Against Authority

Against Authority (4)

4. Getting Settled In

I arrived back at the Knells' place around eight o'clock in the morning. I was surprised by how long it had taken me to pack. I had spent a long time figuring out what clothes I should bring, even though I mainly have one look-jeans and a T-shirt-besides my usual work attire.

I walked through the front door and into the "sitting room." But it was empty. No one was there. I looked down the hallway, but there was nothing. No sound, no people.

"Hello?" I called. "Where is everybody?"

I stood where I was, and waited for someone to respond.

From behind, someone grabbed me in a headlock.

Even though I was surprised, I had a job to do and people to protect. I grabbed the person's arm and bent forward, flipping the person off of me. I heard a grunt, and, satisfied, stood up to see who I just flipped.

It was Chris.

I stared at him, and then rolled my eyes.

"You have got to be kidding," I said to him.

He rolled onto his stomach, and looked up at me, crossing his ankles in the air like a teenage girl would do.

"I'm impressed," was his answer.

"Thanks. I try my best at kicking your butt."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "I let you do that."

"Uh huh. Of course you did. But why did you even do it in the first place?"

"To test you."

"For what?" I asked skeptically.

He shrugged. "Just to make sure that you could handle everything." He stood up. "You are the girl in the group."

My mouth dropped open. "That is so sexist. I've been working with you for four years; you know how good I am."

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Relax, Alex. I was kidding."

"But I can see his reasoning," Barry said, walking up behind Chris with Shannon.

I glared at him. "Thanks a bunch, Michaels."

He nodded once toward me.

"Let me show you your room," Chris offered.

I had almost forgotten. I came here to protect Shannon and Annie, not my rep.

"Sure," I said, grabbing my bag.

Chris was faster. He took it and began walking toward the stairs. I followed him up and down the huge hallway. About halfway down, he stopped and opened a door.

Once more, my mouth opened. My room was gorgeous and huge! It had a canopy bed with green sheets-what a coincidence-a canopy bed and green sheets. There were also two mahogany dressers-one of which held a small television-plus a closet. The walls were painted a sky blue...and it was gorgeous. It gave you the feeling you were in a rainforest.

Chris grinned at me. "This is the guest room."

"Their guests must come here often."

He chuckled.

"Wait," I said. "Where are you and Barry sleeping?"

Chris looked down at the floor sheepishly, and his face turned a light shade of pink. "Barry's sleeping on the couch, and I'm...well, I'm sleeping in here, too."

My eyebrows reached my hairline. "You are," I squeaked.

"If I have to, I'll sleep on the other couch downstairs," he hurriedly assured me.

I thought about that for a moment. Chris sleeping in a room...shared with me. I shivered out of fear.

"You okay?" Chris asked.

"Yeah," I said after a moment. "I'm fine. You don't have to sleep downstairs. I don't mind sharing a room."

"What about a...bed?" he asked.

"That I'm not so sure about."

He nodded. "That's what I thought."

"But why do we need to share a room? This house is so big."

"I know, I don't get it either. But Shannon said that the other rooms are farther away from the main hallway, so it would take us too long to get to them if they needed us."

"Oh, but I'm still not so sure about this."

He nodded again. "Yeah. Well, I am the fastest runner of all of us, so I'll ask Shannon if I can get one of the other rooms anyway."

I nodded in response.

"But if it's really a problem, I'll just sleep on the floor."

Great. Why couldn't I have been partnered with another woman? If we had to share a bed, it wouldn't be a problem. It would be as if we were just sharing an apartment.

But instead, I have Chris. Not that that is really such a terrible thing, because he's the nicest guy I've ever known. It's just with our situation, and everything. I mean, I know I can trust him, but...I think I'll end this train of thought now...

"If we have to, you know, share a room, we can rotate who gets the bed," I decided.

"That doesn't sound too bad, I guess."

I nodded. "Well, I'll, um, unpack, I guess."

"Alright. We'll yell if we need you."

"I'll be listening. Definitely."

"I think everything will be okay for now, so don't be too tense, waiting for something to happen."

"Who says I'll be tense waiting for someone on the outside?" I smirked at him.

He smiled back. "I'll lay off trying to strangle you, I promise."

"That's all I ask."

He nodded, and walked away. I entered the room, and up to one of the dressers. Then I began to unpack.