Homeless

Chapter 10

It was the day before Christmas Eve.

I woke up early in the morning, thinking I was the first one up until I went to the living room.

Nathaniel, Chris and another man I didn't recognize were setting up a Christmas tree almost as tall as I was. They didn't notice my presence right away. My habit of sneaking around wasn't easy to shed.

"You're lucky we found this one, you know," Chris said, pushing his blond hair back as he straightened up. The Christmas tree stood near the French doors of the balcony, a cone of plain green.

"I owe you. Thanks man," Nathaniel said, dusting his hands off on his jeans.

The third man slumped on the couch, one of his arms draped on its back. "It's way too late to be setting up a christmas tree, Nathaniel."

His voice was cold. I had a feeling it was his usual tone. The sun wasn't up yet, and the man's hair looked a soft brown under the orange glow of the standing lamp in the corner. He pulled a phone from his pocket and scrolled through it.

"I've never set one in my place before, so it just slipped my mind until I saw it in Claire's house a few days ago. I didn't know it'd be this difficult to find." Nathaniel crouched on the floor, opening up a box of what looked like christmas decorations.

I touched the back of my pants. My knife was back in my room. Just when had I started going around the house without it?

I was about to go back for it, but I stopped myself. No. I needed to start living my life like a normal person. I was safe here. I didn't need a weapon on me even at home.

I smoothed my hand over the fuzzy pajamas. Was it proper to meet them in my pjs? The pants and long sleeved shirt were decent, the color a uniform beige, so I didn't bother to go back and change.

Quelling my feelings of unease at the presence of the two men in the living room, I cleared my throat, catching their attention.

"Good morning, Daphne," Chris said, his smile creasing his cheeks.

Nathaniel stood up. "Did we wake you up?"

"No, I wake up early," I said, glancing at the clock on the wall. 6 A.M.

Chris sat down next to the new man who hadn't taken his eyes off me. They were an intense gray. While Chris' gaze was mellow and warm, his was cold and calculative.

"Right. You already know Chris," Nathaniel said. "This is Alister."

"Daphne," I said with a nod. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," he said, and looked back at his phone.

"As you see, he's the least chatty of the three of us," Nathaniel said with a smirk. Alister spared him a cold glance, no words leaving his lips.

"Yeah, don't take it personal. He's not trying to be rude to you," Chris said. "He's rude to everybody."

While Alister ignored them, I bit back a smile and headed to the kitchen. "Would you guys like some breakfast?"

"I'm starving." Chris groaned from the living room.

"Make your own damn food," Nathaniel grumbled, joining me in the kitchen.

"It's okay. I don't mind." I took out the ingredients for a large breakfast from the fridge after setting the coffee machine.

Despite Nathaniel's earlier words, we worked together in the kitchen preparing breakfast for everybody. I didn't feel as anxious as I would've expected in the presence of two strange men. And I realized with a start that it was because of Nathaniel.