Breaking the Silence

Sixteen

The floor creaked and my eyes flew open. I sat up in a rush, ignoring the the brief flash of pain, and looked around wildly. It was still dark in the room, and I was still lying on top of the covers, how I'd fallen asleep.

My eyes flickered around the room trying to find anything in the black until they focused on Scary Guy. Wait, I recalled Jaycee saying I was in Kota's room. Kota. That was his name, I needed to remember it.

Kota stood frozen in the doorway, a tiny bit of light from the hallway illuminating him. Slowly, he pushed the door open a little more, as if he knew I could only barely see him as he was.

He lifted his hands up, as if surrendering to me and whispered, "Hey, sorry I woke you up. I was just coming to get ready for bed." He seemed shy, like he wasn't sure how I was going to react to anything that came out of his mouth.

My head dipped in a tiny nod, but my eyes were still wide as saucers as they followed his path around the room. He disappeared behind a different door for a few minutes. When he came out, he didn't seem any different in the dark, but I'm assuming he changed clothes.

He walked across the room until he stood next to the bed I lied on. A small squeak escaped my mouth, but I didn't shy away.

"Here, why don't you get under the covers."

I just continued to stare at him, not moving. I still felt like I was intruding his personal space. I mean, this was his room, so shouldn't he want me to move so he can go to bed?

He sighed and put his arm around my back, easily lifting me into the air. He pulled back the comforter and sheets before laying me back down. He pulled the covers back over me.

"Go back to sleep." Kota told me. "I'll be in the room across the hall, okay?"

I nodded, still baffled at the fact he was leaving me in his room on his bed while he's going to take a different room. I kept my eyes on him as he walked across the room to a couch and grabbed a couple blankets from a chest next to it. Shuffling out the door, he looked back to give me a soft smile before he closed the door all the way.  Left back in the dark, I rolled over and tugged the covers under my chin, closing my eyes and falling back to sleep.

This time when I opened my eyes, the room was bright. I sat up, wincing a little as I took deep breaths. I looked around and realized I never took in the room yesterday when Jaycee and Eva brought me here. The bed I sat in was placed with the headboard against the wall opposite the door, but placed more towards the corner. Across from the bed was an entertainment center underneath a hanging tv. On the other side I saw a stone fireplace with a bookshelf on either side. A couch, a chair, and a coffee table filled the space in front of them. On the far wall from where the bed was stood a door in each corner. One must be a closet, the other a bathroom. All of the windows were on the wall opposing the entrance door, the fireplace, and the tv. The most surprising part of the beautiful room was the fact it was tidy and put together. Not what I would expect from a teenage boy.

I pulled the covers off and climbed out of bed, nearly collapsing when my legs buckled a little. I steadied myself and tried again, heading for the door Kota went last night. Opening it, I found a ginormous closet, holding shelves and cloth racks and two dressers. One side of the space was stuffed full, Kota's clothes organized on their hangers and folded neatly on the shelves. In contrast, the other side was completely barren. Opening one of the dresser drawers, even that was empty. Odd.

Leaving the closet, I headed past the seating area to the other door, this one next to the wall of windows. Swinging the door open, I stepped into the bathroom.

Not only was it a bathroom, it was beautiful. And also ginormous. The bathtub was separate from the shower. The tub was up against a wall with a gorgeous stain glass art above it. Small, round jets were on the bathtub wall. A lovely two person sink sat to my right with a pretty, detailed countertop. The mirror above the sink stretched across the entire wall. The only thing that looked normal was the toilet. It sat away in a corner, looking very cozy there. Everything else was grand and gorgeous, even the floor tile.