keep training and there’s enough rooms, though some of us may have to share.”
Claire thinks it over and begins nodding as well. “That sounds like a good idea. We can go up there first thing tomorrow morning. Just pack essentials and clothing. I have means to get more stuff later. Go now. Be ready early in the morning.” Everyone leaves the room, but I linger behind.
“Claire, can I ask you a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Well, I don’t know if Jane will be home anytime soon, but do you think that you can put one of your enchantments around her house? I don’t want anything to happen to her because of me.”
“Of course. That’s actually a good idea. I’ll go do it now.”
“Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. Now go get packed. I’ll see you in the morning.” I leave the room and walk back to mine slowly, giving myself enough time to think about this situation. Claire is willing to uproot her family because someone is looking for me. It doesn’t make sense. How did I go from barely having anything in my life, to having so many people care for me? It’s a little overwhelming at times, but in a good way. I’ve never had a big family before. It was always just me and my mom. Now I have so many people who want to make sure I’m safe.
Once inside my room, I throw open the closet. I start to search for a duffel bag or small suitcase to use, but there is nothing. I hear a small knock and turn around to find David standing in the doorway, holding a small suitcase. “I thought you might need one.”
“Thank you.” Turning to the dresser, I start throwing random pieces of clothing into the suitcase. I don’t look at what I grab—because that worked so well before.
“So, umm…Ryanne, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, of course. What’s up?”
“Have you talked to Emma recently?”
I turn around and cross my arms across my chest and smile at him. “Yes, why?”
“Well…I umm… she...” He is running his hand across the back of his neck and looking at everything in the room except for me. A small blush is creeping onto his cheeks. I know what he wants to ask me, but it’s amusing to see how uncomfortable this conversation is making him.
Walking over to David, I touch his cheek to make him look at me. “You didn’t hear it from me, but I think your chances are pretty good with her.” Relief floods his eyes and he pulls his lips back into a small smile.
“Really?” I nod. “Thank you, Ryanne.”
“Remember, I didn’t say anything to you.” I playfully push him out of my room. “Now go, I have to finish packing.”
I grab the rest of my clothes and shove them inside the suitcase. Hopefully, Claire will be able to get everything that I didn’t bring or maybe I can borrow from Emma. I lay out an outfit for morning and decide to go to sleep.
I turn the bedroom light off and crawl into bed. This will be my last night in this home. I can hear voices down the hallway, so I know the others are still awake. I roll onto my side and bury myself into the blankets, letting their warmth surround me.
Adam invades my dreams.
At 5:00 a.m. the next morning, I hear someone knocking on my door again. “Ryanne, rise and shine. We’re going to try and leave in an hour,” Tom says. I feel like I haven’t slept at all. All night I would wake up when I saw Adam coming towards me.
Moaning, I roll over and stretch. I slowly get out of bed and take a quick shower: washing and conditioning my hair and shaving my legs. I am not going to spend too much time, since I’ll be in a car for a couple of hours anyways. Throwing on a pair of jean shorts and a large t-shirt, I walk over and make the bed, cleaning up any simple messes that I made. Satisfied with the condition of the room, I bring my suitcase downstairs and grab a muffin off the counter. Claire and Emma are already downstairs, waiting for everyone else.
“How come the girls are always ready before the boys are?” Emma asks. “What did they do all last night? They were all awake when I went to bed.”
“Who knows, but if you want to bring your suitcase out to Tom, he’ll pack it in the car for you Ryanne,” says