Picture of Elizabeth

*****

The car slowly pulled into the sleepy town of Hopesprings. The sun hadn't risen yet and the streets were dreary without the everyday life running about them. The layout of the small town was consistent of all business being in one square block. Small shops crowded the sidewalks. Benches sat under every lamp post. There were no skyscrapers or subways. There park sat in the center of the block, surrounding the inside of the town in trees.

Once we passed through "downtown", we went past the cookie cutter houses. Every one of them looking like the one we passed a few minutes ago.

We continued driving until we came up to a two story house. The house itself looked plain and easily unnoticeable. Perfect camouflage for hiding. The white outer paneling complimented the light grey color of the wood, the same detailing as one of the previous homes I had been to in the last few years.

As I got out of the car, I noticed two people standing on the porch. The man was tall with copper like hair. He wore a five o'clock shadow like he had not slept in days. The thing that popped out the most about him was the police uniform he wore.

Standing next to him must have been Elizabeth. She had blonde hair like mine and wore a sunflower printed dress. She just stared at me with her big brown eyes that matched her fathers, while her father walked down the steps to get my second bag from Sarah.

"Elizabeth, why don't you show Silver around the house?" Ben's voice was firm and commanding. I could see how being a cop was useful.

Elizabeth walked down the steps and greeted me. We said the common hellos and stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before we started to go inside.

I followed Elizabeth into the house and she led me around. The first floor had an open concept design with the kitchen in the back. Connecting of the kitchen was the family room that held two cream colored sofas, a mahogany coffee table in the center, and a flat screen mounted about a fireplace along the wall. To the right of the entrance was a study and to the left was a mudroom which led directly to the garage. The floor had a very simple design, yet something just didn't sit completely right with me about all of it.

After Elizabeth showed me the first floor, I followed her up the stairs to the right of the mudroom.

She walked straight to the second door on the right when we reached the landing and opened the door, "This is your room."

The room was a decent size bedroom. The bed was a twin size with a nightstand next to it. There was a dresser in the corner and a small desk for me to use along the opposite wall. The walls were painted an off white, while the comforter on the bed was a dark shade of purple. The entire room looked straight out of a catalogue. Like it was all staged. I placed my bags on the bed before me, and turned back to Elizabeth.

"I'll leave you to unpack," Elizabeth said as she headed for the door.

"Thank you, for everything you guys are doing for me," I tried to display as much gratitude towards her as I could. I was truly thankful of this family. They had taken me in to protect me, and all I was doing in return was putting them in constant danger.

"We know what we signed up for," She kept a completely straight face as she spoke.

I stood there silent, unable to fully comprehend what she was telling me. She didn't hesitate in assuming the danger. She seemed to automatically have accepted it, but something tells me it wasn't her choice. As soon as she thought her words of her family's choice had long enough to sink in, she relaxed, "Breakfast will be ready any minute. Just come down when you're hungry."

With that she left me to my own thoughts of dread and the sorrow of what had been taken from me only days before now.