Golden Boy

E I G H T

My eyes shot open and I sat straight up, the grey blanket falling off of my shoulders. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the room's low lighting, but I was able to see my surroundings. I was in another bedroom, a lot smaller than the one I was forced to stay in last night. I was on a full-sized bed, about a foot off the ground, which suddenly felt too small compared to the king-sized one from last night. They must have moved me to another room in the mansion—a much smaller, but cozier room. 

Slowly my eyes tracked around the room, landing on some wall art and other decor pieces. I could immediately tell that it was a boy's room by the neutral color of the furniture and the discarded clothes on a chair in the corner. 

Thankfully I was alone and fully clothed from the last night. My ponytail felt tight against my scalp, and I could feel my makeup clogging my pores. I cursed, upset that I had to sleep in my makeup because they never gave me a chance to wash it off. 

I wandered around the room, immediately attracted to the bookshelf by the window. I rummaged through the items in the drawers too, slowly piecing together that this was Jace's room. There weren't any pictures up or any other obvious indicators, but I noticed a jacket in the closet that I've seen him wear quite often at school, so I'm guessing this is his lair—granted a small one. 

Why was I put in his bedroom?  

For a rich kid, he didn't have that many possessions. I was expecting to be surrounded by expensive watches or a wall just for his shoe collection, anything that would show his wealth, but there was nothing of the sort. 

The bed sat in the middle of the room, with two simple nightstands on either side—the tops bare except for a lamp and some books that overflowed from the bookshelf. There was a dresser on the wall directly in front of the bed, next to the bookshelf in the corner, with a TV mounted above. Below the window, was a brown wood desk with a mix of papers and textbooks littering the top. The only other piece of furniture in the room was a blue armchair in the corner next to the left side of the bed. Everything was a warm brown color, giving it a cozy cabin feel. 

For the most part, it was a pretty simple room. Nothing fancy. It could have been a room in my own house and I wouldn't have thought it was a part of a mansion—if this was still actually the mansion.

I stood in front of the window, trying to get a good look at the surrounding area, but the window faced the backyard which was just a forest of trees. It could have been the backyard of the mansion, but the scope of the backyard didn't seem that large. What mostly gave it away was the lack of a swimming pool or something else that suggested wealth. 

The door creaked open and I spun to see Jace tip-toeing into his bedroom. He was bent over and bared nothing on his feet to silence his footsteps. This was certainly a sight I thought I would never see. 

He stopped walking like the Grinch who stole Christmas, hunched back and trying to make as little noise as possible, when he saw me standing in the window. "Oh—you're up. Good." He walked straight to his closet and pulled out a black hoodie and dark jeans to change into. He was currently in a pair of blue sweatpants and a matching crew neck—his pajamas, I assumed. "You should get ready; we're leaving pretty soon." 

"Ready?" I whispered to myself. "For what?"

He pointed to a small duffle bag on the floor, at the foot of the bed. "I got you some fresh clothes. There's a shower down the hall you can use." He said and then left, closing the door behind himself, not giving any sort of explanation. 

 I woke up in a stranger's bed today, alone and with no explanation as to where I was and why I needed to get ready. It was too early for me to try and wrap my head around anything.