Ranger [ON HOLD]

Chapter Sixteen - Teenage Bookworm Desires

I didn't feel at home. Not really.

The room Von had given me was small, and much like my old one. The bed was a king size, and dressed in old blankets that smelt of detergent, musk, and the slightest hint of a herb I couldn't place. It was fitting, as it was a house full of monster hunters.

The sheets of the bed were somewhat musky, but clean all the same. They were not comfortable or uncomfortable in any way. They were sheets. And the mattress was a mattress. An inviting one at the moment, but still only a mattress.

The windows were boarded up, to keep supernatural creatures out I'd imagine, and the only light sources I had were in the form of a lamp by my bedside and a second lamp near the door. The walls bore a warm brown wallpaper, though it was slightly faded from years of age. The carpet had obviously been torn out years ago, given the edges of the wall did not line up correctly with the wooden flooring and left a gap between the two.

The moment Von had left, I simply sat on the bed, staring blankly at the old wooden dresser a few feet away. I sure what to think of my situation, even now that I was in a setting that allowed me the time alone to do so. And here I was, noticing the scent of the blankets.

"I must be crazy..."

I glanced down to my leg, frowning as the familiar twinge of pain set in once more. My medication was already starting to wear off, and I was pretty certain I'd already reached my limit for how many I could have in a day.

I slid onto the bed, easing onto my right side so as not to disturb my more injured left side. My wrist ached numbly, and I had a good feeling that tomorrow would be worse for that particular area. My knee was throwing a fit from all the movement I'd done so far. It didn't hurt any less, and I had to keep my body aligned so as not to tweak it. I figured the only reason I hadn't payed much attention to it before was because I'd been given little time to, even during the car ride.

It took a moment before I was comfortable. I shifted more this way and more that way before I could actually settle down in a position I felt I could sleep in without causing more injury to myself. And when I found myself comfortable, I closed my eyes.

The bed was comfortable, now that I was laying down. And the blankets were warm compared to the temperature of the room. And for a tiny moment I imagined myself back at home, with Kenny snoring his way through the next half an hour before demanding to be picked up and handled. My favorite book laying on the nightstand-

My eyes opened to stare at the wall just under the boarded up window.

"I fell from the sky..." I ran a hand over my face, sliding my good arm over my eyes to block out any form of light. I hadn't wanted to turn off the lamp, at least not in an unfamiliar setting. I hated waking up in places I didn't recognize. If I woke up in the dark I knew it would only scare me half to death.

"Talking to yourself?"

I pulled myself up quickly into a sitting position, my back aching painfully as my eyes moved to the figure standing at the door.

Ranger stood - the object of my teenage bookworm desires - casually leaning against the door frame with an almost amused glint to his eyes. He seemed only slightly more relaxed in a familiar setting, the tenseness of his shoulders falling just slightly. And only slightly. The rest of him seemed as high strung as a bow string.

"Well, not anymore..." My voice was far more relaxed than I really felt.

He closed the door behind himself before coming to sit at the foot of my bed. The mattress dipped, and for a moment I felt too close to him. Far too close. So I shifted my position, edging away toward the other side of the bed. A tiny part felt bad for the reaction, but a larger part felt more comfortable because of it.