Never Safe ✔︎

Chapter Twenty-Two

I wake up to the sun shining through the curtain. Deciding to get up, I use my crutches and go open the curtains. I'm immediately met with the most gorgeous view, of mountains covered in snow. This makes me realize that I never actually opened the curtains before today. I grab my phone and see it's 9:30 A.M. I walk downstairs and see Justin and Luke in the living room, watching the news. I say 'good morning' before continuing into the kitchen for breakfast. I enter the room and see James, Ryder, Ari, and Cade eating.

"What did you do with my presents?" I ask Cade, sitting down at the table.

"They're in my room, where's my phone?" He counters.

"Oh, I gave it to Ari last night."

"I gave it to Ryder," Ari joins in.

Everyone turns to Ryder, "That's correct, it's in my room," he answers.

"Okay, I need to go charge it," Cade says, dismissing himself from the table.

"Can you get me a plate of breakfast?" I ask Ari, who is sitting next to me. As she gets up from the table and brings me back a plate with pancakes and sausage, Ryder and James finish their meal and leave the kitchen.

"How'd you sleep?" Ari asks, sitting back down.

"Pretty good actually," considering I didn't have any nightmares. I've been putting off telling Ari about the nightmares, but I think its time. "Speaking of which, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Ari asks concerned.

"These past few weeks I've been getting nightmares."

"About what? Being kidnapped?"

"No, they're actually about mom getting taken. But, I didn't have one last night," I respond.

"Why didn't tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry about me," I answer.

"Well, too late for that," she says.

"I fine, I promise," I reassure her. "They're not even bad," I lie.

"Fine, just tell me if you get another one," Ari begs. I promise her I will, but in reality, she has a lot to deal with on her own and I don't want to put more on her. We finish in the kitchen and both head upstairs to shower and get ready. Ari uses our shared bathroom, while I use Cade's, since the railing is really convenient.

"Where are my gifts from your mom?"

"on the couch over there," Cade says, referring to the couch in his room. I go over and dig through the clothes until I find a cropped sweater and a pair of leggings. I take those into the bathroom with me, setting them on the counter. Cade helps me with my wrap, per usual, before getting me a towel and leaving me to the shower. I quickly do my routine, before exiting the shower. I dry off and wrap the towel around me, before hopping over to the counter and getting dressed. Once I'm completely dressed, I push myself onto the counter and get a clean wrap from the cabinet. I decide it's time I stop relying on Cade so much, and since my ankle isn't in constant pain, I can do more. I grab my dirty clothes and the wrap, before getting my crutches and exiting the bathroom. The room's empty, so I sit on his couch, and start to wrap my foot. I lift my injured leg, resting my calf on my good knee, and begin to wrap it. Once it's wrapped, I secure it in place, then retreat back to my room. I throw the dirty clothes in the hamper, then go to Ari's room. I join her on her bed and lay down next to her.

"What are we going to do today? I'm in the mood for something fun," I tell her.

"Me too, we could go to the hot tub?"