Cross

7

Winter

Apparently the Sangria served the night before was made by Arthur who added a touch of peach brandy. A touch as in the whole bottle plus red wine. Which explains the pounding headache that plagued my entire day yesterday.

I'm feeling a lot fresher today, brand new almost. Maybe it's because I don't wake to the smell of mould and mildew or staring at a dark ceiling waiting for the lights to turn on.

For a second, my eyes struggle to adjust to the natural sunlight sweeping into Roman's bedroom. It peers through sheer curtains of the french doors that are currently wide open letting the fresh air inside.

Nina must have already been and gone judging from the open doors and drawn curtains. On the bedside table, she left a glass of water and a note that read;

Sorry, I didn't catch you today, running errands - Nina.

I push off the four poster bed and draw the sheer curtains. Roman's room is not how I imagined it. It's mostly white and beige interior like the rest of the mansion, with light wooding flooring and ceilings. It's just like Roman; black and white.

I don't hate it but it could use some colour. Maybe a plant or two.

Steadily, I step onto the open balcony; it's wide and stretches to the length of the two windows on either side of the french doors. The balcony is mostly empty beside a swinging bench and overlooks the green lawn with the pergola and swimming pool.

I perch on the bench, taking my time to get ready for the day. Although I'm out of the basement nothing about my life has change. I'm still stuck in a gilded cage no matter the size of my surrounding.

Bringing my knees to my chest, I stare out in the distance. From the balcony I can see the woodlands surrounding the estate and beyond it, I assume is Mexico City.

I sit and watch my surroundings until the sun is high in the sky and my stomach aches with hunger.

When I stood, my vision becomes white as flashes explode in my eyes. I'm suddenly aware that my skin is hot and sweat covers my forehead. The weather here shouldn't be any different from the weather in California - where I've lived all my life. Although, I haven't exactly been exposed to the sun for three years.

The moment I retreat to Roman's bedroom, I jump into the shower; running the cold water to bring down my temperature.

I ponder on what to do today. Am I even allow out of this room? There's a TV in here, I can watch something until Nina collects me for dinner. My stomach roars in disagreement. Dinner is a hours away and I'm so hungry especially when I threw up all my food yesterday.

I'm never drinking anything Arthur makes again.

I find clothes in a walk in closet which is also mostly empty. Roman's belongings seem to barely take a quarter of it all.

As Nina said, she's pick out just handful of clothes for mainly consisting of underwear, pyjama bottoms and a few shirts. I pull on a cream frill pyjama bottoms and decided against the shirts Nina bought. I want a sweatshirt so I dig through Roman's stuff and pull out a plain black one.

I roll the sleeves and the hem so it doesn't look like it's swallowing me whole.

Anticipation pulses in my veins as I step towards the wooden door that would allow me to roam free for the first time three years. Will he be angry if I leave his room? Maybe I should wait for Nina. My stomach growls in disagreement again.

Taking a deep breath to calm the nerves, I open the door.

There's no security in sight. I guess he doesn't need security when the entire estate is surrounded by a twelve feet wall.