Her Dark Side

Chapter Eighteen

The house gets surprisingly cold at night. I hardly slept a wink in the first part of the night anyway but by three AM, cabin fever, homesickness and an overwhelming sense of curiosity had completely taken over and I couldn't stay there in that bed any longer.

I head down stairs with the light on my phone as a guide. I'm not afraid of the dark in any way but I felt like I needed a little light especially seeing as I don't know my way around yet. I make it to the kitchen and get myself a drink of water, lingering by the sink longer than I need to. In the movies when you grab a drink in the night, the person you want to see always meets you there by chance.

Alas I waited ten minutes but to no avail.

So I give up and chose to head back upstairs but when the bitter cold draft up there hits me, I decide against going back to my cold bed. While being stood literally frozen in the hallway just by my door, the strong moonlight coming through the windows lights up the path to that girls bedroom, now my phone screen is off it's the only light here, the door left ajar. I push it open enough for me to slip in.

It's then in the dark that the smell in this room stands out, very different from the rest of the house. A sweet and mildly strong aroma I hadn't noticed when in here earlier. I notice this is one of the few rooms aside from the dining room that has an open fire, though there's no way I'll be able to light it. I take a seat on a soft chair nearest the fire regardless and make myself comfortable, resting my head. I also pull a big cushion from the other chair and lay it across me, planning to stay here for the time being.

I lay my head back and stare up at the ceiling where the painting in this room also captures my attention. It's just as abstract as the rest of the ones in the house but I still find myself unable to look away. My eyes eventually begin to droop as I become comfortable and notice that this room is no where near as chilly as the rest of the house.

It's when I'm mere seconds from falling into a somewhat peaceful slumber that a noise sounds throughout the room and I'm jolted awake. The eerie creaking of a door causes me to throw my head in that direction and I hold my breath, sinking further into the chair so I'm not seen.

The silhouette of a tall and broad seemingly male creeps in and quietly closes the door before lethargically making their way over in my direction. As far as I can tell he hasn't seen me so I just sink further back into the chair. There's also a very slim chance of me managing to slip out of here unnoticed. When he gets too close for me to be able to hide I just make a small movement and it's then that he sees me.

I prepare myself for a fight but he just cries out in response and falls back. I hold my hands up in surrender now that I know it's just August.

Even though it's dark, I can tell he's still staring hard in my direction.

"August?"

He doesn't reply but instead goes a little limp after a moment.

I smile uneasily in his direction even though I know it's hardly visible. "Hey, are you okay?"

"What- what are you doing in here?" He exclaims, a hand on his chest.

I purse my lips in silence not sure how to answer that question. Because the rest of the house is the North Pole in comparison to this room and I couldn't sleep in my own room? "I could ask you the same thing."

"Yeah, except this is my house." He snaps back rather harshly. I frown to myself.

"Sorry," I sigh.