Chapter 17

Desiree. The room I found myself in was big enough to fill in more than five people. It was beautiful, with the walls adorned with floral patterns, and from overhead, a chandelier hung, casting a warm and gentle glow across the room. Large antique furniture sat at the end of the room as a dressing table with a really big mirror. While at the other end of the room was a really big walk-in closet. The bed sat at the center of the room, draped in white linens, looking more like a throne than a place to sleep, with the queen canopy above it giving it more grace. I ran my fingers down the soft mattress as I couldn’t help but marvel at the luxury that surrounded me. But I couldn’t find it in me to lie on the bed or even sleep. The moment Getrude had left me alone, I rushed to bathe first and changed into the nightdress she had left behind for me on the bed. How they had figured my right size was a curiosity I knew I couldn’t satisfy. For the first time in days, I could see the real color of my hair and my skin. I felt clean and refreshed, but when it was time for me to sleep, I couldn’t. I drew my hand away from the bed and crawled to the floor just at the foot of the bed and sat on the floor resting my back on the mahogany wood of the queen sized bed. My stomach grumbled and echoed in the loud room and I suddenly regretted telling Getrude I wasn’t hungry. She had knocked again and pleaded with me to come down to eat, but I had refused, and now my stomach was grieving in hunger. It’s been hours, and I couldn’t hear any noise coming from outside anymore. It was like everyone had gone to sleep except me. I sat up slowly, going to the bedside to stare at the time on the clock. It was already past two am. I made my way to the door before I carefully pulled it open. It creaked open and I felt my heart thump faster as I waited for the sound to end before peeking out to the hallway. It seemed the lights had been dimly lit since everyone had gone to sleep, making the hallway a bit scary with the large paintings on the wall. Finding no one in sight, I placed my foot outside, waiting for Getrude to hear and chase me back to my room. But no one stopped me so I stepped out fully, closing the door carefully behind me. My stomach grumbled again, and I bit down on my lip in hunger. I was starving and I wondered if I could maybe find a fruit or a light snack in the kitchen. So I made my way down the hallway and it seemed longer than it had been when I first came, I tiptoed in the slightest sound I could make and soon I had made it to the stairs. A soft smile filled my lips as I carefully went down the stairs but as I got to the bottom, I found myself in a different part of the house. My jaw dropped at the sight of the sitting room in front of me. Despite the dim light of the room, I could still make out every detail of the grandeur. The plush velvet curtain framed large windows allowing the soft glow of the moon outside to steal its way into the room, the cushions were made from oak wood with embroidered pillows sitting on them in the right angles. In one corner, a grand fireplace crackled, its warmth adding to the warmth of the room. A huge tv hung on from the wall on the left and I found myself turning around to take on the sight of the house. My footsteps were muffled by the plush rug underneath my feet. A gasp nearly escaped my lips as I discovered a grand piano in the corner of the sitting room. Its polished surface gleaned softly, inviting a touch that would release melodies in the air and my fingers itched to play so I carefully made my way to it. It’s been a long time since I have played the piano. I had taken a few lessons with Grandpa but after losing him, I had never touched it again. A wave of sadness filled me as I stared hard at the piano for a second before I sat in front of it. I traced my fingers along the keys, feeling my eyes blurry and with unshed tears before I softly pressed down one of them. Its tone filled something in me for a second, and I itched to play some more, so I did. I felt a gentle breeze from the window, pulling the curtains apart for a second and giving more room for the moonlight to filter through, and I started to play a familiar melody. Every thought of anyone finding me here had been erased from my mind, and the only thing left in me was to post. The familiar tone emanated, filling the dark room with melancholic notes that allowed the tears to run down my cheeks. The music was like a bridge to my past, a connection of beautiful memories of grandpa. Each keystroke felt like a conversation with him, a way to relieve his spirit. And for a second, I was lost in it. As I played the final notes, a sense of relief filled me and then the room fell into a deep silence before I carefully pulled my fingers away from the piano, a soft smile on my lips as I started to stand to continue my search of the kitchen to find something to eat. But the moment I stood and turned I froze in my tracks at the dark shadows of sometime sitting at the far end of the room and a scream tore at my throat. Maddox lounged at the far end of the room, his figure sprayed across the chair in a lazy manner with his arms resting on either end of the chair except in one of the hands was a glass of some drink I didn’t recognize that had ice cubes resting at the bottom. His black hair had been pushed away from his face, and in the dim light, I could make out his green eyes, but for the first time, they weren’t the sharp gaze that had watched me with curiosity and anger instead, now they were hazy and the way they slowly looked at me as I approached carefully, I realized he was drunk. His posture was too relaxed around me and as his hand found its way to his lips to take more sip of his drink they wobbled a bit, confirming my thoughts that he was really drunk. I swallowed hard, feeling my heart beat loudly in my chest and an uneasy knot forming in my stomach. “How long have you been sitting there?” I asked, the question accompanied with fear. I couldn’t deal with sober Maddox, and I had no idea the kind of person Maddox was when drunk. Maddox seemed unfazed by my discomfort, taking another sip from his glass as the ice flicked in the light. He stared hard at the glass before he turned to me, the intensity of his gaze through his alcohol induced haziness held a twinge of vulnerability buried deep in those green eyes. “Long enough to see you walk down the stairs. If you hadn’t gone to play the piano, I would have thought you were coming down to kill me,” he finally said, his words slightly slurred as my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. So he had heard me play and had said nothing to announce his presence. I fumbled for words, caught off guard that he had been here all along, watching me silently. The silence hung in the air, and my heart thumped so loudly that I wondered if Maddox could hear it from the end of the room. My gaze found him, and even in his drunken state, he seemed to find amusement in my discomfort as they glittered with amusement. “You don't have to be afraid of me,” he said, his face a mix of intoxication and something deeper. It was as if the alcohol allowed him to express his real emotions, momentarily lifting some sort of façade veil. His gaze left me for a second, finding the piano behind me before he spoke again. “I didn’t know you played.” I suddenly felt shy as I looked at the floor, a sense of happiness filled me at the thought of Maddox being surprised at my abilities. I felt sort of proud like a child receiving its first compliment. “I’m not so great. I just know a few melodies. Nothing special,” I said softly, slowly easing myself into the moment as I found Maddox's gaze again. This time, they were fixed on me with an intensity that filled the room. My heart picked up again, faster this time. “I told you not to be scared of me. I can hear your heart racing from the end of the room. Can you go back to a few minutes ago when you were playing the piano with no care in the world? Your heartbeat was normal, and for the first time, you weren’t scared when I was in the same room as you. It was sort of nice.”