh and I turn to face him. "You scared me, I wanted to keep an eye on you. I didn't know what the fuck was going on." He runs his fingers through his messy brown hair. "You just passed out and I had to carry you to the car. When we got home, I laid you in my bed so you could rest. You weren't very responsive, so we called Jacob's mom to check on you." He finally turns and his gray eyes lock on my blue ones. "She said you were okay, probably just exhausted from the attack." He informs me and I'm thankful they were all there for me, including Jacob's mom.

I agree with her completely, "they do exhaust me. I haven't had one that bad in a long time, though." I lower my head and close my eyes. My arms tighten against my chest and I speak to him truthfully. "I'm worried, Alexander. We need to go over there, we need to get Lilly away from them." I'm begging, and he knows it.