Colors Always Bleed Together [DUFN]

Chapter Nineteen: Vacation

I unlock the door to my future vacation home and push the door open. I'm only renting it for the time being, until the paperwork can be filed and it becomes official, but at least the owner - a man named Jerrard - was kind enough to let me use it until then.

The house seems almost completely furnished at first glance. There is a flat screen on top of the fireplace mantle, a couch, some chairs, tables, lamps; only the important elements that make a house a home are missing. Photos, familiar smells, noises and personal possessions - but they will all be here before long. It will be a home before I know it.

I start upstairs, looking through the six bedrooms that look almost the same; their variations lie in where the windows are and the layout of the bed, dresser, and television. Other wise, they are almost identical.

The hallway - with three doors on each side - is bare and plain. Maybe a picture or two would lighten it up.

Back downstairs, I explore everywhere else: the kitchen, the soon-to-be music room, the storage room and bathroom connected to it, and lastly, the master.

It's stunning. There is a large bed pushed in one corner and a dresser on the other. A large flat screen is mounted to the wall across from the bed. A smooth, dark wood table is in another corner with a single small - yet plush - chair ready to be pulled out and used. A window overlooks the small beach in the backyard.

I smile and test out the bed. It's much softer than it looks. If I didn't have stuff to do, I might have just taken a nap.

I notice the door when I lift my head from the pillows. Slowly, I stand and walk over to it. The gloss finished wooden door opens noiselessly to reveal a small hallway only a few feet long. A closed door mirroring the one I just opened is at the end of the hall and another on the left side has no door. I look up at the ceiling. The pattern suggests that this section is directly under the stairs.

I walk into the doorless room. It's an empty walk in closet. The sides are meant for clothes. The ceiling slopes down to the floor on the far wall, where a small nook is kept for shoes. I smile wider. This place keeps getting better and better.

The other door leads to the master bath. It has a shower that water rains from the ceiling and a large bathtub. A few things to add to the luxury.

I make my way to the front door while digging through my pockets for keys. I rented another car, one from another dealer because I don't think the other trusts me anymore. But, that's life, I guess.

As I find it, the key to my temporary red Buick Cascada, I feel a tiny envelope in my pocket as well. It is packed full with seven individual keys to the vacation house for myself and the six others I plan to stay here as well. Two in which I plan to be there more than I am myself.

I get in and start up my rental. The radio turns on to a random channel and I quickly turn it off. I'm not really in the mood for music. I need silence, to think. And to concentrate on driving with one hand.

The hotel is about a ten minute drive. The van and Brent's dark blue BMW M4 are parked outside along the other cars, but they are closest to the doors as they can be without parking in the handicap spots.

I park beside Brent's car. Surprisingly, there was an empty spot where I needed it to be. Maybe my luck is turning.

The automatic doors slide open as I approach. The staff are attending to customers holding their luggage, but one looks up to give a nod my way.

I take the stairs up to our floor. I find the room I was supposed to be sharing with Brent.

The door is unlocked. I walk in and close the door behind me. Brent turns to see who it is before turning his attention back to the screen against the far wall. He has an arm around the woman laying beside him, her head on his chest. Safire says a soft hello before turning back to the screen herself.