IF SOMEONE ASKED me a year ago what I thought my life would be like, I am certain I would have never guessed this. Actually, I am very certain that I would not have imagined I would be a fugitive hiding from a mad man who played with the laws of nature for fun. Nor would I have ever guessed that I would end up meeting one of his 'experiments,' escaping to Oregon with said 'experiment,' and meeting my grandmother, who only a day ago I thought was dust in the ground.
But hey, it could be worse.
Right?
Without thinking, I gave Elias's hand another squeeze which he responded by looking down at me. My eyes met his, and I watched as he looked over my face, trying to examine my expression. After a moment, it looked as if a light switch flipped on behind his eyes.
"Cold?" He whispered, his brows creasing in worry.
Now to think about it, I was so consumed in my thoughts that I had actually forgotten about the cold. Failing to think of a response, I simply shrugged and looked ahead. Not even a moment later, I felt him shift beside me. Before I could look over at him, I felt the soft feathers of his wing brush my arm as it draped over my shoulder. To my surprise, the wing tightened around me, drawing me closer to shield me from the crisp night air. Instantly, I snapped out of the dark place my thoughts had brought me to.
I smiled.
Yeah, it could definitely be worse.
The blanket of warmth Elias provided made the rest of the walk more enjoyable, and I found myself wishing it would never end. I think Elias felt the same because his hand never left mine as we walked. Sometimes I would even catch him staring at our conjoined hands. One time he saw me watching him and met my gaze, making me blush.
It's funny how something as simple as holding hands could feel so intimate after everything we had done.
Maybe it was because, for the first time, we weren't alone. Just a few paces ahead was my grandmother, my family. Suddenly I was reminded of her presence, and I felt a question forming on my lips.
"So...does this mean that roadblock was yours?" I finally called to my grandmother's figure, walking a few paces ahead of us.
She didn't turn around. "Sorry about your car, but if it helps, that's how I was able to find you. Just followed your tracks from the crash," She explained, continuing down the path.
"Oh," Was all I could think of as a response. I couldn't believe I was stupid enough not to think of covering up our footsteps.
The rest of the walk was silent, and I found myself looking around the forest and enjoying the trees.
Finally, I heard my grandmother let out a long sigh of relief. "We're here," she announced, stepping past a row of trees and out of our line of sight.
My eyes widened at her sudden disappearance, and I looked to Elias, who looked equally surprised. Driven by curiosity and with nowhere else to go, we carefully made our way to the thick line of trees my grandmother vanished behind. Once we were close enough, we could see hints of a large clearing blanketed by plentiful branches and dense trees. Squeezing Elias's hand, I took the first step through the layer of branches with Elias following closely behind. Once I was through, I took a look at my surroundings.
My breath caught in my throat.
Directly in front of us was a paved road lined with street lamps that lit up the area. My gaze followed the path that went down the center of what looked to be a small town. The path broke off into smaller streets that led to individual cabins ranging in size. I couldn't believe it. It was like a mini village.
Eventually, my eyes met my grandmother who was standing on the path a few paces ahead. Her eyes glimmered with pride at the pure awe in my expression.
"Well, do you want to come inside or not?" She called, walking off the road towards the biggest cabin I could see.
Squeezing Elias's hand, I excitedly pull him forward with me, following after my grandmother.
We made our way to her, where she waited patiently at the cabin door. Once we caught up to her, she pulled out a key and unlocked the door. The door creaked as she pushed it open, walking inside.
Letting go of Elias's hand, I enter the cabin first. Immediately I was welcomed by the surprising homey feel of the house. To the right of me, I saw what looked to be a simple kitchen. Beside the kitchen was a large staircase leading to the second story and a hallway lined with doors that I could only assume lead to bedrooms. It also had a living room directly to my left with a few couches and a lit fireplace that bathed the room in warmth.
After tonight, I was incredibly grateful for its warmth. I used to curse California for its scalding temperatures, but in the shaded trees, I found myself missing the sun's comforting rays.
The floors creaked beneath me as Elias made his way to stand beside me, eyeing the house with curiosity.
"There's hot water if you want a shower, and I also have some leftover soup if you want to eat?" My grandmother suddenly said, making her way into the kitchen.
My stomach growled at the word, and I wondered how long it's been since I last ate. I even noticed Elias seemed to perk up slightly at the prospect of food.
