Part of the Pack (Book 1 in the 'part of' series)

Chapter 28 Home

Chapter 28 Home

It didn't take me long to pack up my tent and head home. Abilene and I had stayed with the children in my university accommodation as the rest of the pack carefully investigated their home, looking for intruders or disturbances. Ralph has returned not long after they had decided it was all-clear. He told me it was to escort all the children and I back safely, I had a sneaking suspicion he had other intentions along with this.

I walked to the packhouse with them and it took a good few minutes to convince Melina to let go of my legs. I had to promise to come back again efore the week was out. I was a little bit scared of what would happen if I didn't follow through. I had gotten to know Hollis and Tempest rather well the night before, I didn't miss their stares as I turned away from the house with Ralph. I chuckled and gave them a wave to show I understood the message.

The actual packing up of my tent took me perhaps twenty minutes, I joked with Ralph that I was much better at destroying things then building them. He just watched me with curiosity, he had offered to help. I was too much of a perfectionist to agree, I preferred to do things myself. Particularly when it came to putting things away, I liked to know where everything was.

I tried to convince Ralph to let me go home by myself, his home was just attacked and I didn't want to bother him anymore than I already had. He paid no mind to my worries and continued to lead me home. He didn't actually leave until I was at my front door. I didn't completely understand what I was feeling when it came to this. I was grateful that he cared about me, I understood that he was worried for my safety after what happened and yet, I wasn't used to anyone looking out for me like this.

I didn't stay at the apartment for long, I had cleaned up the mess which has been created the night before, put my stuff away and headed back out.It had been a while since I visited my family. I may have currently been on break, but considering how close I was to my family home, I was able to go there during term time. Break was the only opportunity I had to do my investigation in the woods.

My house wasn't the biggest, it was standard for the area. There were two bedrooms, two toilets, a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. We had to get the other toilet installed last year due to my mother's illness, she found it rather difficult to travel upstairs. It's also the reason why we have a bed in our living room. I approached the red front door and went straight inside.

I guessed that dad was out considering the doors as open and he was nowhere to be seen. He was probably at work. The passage was covered with peeling cream wallpaper which we hadn't had the chance to fix up, that was a recurring theme all throughout the house. It held a simple shoe rack and several coat hooks, The welcome mat was worn down and needed replacing. The brown carpet was in slightly good condition, it wasn't recently done or anything, it just never seemed to wear out.

I opened the dark wooden door to the living room quietly, It had became a habit of mine. There was soft snoring coming from the bed, even though it was approaching the afternoon. I smiled softly and looked around at the green walls which were littered in photographs and paintings. It was rather comforting and homely in the living room, we tried to make it that way so that Mam didn't feel too bad about sleeping in there. The settees didn't match the wallpapers at all, being a rather confusing mix of red and brown.

Although the furniture was mostly mismatched and came from second hand stores, they all seemed to go together to make a slight nature feel. There were lots of greens and wooden accents with some red, blue, silver and gold. I didn't linger too long in the living room and headed upstairs. I passed the kitchen on my way and I dared to look in and see the piles of dishes which were yet to be cleaned up. I took two stairs at a time and arrived on the landing.

I had forgotten to keep my shoes on, I regretted that rather quickly as I leapt to the side to avoid standing on the nails which were exposed. I knocked on the door on the right, I had my eyebrows furrowed. I wasn't sure if Harlow was at school or not. I waited for a response but didn't get any. I opened the door and peaked in to see his bed as messy as ever.

I entered the room and sat on the big bed on the right of the room. Harlow's bed was quite a bit smaller than mine, even though I'm sure that he had outgrown his bed. I'd told him many times that he could sleep in my bed when I'm not home, the bed wasn't big enough for the two of us. I looked around at the wallpaper that i've had since I was born, it was a simple light blue colour. It was simple, it wasn't bad.

The house in general was rather run-down. We had all been too busy to care for it the way that it deserved to be taken care of. If we had looked after it better then i'm sure it wouldn't be nearly as bad as this. Everything just got brushed under the rug when mother took ill. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I looked at the piles of things to be taken to the charity shop and made a list to do that at the weekend. For now, I'll just do some simple house maintenance.

Before mam woke up, I had done the dishes and put them away, dusted the passage and living room, hoovered upstairs and put some vegetables in the slow cooker. I might not be able to cook very well but I can follow instructions and recipes. I was in the middle of throwing out some food which had passed their expiry date when the door opened.