Page 217 of Scrimmage

“Okay,” I sigh in relief.

“You used to detest the locks, now you want them?”

“I was shot three times, and had my face cut open. Yeah, I want them.”

“It’s safe, Ash,” he says gently. “As safe as anything can be.”

I inspect the end of my braid. “Yeah, of course.”

He doesn’t harp on it.

“Now that it’s settled,” he smirks, “Let me show you your room.”

“It’s not fucking settled,” I seethe. “You moved me here against my will.”

He ignores me, forcing me up. “Close your eyes.” He puts his hands over them for good measure, and guides me somewhere inside the house. “Open.”

I suck in a breath. It’s my stuff, but it’s not shoved places. There are floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with my special editions. My plants are everywhere, and it looks like there might be more than I had in the first place. My fish is even here. I forgot I even had one. There’s a big window that looks out onto the gushing river. Next to it is a massive cozy armchair. The signs from my room are already on the walls, and any other decor I had. My desk is against a wall, and my papers and art is organized on a shelf next to it. A brand new set of charcoal is laid out on top.

In what looks like a re-purposed closet, there are different colored paints of various mediums, including spray cans, organized with all kinds of other art supplies. I turn back to the room. The walls are black, but one of them doesn’t have anything against it at all. There’s my rug in the center of the hardwood floor. I step onto it before I can stop myself. It looks like it’s been cleaned. It’s soft, and I embed my toes in the fibers. With a hard swallow I finally turn to Koda. Anxiety is etched across his face.

“You hate it." He nods. I just stare at him. I can’t speak. “It’s fine. We can change all of it.”

“Koda,” I pull him from his thoughts. “You said this is my room. Where’s my bed?”

“I just meant that this is, like, your space. Penny’s studio is the next room over.”

“Then where am I supposed to sleep?”

“You’re joking." He levels his gaze.

“What? Did you give me and Penny bunk beds or something? I call top bunk.” I tear through my pockets looking for my phone. I need to call Penny and figure out what the hell is really happening, but I forgot that I’ve just been using Koda’s.

“There are two masters. Penny has one down here at the end of the hall. Ours is upstairs on the other side of the house. Come on." He races off with excitement.

I want to protest, but Koda actually seems like he really wants this. It’s not that I don’t, and he did this in true Koda fashion, but I’m digesting it. We go up the set of stairs where a door hangs open. The room is massive. It feels like my entire trailer growing up could fit in here. There’s a massive bed in the middle with a dark turquoise duvet. The walls are a light lavender with gold accents.

“Ko,” I utter.

“Penny picked out the colors, so blame her." He holds up his hands defensively. “She said they would chill you out.”

I turn to him, baffled. “Penny was here? She did these rooms?”

“No." He shakes his head. “She only helped me pick out the colors. Alexi and Sinclair helped me paint. Her rooms are waiting for her to get here. She didn’t want me to touch them.”

“You did this?” I look around wildly. “What about downstairs? Was that you or did Penny help with that, too?”

“Me. Don’t be mad at her,” he says, full of anxiety. “I told you that if you hate it we can—”

“I don’t hate it,” I interrupt.

Confusion passes across his features. “Then what’s wrong?”

“This is…permanent.”

“So?” he asks carelessly.

“You asked Penny. You care,” I say angrily.

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