CHAPTER 6 Intrusion 3

　　Giving Elijah a baffled look, I was kind of relieved to be off the hook in terms of having a shot. They always burned my gullet and tasted like something you would clean a toilet with.

　　Picking up the cards and putting them away, soon the mulled wine was being served up, and to be fair, that was more appealing than playing that game and drinking icky shots.

　　“What are you girls up to tomorrow?” Dawson asked, taking a seat on the armchair as we all got comfortable in the living room.

　　“We’re not sure yet. We were perhaps going to go and check out some things happening locally, and see what’s around,” Tess answered.

　　“That sounds like a plan,” I agreed, sipping the luscious, mulled, raspberry coloured wine.

　　“We were planning on fishing, but judging by this snow, we might join you both instead,” Elijah chimed in.

　　Great – a day filled with even more of their presence.

　　“We’ll see what we can do tomorrow,” Dawson voiced, standing up. “It’s late now, so time for bed. Who’s taking what room?”

　　“Me and Elijah will be staying in the second bedroom. You and Emma can take either of the other four,” Tess filled in.

　　“Fair enough. Anyway, goodnight, you lot.” Dawson smiled, making his way out of the living room and up the stairs.

　　After a while of chatting with Tess and Elijah, while stifling a yawn, I decided that it was definitely time to call it a night. I had to keep my strength up for the Christmas period, which was already turning out to be more eventful than I had previously planned.

　　Saying goodnight to them both, I made my way upstairs. My first port of call was to the bathroom, to brush my teeth and have a wash. Brushing the minty paste onto my teeth, I freshened up, ready to have a good night’s sleep. My eyelids were heavy, small bags were forming under my eyes, and I was worn out after the day’s antics.

　　Flicking off the bathroom light, I wondered which bedroom to sleep in. Tess had placed our belongings up the stairs earlier on in the day, but I hadn’t a clue where she had placed my bags with my stuff in.

　　Slightly opening a bedroom door, the crease of the light highlighted a small portion of the interior of the room, and much to my relief, my bag was there, propped on the floor. Stepping inside the bedroom, I couldn’t wait to get changed and snuggle up under the duvet.

　　Feeling around in the dark, I hadn’t got a clue where the switch for the lamp was, and to be honest, I just wanted to quickly undress and get into bed. Luckily, I had packed my nightie at the very top of my belongings, so quickly undressing, I scooped the nightie over my head to place it on.

　　Moving the duvet back, I slipped into bed and relaxed my head on the pillow.

　　Bliss…

　　Just as I was about to close my eyes, I felt movement next to me, and before I could gauge my surroundings, the bedside lamp on the opposite table flicked on.

　　“Emma!” Dawson cried out, leaping from the bed.

　　“Dawson!” I yelped back, covering myself with the duvet.

　　“What the heck are you doing in here?!” he yelled, stood there looking like a rabbit caught in headlights, wearing only his boxers.

　　I didn’t have an answer for that. Eyeing his lovely physique, he wasn’t the scrawny little kid I remembered, and the sight of him and the initial shock of seeing him leap up from the bed I was lying in, had rendered me mute.

　　“I thought you were sleeping in the other room,” he voiced to me.

　　Speak, Emma!

　　“I didn’t know you were in here!” I yelled, sitting upright. “My stuff was in here, so I thought that this was where I was sleeping.”

　　“Obviously not. Right, erm, you stay here, and I’ll go and bed down in another room. See you in the morning,” Dawson replied, grabbing hold of his clothes and making a bolt for the door.

　　Opening the bedroom door, he was met by the sight of Tess stood on the landing, with Elijah making his way up the stairs.

　　“Is Emma in there?” she asked him, as he stood at the bedroom door with his clothes in hand.

　　“Er, yeah, I accidentally went in the wrong room,” he covered, not knowing where to run.

　　“Oh right.” Tess laughed, with Elijah joining in.

　　Kill me now.

　　Flopping back down in the bed, I pulled the duvet over my head.

　　What a day.

　　I hated Christmas.