But the thought of eating while I was still covered in dried blood and dirt was less than appealing.
"I think I'd like a shower first. Elias, why don't you eat and I'll get some after?" I said, following her into the kitchen.
"Great. It's the first door down the hall. I'll start heating up the soup," She said, pulling out a large pot from the fridge and setting it next to the simple gas stove.
"There should be fresh towels and a robe in there already if you want to put that on. I'll find you some clean clothes in the morning," She added as she pulled a matchbook out from a drawer, lighting the stove.
"Okay, thank you," I responded before turning to Elias.
"Why don't you sit? I'll be back in a few minutes." I said, pointing to the simple round table by the window.
Elias watched me with concern before relenting, taking a seat at the table. Satisfied, I gave him a small smile before turning and heading out.
"What would you like to drink?" I could hear my grandmother ask Elias as I made my way out of the kitchen, towards where she said the shower would be.
It took a minute for me to find, but before I knew it, I was basking under the hot water. At first, I wanted to be quick, just focusing on washing my hair and body as best I could. But the shower felt so amazing on my sore body that I stayed longer than I had planned.
The small bathroom was filled with steam by the time I got out. Quickly drying myself off with the towel, I tossed my clothes into the trash, opting for the cozy white robe that hung delicately on a hook beside me.
Once I was covered, I quickly towel dried my hair and made my way back to the kitchen. As I approached, I froze when I heard laughing.
Elias laughing.
Walking into the kitchen, I was surprised by what I saw. My grandmother and Elias were sitting next to each other at the small oak dining table. The table was littered with empty soup bowls and grandmother was laughing uncontrollably at something Elias had done. Looking over at Elias, I saw that his face was flushed. In his hand, he held a glass filled with a crimson liquid. To my horror, he raised the full glass to his lips, and downed it in one go.
"I have never seen anyone eat so much in my entire life! Where do you put it all?" My grandmother laughed, patting Elias's flat stomach.
"Please don't tell me that was wine," I said slowly, walking closer to them. At the sound of my voice, they both looked at me as if just noticing I was there.
Elias flashed me a lopsided grin, immediately standing up from his chair. I watched as he swayed a bit before taking a few unsteady steps towards me. Just as he was about to reach me, he lost his balance. I'm not sure why I thought I could catch him, but I rushed forward anyways, putting my hand on his chest to steady him. Needless to say, he was a lot heavier than I expected, and instead of stopping his fall, I went down with him.
We hit the ground hard, and I groaned at the impact. When I came to, I froze once I realized our position. Elias's large body was splayed on top of mine, one of his legs positioned in between mine, pushing my robe slightly open and exposing the bare skin of my upper thigh. But that wasn't the worst part. His head had landed on my chest, shifting my robe so that I was one wrong move away from being exposed.
I could hear my grandmother's amused laughter from somewhere above me and I flushed crimson.
"Why did you give him alcohol?!" I exclaimed, embarrassed by my compromising position. I tried to shift out from under Elias but my robe was caught under his body. Every time I tried to move, my robe would open up more, causing me to freeze.
"Oh come on, he's a grown man!" My grandmother retorted. "He can drink if he wants to. Besides it not like I forced him, I asked if he wanted wine and he said yes," She added, slurring the last part.
Great, I think she is drunk too.
I let out a frustrated sigh, "Y-You can't just-! He doesn't even know what alcohol is!!"
"Not my fault," Came my grandmother's half-hearted reply.
I was so frustrated I could scream. "Elias, come on, get off me now," I said, patting his back to get his attention. He shifted under my touch, smiling wider as he simply hummed contentedly, wrapping his arms around me and snuggling himself closer to my chest. At this point, my face was on fire.
"Elias, please-"
My plea was cut off by the sound of a chair screeching across the wooden floor. I felt myself relax in relief that my grandmother had finally come to her senses and was going to help get Elias off of me. I should have known not to get my hopes up.
"Welp, that's the sign for me to leave you two alone," She said and I felt my heart drop. "Feel free to help yourselves to any of the spare bedrooms. Goodnight!" She added, sounding slightly further away. She was leaving.
"Wait, grandmother-" I called desperately. The only response I got was the sound of her retreating footsteps pausing.
"Oh and call me Aileen," she added finally before walking off, leaving me alone and pinned under a drunk Elias.
As if this couldn't get any worse, my stomach growled, reminding me I still had yet to eat.
I cursed under my breath.