Chapter Six: Unpacking Emotions

I slowly entered my new home, and gasped when I took a look around. Morgan clearly already knew that we would be sharing, as I noticed that my side of the room was already lightly decorated with plants and books. Morgan and I haven’t always been close cousins, but we did spend a fair share of time together growing up, so she knew of my interests when I was a kid which seemed to work out. She even went as far to get me moon colored bedsheets which were light shades of dark purples, blues and whites. 

“I remembered you we’re obsessed with things like this as a kid,” she says, almost shyly, “I hope it’s okay.”

“I absolutely love it, and I appreciate the fact that you tried to make it feel like home as soon as I got here,” I say, flashing her a genuine smile. I seemed to be feeling okay since being surrounded by these new faces, and it felt good.

“Do you ladies need anything before I head back downstairs?” Silas interrupts, a huge grin on his face.

“I’m good, thanks for the help Silas,” I said sweetly. He smiles at me again, causing a flurry of butterflies to erupt in my stomach.

“For you, Little Red, anything,” he says as he turns on the balls of his feet and heads out of the room. I’m pretty sure I heard Morgan whimper a little when he smiled, but she remained quiet throughout the rest of our interaction. As soon as he was gone, I couldn’t help but turn my attention back to my cousin who was looking down at her feet.

“You’ve got a crush on Silas!” I say, trying to stifle my giggle.

“What! No! There’s no way!” she says defensively.

“Then what was that all about, Morgan?” I ask, laughing as I point at her from head to toe.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she says, putting her hands on her hips. I bat my eyes, bringing my enclosed hands to my face, pretending to swoon over Silas, “It’s not like that!”

“Sure, sureee. Could have fooled me Morgan,” I say, rolling my eyes at her. There was no way I was going to let this go yet.

“Whatever, it’s not a real crush. It’s more like- “she starts before I could interrupt her.

“The inticing aura that surrounds the most popular guy at Windamere Academy?” I say pointily.

“Exactly! That! Except, he doesn’t even come close to the top of that list,” she says, her voice getting quieter as she speaks, “Jace and his boys have those top spots.”

As soon as she speaks his name, my body feels as if it was going into overdrive. Somehow, I just knew that she was talking about the boy in the alcove, and the guys in the hallway.

“Jace?” I ask questioningly, even though I already knew my answer.

“Jace Quinn. There really are no words to explain Jace Quinn, except. Well, you saw him in the hall,” Morgan says. Butterflies have begun to swarm all around my stomach thinking about the way his breathe was fanning my face. How close he was to me, how he made me feel calm, but thrilled and excited at the same time.

“He was one of the guys we saw in the hallway. The really hot one with the scar on his neck,” she says.

“You mean the ones who completely ignored us when they walked by?” I ask, raising a brow, “What’s their deals anyways?”

“Oh, that. Don’t take it personally, he’s just... Jace,” she laughs, “His father basically owns Windamere.”

“Whatever that means, seems like an understatement,” I huff, pulling my suitcases into the middle of the room, “Why is he like that?”

“That’s a long-complicated question, and I don’t really want to spend all night trying to explain it,” she says, as she walks towards the mini fridge. She pulls out a bottle of water and tosses it towards me. I let out a relieved sigh as I open the cold bottle and take a long drink. The cold water soothes my dry mouth, as I feel it travel down my throat.

“So, I figured that your wardrobe from California wasn’t going to work here, so I bought you a couple of outfits,” she says as she points to the large closet on my side of the room. Lined up inside, was several jackets, long sleeve shirts, and uniforms. In the dresser below, it was lined with fleece leggings, and jeans, while snow boots lined the floor.

“Um, Morgan, you didn’t really have to do this,” I said, eyeing up the closet full of new clothes and shoes.

“It’s really no big deal, it was just your uniforms and some extra clothes, so you don’t freeze when you have to go to classes,” she says, almost looking embarrassed.

“I appreciate this so much. Not freezing to death is high on my priority list,” I say back, chuckling as I try to lighten the mood.

“I figured,” she says, laughing with me, “I don’t know if you saw, but I also got you a couple pairs of my favorite thermal underwear and wool socks. Moving here is definitely a culture shock, so I didn’t want it to be harder then it already was.”

I never remembered Morgan being so thoughtful, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was being a spoiled brat. She had gone out of her way to make sure I was comfortable, and here I was making snippy comments. Tears began to well in my eyes, but I blinked them away as soon as they started. Morgan notices and she’s across the room in seconds, pulling me into a hug.

I open my arms and let her comfort me. She has been nothing but kind to me and I can’t let her think I didn’t notice.  “This whole situation sucks, and I wish I could make it better for you,” she whispers while still holding me. A deep lump has settled in my throat, so all I can do is nod against her shoulder.

I wish I could find the words to tell her how I really felt, but they just wouldn’t come. I wish I could tell her that I didn’t want to leave home to come here because my parents are dead. I wish I could tell her that I didn't get to say goodbye to my parents, not knowing that it was the last time I was going to get to see them. But instead of spilling all of my secrets, I just nodded against her shoulder and let a couple of tears flow down my cheeks.

“Are you okay?” Morgan said, pushing me away from her so she can look into my eyes.

“I’m most definitely not okay,” I chuckle, wiping away the stray tear that had fallen from my eyes.

“Well, admitting it has to count for something, right?” she says, giving me a dry smile.

“That’s what Doctor Simon keeps saying,” I admit, trying to mimic her smile.

“I want you to know, that if you ever need to talk or whatever, that I am 100% here for you,” she says, “I know that I don’t really know what you’re going through, but I am here to try.”

I look up into Morgan’s eyes and can see the sincerity in them. She’s known what it’s like to be alone, and I can feel that emotion through the way she’s looking at me. I pull my eyes away from her and notice the three untouched suitcases sitting on the floor. One thing I hate more then people treating me as if I’m weak, is unpacking. I sigh at them in distaste, and Morgan lets out a playful chuckle.

"Let's get you unpacked, shall we?"