Safety Measures
Ellen slowly opened her eyes, checking out the unfamiliar space around her. She blinked a few times, her mind catching up with where she was. The large, unfamiliar bed. The faint scent of old wood mixed with a distant trace of lavender from the sheets.
She shifted slightly and noticed the empty space beside her. Mason wasn't there. Her hand instinctively reached out to feel the cool sheets where he had been. They had slept in the same bed last night, just slept, but it had been a comforting presence after the chaos of the previous night. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes and brushing her hair away from her face as she worked on shaking off sleep.
For a moment, she stared at the ceiling, trying to adjust to the fact that she was in a place so deeply connected to Mason's past. It was strange, being here—where he had grown up, where his family had once lived.