Strangers to Mates

Chapter 7: Depart and arrival

I spent the next two days packing and it was already Thursday. Raymond's texted me everyday, when I wake up, go to sleep and randomly in between those two times. Since it was my last day at home I was going out with Sadie and Chris. They were both really sad when I told them that I was going with Raymond, but they understood why I was doing it. When Raymond texted me this morning I told him I was spending the day with them so he agreed not to text me till later.Which I was really thankful for, I'd grown to love talking with him, it made me smile, but I need today to be with my friends.

The three of us went to the diner for lunch and we just talked. We knew it wasn't goodbye forever but it was still hard. We spent all afternoon there, having to buy drinks long after we finished eating just to stay. We brought up good memories, the funny ones and the touching ones. It was hard to finally say goodbye at the end, which was weird because we weren't really saying goodbye just yet, they were gonna come by tomorrow to see me off, along with Sadie's parents. Chris' couldn't cause they were gone on a business trip.

When I finally got home I was exhausted and wanted to pass out without having dinner. But of course my belly wouldn't have it so I eat with mum and dad one last time. I was kinda happy that I didn't go to sleep just yet, cause I knew I'd regret it if I didn't have supper with them just one more time.

I could tell mum and dad were sad but they tried to act normal, for my sake I think. When I finally made it upstairs I stared at my room before getting ready for bed. I wasn't taking much with me, so mum said she'd never change my bedroom, it'll always be here for me. I only had four boxes, clothes, a couple pairs of shoes since I didn't own many, my toiletries, and a few photo albums. I changed into Raymond's shirt for bed, like I had the past two night. But I would never let him know it. And just like the nights before I texted him 'night' and he quickly replied saying, 'Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow x" I crawled in bed and passed out the second my head hit the pillow. Going over the past was exhausting, almost like I had taken the trip back to those days before coming back.

My alarm clock goes off and I roll out of bed. I knew I wouldn't have been able to wake up myself in the morning so I set my clock to go off at ten. I hit the off button and stand up, walking over to my bathroom. I showered before changing into the jeans and tee shirt I'd left out. I quickly threw my hair up in a ponytail and tossed Raymond's shirt into the bag that was sitting on the floor by my bed. I picked it up and went downstairs, not having to worry about the boxes since they were already downstairs. I have breakfast with mum and dad, which I hadn't done in forever. Then it was eleven and Sadie and her family's were here with Chris.

We talked when thirty minutes later Raymond was at the door. They packed up my boxes in the box of his truck before we all said our goodbye. First was mum and dad, since I knew they'd be the hardest. I hugged onto them tightly for a few minutes, tears brimming my mums eyes. I sniffle then moved on to Sadie's parents who were like an aunt and uncle to me. I hugged them each and they wished me luck. Then came Chris and Sadie. I could tell she was holding in tears but let them fall as I came and hugged her. I hugged Chris after her for just as long, before saying goodbye to the two of them. Goddess this was hard.

And then we finally climbed into Raymond's truck at one o'clock and I waved goodbye as we drove away. A silent tear rolled down my face and Raymond took my hand in his free one, offering me comfort. I instantly calmed down a bit, but still felt sad. As he drove onto the highway I moved over to sit beside him, and rested my head on his shoulder and fall asleep still holding our hands.

"Erin, wake up. We're here." Raymond said, lightly shaking me awake.

I fluttered my eyes open to see that the sun has already started to set and Raymond leaning over me. I rubbed my eyes remembering what happened and guessed that we were probably at his house, our house now.

"We're here." I repeat almost in a daze.

"C'mon, I'll show you around the house before getting your boxes" He said helping me out by the hand.

We continued to hold hands as he unlocked the front door and flicked on the light switch. From what I could see it was a beautiful place. It was very cozy and kinda rustic. There were a lot of natural dark colors, and I had to admit that even though it was a bit dark it looked really good. We took off our shoes and he started showing me around. First was the kitchen, dinning room, which was open and connected to the kitchen. There was a bathroom on the main floor and then he showed me the living room, there was a couch, a love seat, a chair and a coffee table. It had an amazing two story fireplace, made with a rock wall. I breathed out a wow, and I could tell from the smile on his face he was happy with my response.

Next he took me upstairs. He showed me to the massive bonus room, that had been turned into a sort of theater like room.

"I thought you said you hadn't seen a movie in five months? I asked flopping down on the comfy couch.

"I haven't. It's a shame though, I've been so busy that I haven't been able to use this room." He came and stood in front of me.

"Well than we should watch one." I suggest.

"As much as I want to say yes, you know we can't right now. You have some unpacking to do." He leans down and pulled me back up.

