His Queen (18+)

Chapter X

THE LETTER

Guess my mind is a prison
And I'm never gonna get out.

***

CHAPTER X

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I HAD WOKEN up hours before the sun had even began to rise. I was never the type of person that felt comfortable with sleeping in places I wasn't used to. Even though I had spent five years in that same exact room and adored it, I wasn't used to it anymore.

There was too much pink, the mattress made too much noise when I moved and there were just too many bad memories associated with it. Maybe the room was nice, but I couldn't see it anymore. The beauty of my old space that had been left unchanged in my absence was the last thing I was seeking out.

I carefully slipped out of bed, taking more time than I usually would've because I didn't want Mateo to wake up. It was still early in the morning and the sky, although lighter, was still a dark shade of blue while the horizon glistened with red.

I looked away from the open window and instead walked around the room slowly, listening to the music that the wooden floorboards made as it creaked under my weight. To anybody else, I would have looked like a mad woman but I knew what I was doing.

I walked over a floorboard that dipped and creaked way too much to be safe, but instead of worrying about my safety, I only smiled and looked down.

“Bingo.”

I got down on my hands and knees and began prying the floorboard open. It didn't take long before it finally slipped out of its slot and revealed to me the countless brown paper bags under it. Each paper bag holding something close to ten thousand dollars... give or take.

I stared down at the money, wondering what it proved to me. Well, for one it proved that my room had truly been left untouched and absolutely nothing had changed. After that, I had no idea.

“Why did I go on this goose chase?” I asked myself as I stared down at the money. “What does this do for me?”

What was I planning to do with the money when I worked there? Did I want to go to college? Buy a house? Start a business with it? How could I be so unstable when I had so much money?

“Momma?”

I snapped my head up at the tiny voice that came from the other side of the room and felt my anger subside as I looked at Mateo.

“Go back to sleep, sweetheart,” I muttered softly, already used to soothing him back to bed whenever he woke during the night. “Mommy's right here with you.”

He stared at me as I slipped the floorboard back into place, completely ignoring my soothing words. With a sigh, I stood up and decided that it probably wasn't too early to start our day anyway. I would just tire him out and settle him down for a nap during the afternoon.

I walked over to him, making him sit up and become alert immediately. With a soft smile, I flicked his nose and said, “Good morning.”

“Mowning,” he giggled, holding his nose in his hands.

“How did you sleep, mister?” I asked, scooping him up into my arms and beginning to make my way towards the bathroom to give him a bath. Instead of answering, he just rested his head on my shoulder. “You don't want to talk to me?”

I felt him shake his head against my neck and laughed.

Children were so weird.

I refrained from making that comment and instead continued on to the bathroom. Upon reaching, I realised that we were going to have a problem.