Suddenly I heard the door of the low building and then a female voice joined the conversation. Her name was Sierra, and I zoned out because I remembered her being the person in charge of running the rescue with Theo now that Ruth was gone. I was sure I’d get to know her better later.
In short order, it was decided that Hudson could move the SUV closer to the house so I could basically step inside the house without having to cross any open space. It had been Hudson who asked how they could help me, and I appreciated it more than I could say right then.
I vaguely heard them talk about someone called Cook, and then Hudson was in the car and we were moving a ridiculously short way. It felt stupid to feel this sort of relief for not having to walk, but I was also starting to feel the strain from the travel.
I guess I kind of zoned out, and the next thing I knew, I was walking into the house, and River was holding my hand.
River pulled me up the stairs while Lake snarked with Theo. My brain had barely the energy to find that amusing, but Lake had told us to go upstairs so I could pick a room, so I was following orders.
“Wish you’d taken the Valium?” River asked when we got to the long hallway.
“Nah, it’s okay. I can do this.” Maybe. I couldmaybedo this.
River looked to the left and frowned. “Probably not that side.”
I glanced over and swallowed hard. Yeah, that side had the room doors too, but there was a railing opposite of the doors, and there had to be some sort of a high ceiling living area downstairs.
I nodded toward the right. “Let’s see this side.”
“Okay, so Hudson said that the small bedrooms share a bathroom, and that the left side one is that Cook guy’s.”
I nodded and moved past the bathroom, opening the door next to it. “I don’t mind sharing. Didn’t he say the guy isn’t here much anyway?”
“Yeah. He sounds interesting, Cook I mean,” River murmured absently as he walked into the room behind me.
“It’s bigger than Lake’s room at the old place.” I didn’t like the windows, but at least there were tall trees in front so that the sky wasn’t that intimidating.
Then I promptly started to have trouble breathing and had to sit down. At least the bed was right there, and River sat next to me. He pulled me to his side and started to count my breaths for me.
I hated the way my heartbeat picked up, my whole upper body felt tingly, and my ears started to ring. Knowing it was just anxiety, a release from the stress of the day coming out in a fucked-up way, did nothing to calm my brain down. And so, we sat there for who knew how long, waiting for my body to follow the program my brain was ignoring.
I didn’t feel bad anymore, having to rely on River like this. He and Lake were my best friends and big brothers, and they’d never let anything bad happen to me if they could help it. Besides, the fact that River was a nurse helped some part of my brain because I knew a medical professional was right there.
There was some sort of commotion outside, and River let go of me to go to the window. I felt better, so I just sat there.
“No idea what that’s all about,” he mumbled, then turned around to lean his butt on the windowsill.
River was a lean guy, taller than my five foot and seven measly inches, and he was sort of…pretty. In a masculine way though. Sometimes, he liked to put on makeup, and he had his hair bleached blond. Now, he just looked tired and worn out, but when he realized I was looking, he grinned slightly.
“Do you think it would be okay if I just vacationed for a bit?” he asked, then yawned.
“Yes. You just quit your job a month ago, and ever since we’ve just been working on this move. Now that we’re here, take some time off for real.”
“Is that sirens?” he asked, turning back to the window.
The door was open, and Lake stepped inside.
“Oh, nice, all the tall trees are right there!” he exclaimed with cheer I knew was for show.
“And you can see the pond if you look right here,” River added, pointing through what I thought must’ve been a gap in the trees.
Lake turned to me. “So, you’re picking this one?”
Maybe I should’ve asked his opinion first. “Yeah, if that’s okay?”
I smiled. “Of course. That’s why you came up here.”
“There’s a bathroom through here, but it’s shared with that Cook guy whenever he’s here.” River opened the door to show it bathroom to Lake.