I sighed sadly but followed Raymond as he shows me to the only finished room in the house, his room, our room. There was another door on the other side of the hallway but when I asked he said it was currently an empty bedroom. He swung open the door and let me walk into our room first. It was massive in here. There was huge four poster bed against the farthest wall and centered perfectly with a nightstand on each side. On the wall across from the bed hung a massive TV. I walked farther into the room, there were dark curtains covering door long windows that led out to a balcony. I let them fall back into place before I walked over into the on suit bathroom. It was half the size of the bedroom but that was still saying a lot. There were twin sinks along one wall with tons of counter space. There was a stand up bath, that was on claw feet, like you see in those old country houses, it made me smile. I always wanted a bath like that. Then there was also a big waterfall shower with a glass door. On the other side of the bathroom was a door that lead into a massive walk in closet, only half of it was full, I'm guessing he was saving it for his mate. I come back into the bedroom to find him standing where I left him.

"So what do you think?" He asks sounding nervous.

"It's nice." I say nonchalantly.

"You think so. I got to plan it out myself."

"You did a good job." I complimented now standing in front of him again.

He leans forward, taking my hands in his, and rubs his nose against mine.

"Thanks." he whispers.

I hummed in response right before my belly growled embarrassingly. I laughed awkwardly and said,

"Um, I guess I'm a bit hungry."

He smiles, "let's go have some dinner."

I nod my head and we head back down to the kitchen. I take a seat at the table while he pulls out a few ingredients and starts cooking.

"I didn't know you could cook." I called.

"Kinda needed the skill when I moved out." he admitted.

I waited at the table and fifteen minutes later he came to the table with two plates. It wasn't nothing fancy but it was still really good. I'd finished most of it when I told him,

"It's good."

"Well that's good, since you'll probably be eating a lot more of my cooking" he said before taking another bite.

"That's totally fine with me. The only thing I've ever cooked is a sandwich, but a very tasty sandwich." I confess.

After we finish eating we clear our plates and and he starts washing the dishes.

"Do you mind if I go take a bath?" I ask from the other side of the counter.

"Ya sure. I'll go get your boxes when I'm done with this"

"Thank you." I call from the stairs.

I knew I wasn't being helpful with anything but I couldn't wait to use that bathtub so I promised myself to help every other night. Okay so maybe I was more excited about taking a bath than a normal person. But can you blame me, I always dreamed of having a bath like that. I shut the bathroom door behind me and ran hot-warm water, just the right temperature. I grabbed one of the white fuzzy towels and set it beside the tub before taking off my clothes and folding them. I eased myself into the water and it felt so good, it'd been a while since I last relaxed like this. Come to think if it I hadn't even relaxed at all the pass year, I'd been stressing out over the whole mate thing but now it seems dumb that I ever did.

I continued to sit in the water thinking about everything that had happen in just a week. I missed everyone like crazy but honestly it wasn't as bad as I dreaded it to be. I think part of the reason it isn't as bad is because of the mate bond. I few silent tears rolled down my checks. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. Everything's changed so much, I'm living in another town, I didn't want anything to change. Now that I've felt the mate bond it makes it easier. I know I was being stupid to not want this to happen. I know now that I wouldn't have it any other way, it's still hard but I'm trying.

I must have sat in the water for at least thirty minutes because it started to get colder. I finally got out and wrapped the fuzzy towel around me, deciding to go in the closet. My hands skimmed over Raymond's shirts and I pulled down a black tee shirt, kinda like the one from the first day we met. I pulled it over my head and covering my panties before redoing my ponytail. I reluctantly walked out of the bathroom, having finished, and saw Raymond putting down my last box. He still hadn't seen me but I knew he could tell I was there.

"You can unpack tomorrow, it's getting kinda late." he said finally turning around to face me.

"Mkay." I replied.

I watched him smirk as he took in my appearance. I'm sure he loved the fact that I was in his shirt and that I chose to be in his clothes. He came up closer to me and I rolled my eyes. He went to kiss me but I dodged him, teasing him, and crawled into the bed. Surprisingly it was super comfy, and it seemed to envelope me. I don't really know why I was surprised but it didn't look that soft before you got in it. I happily snuggled into the pillow as Raymond came and sat on the edge of the bed beside me.

"You're on my side" he said, putting his weight on the arm he had rested on the other side of me.

"Mm. What's your point" I said with my eyes closed and smiling.

I heard him chuckle and say, "if you stay there I'll have to lie on you."

"But I'm so comfy" I complained.

I felt him stand up and heard shuffling, probably him taking his clothes off. He pulled back the blankets, making me growl in protest. He moved me over slightly, but not much, pulling me into his side before raising the blankets over us. He wrapped his arm around me again and I rested my hand over his. I relaxed against him and felt his heart beat on my back as it slowed down. I fell asleep to the constant stable beat.