The Mysterious Mr. Miller

4. THE INTROVERT'S PARADISE

When I woke up the next morning, I was greeted with the sight of a new phone. Excited to finally have some of my freedom back, I opened the phone and checked its features. Of course, there were only three numbers saved; Mary, Sean and Lucas. I immediately called Mary and briefed her about all this chaos, carefully skipping the part where I was being kept locked.

“Holy shit Penelope, when are you coming back then? Boss was furious.” She exclaimed.

“I don't know yet. There are things that need to be taken care of first." I told her. Like how am I going to escape this place?

"And why did you change your number?" She asked. "You know I was worried sick."

"I can't tell you that. But just trust me when I say, I'll come back soon. Just let me figure things out." I said.

"Pen, just say Cheese if you're kidnapped and somebody is making you say those things." She said in dead serious voice.

"Don't you think the kidnappers would have put the phone on speaker?" I pointed out.

"I guess." She mumbled. 

I was telling her about Sean Miller, the edited version, when Jenny came out of nowhere to call me for breakfast. I cut the call, brushed my teeth, did my morning routine and then after changing into a fresh pair of jeans and T-shirt, made my way downstairs. 

The younger Miller brother was missing from the dining table, for which I was grateful to God. Sean was dressed in a white tracksuit, his hair wet and glistening, his eyes set on a newspaper. Is it pathetic of me to admit that he was hot?

"A hot psychotic jerk." My inner voice reminded me. Just yesterday, he had his hands wrapped around my neck, and not in a good way. 

I sat down and poured a glass of orange juice for me. Soon, Jason came from the kitchen to serve him fried eggs direct from the pan.

"Hey buddy." I said to him and both pair of eyes present in the room turned to me. 

Jason got conscious under Sean's inquisitive eyes. "Yes, Miss. Woods, do you need anything?" He said meekly.

"Um… yeah, coffee for me." I shifted nervously in my seat, realizing he didn't want to associate with me in front of him.

After Jason left, I poured some beans and a sausage in my plate and began filling my stomach. There was deafening silence sprawled in the room and it was killing me. I had been a talkative person my whole life so staying quiet isn't something I'm best at.

"Where is Lucas today?" I asked when curiosity got the best of me.

"You shouldn't stress yourself with his whereabouts." He replied without taking his eyes off newspaper.

"I was just asking. I might have forgotten how to eat without two threatening pair of eyes glaring me down." I whispered under my breath but from the way he kept the newspaper away, I'm afraid he heard me.

"Are you sure you're Woods daughter? He was a pretty sensible person. You on the other hand…"

"Complete your sentence, I dare you." I replied.

"You dare me? That's not a phrase I hear so often. Hence proven my point." He leaned back at his seat.

I stabbed the sausage at this. To be honest, I had always been hot-headed and him being a dick isn't helping either. But I still loved my life so I chose not to reply. Besides, I could see Thomas's giant shadow peaking from outside the dining room and I'd rather not start my day with the inverted view of his well-built derriere.

After the breakfast, he left for some work while I picked up all the dirty plates and walked into the kitchen. 

"Ignoring much?" I said to Jason.