The Game of Hearts

5. Answers

We walked up the spiral stairs. I saw that the area that the stairs led up to was a sort of living room with a small kitchen space with a couch and a television. Two men sat on the couch playing a game, and another two stood in the kitchen making something. The rest must've been in their rooms.

Rowen took my arm and led me back into his room. As soon as the door closed, I felt his fingers linger down my back. My body twisted, and I looked at him with a devilish smirk. "Not happening," was all I could say before roaming around his place. Posters lined most of one of his walls and the ceiling, ones I haven't seen before. Most of them looked signed. Another wall had a ton of pictures. I recognized him and a few of his friends, but they also looked different. Rowen's hair was long and curly. His clothes weren't of this era- an odd thing to grasp.

"So, how old are you, anyway?" I asked. When I turned to look at him, he was leaning against a wall, eyeing me closely. At that moment, I noticed he was watching me explore.

"I'm two-hundred and thirty-six. I was born in 1785 and turned in 1808," he smirked and put his weight onto both feet to walk toward me.
"That means you were twenty-three when you were... made," I concluded. He nodded.

"You're smart," he complimented and stood next to me, facing the wall of all the pictures. He pointed to one picture. It was of him and one guy I saw earlier. "The first camera was invented in 1839. I was a buddy of the inventor and he wanted to take a photo of me and my friend."
My jaw dropped in awe, and I stared at him.

"That's crazy," I said, noting the small genuine smile he wore. He seemed different in these pictures. His face was soft and sweet looking, innocent. "What about the other pictures?"
"We can talk about that later," he said quickly, and his features froze as he turned away. I wouldn't push for answers yet, but I was still full of wonder.

"No problem," I said, and took a deep breath. So much to take in. "Listen, I really should get going. I have my first day of work tomorrow."
Rowan shrugged and sat on the bed. "As long as you say nothing, I guess you're free to leave whenever."

"All people would say is that I'm crazy, I'd rather just keep it to myself anyway." I made my way to the door. "Maybe you'll see me around," I mustered up, and he nodded.

"You will."
—
That next morning I woke up and dressed for the day. The first day of a job always had me on my toes, otherwise I'd take my time getting ready. It was only a couple hours away before I needed to be there, but my fingers shook to get started and make money. Perhaps I also needed a distraction to get my mind off of the whole supernatural world. This would keep me busy.

About an hour after waking up I couldn't take it anymore, so I began my walk towards the café. It happened to be a ten-minute walk down the street. I took a notebook, a pen, and my phone with me to get the day started. Their dress code required that I wore a black shirt and jeans, which seemed boring but at the same time I could pull it off.

The walk wasn't so bad with the weather being so nice. It wasn't like I didn't have a car, I enjoyed walking more. All around me people were walking, chatting, shopping. It was a good morning rush.

A few minutes away, I noticed a small cart on the side of the sidewalk where a man was selling an abundance of pastries and other goods. I almost told myself no, but a cheese danish called out to me. In line, I took in some of my surroundings to get a better visual knowledge of the street. And a moment to look at the surrounding people. There was a small boy and his mom behind me in the line, a brunette guy with some wicked tattoos in front of me, and everyone else was busy in the rush. Except for the man that stood in the alley to the right of me. He wore a black hood and dark shades. He didn't quite stand out too much, but he might've been waiting for someone. Or doing crack. But in a small town like this, I doubt he'd do that in public. I tore my eyes away and waited for my turn.

The brunette got his order and began turning around. My first reaction was to move forward, but the man didn't turn the way I thought he would. It was only a moment before I could realize that he was about to bump into me. He spilled his iced coffee all over me, but the small package with a warm pastry in this hand stayed secured.

"Oh no, I am so sorry," he said. He wore a brown sweater on top of a white dress shirt and a simple pair of dark jeans.

I shivered at the chill the drink gave me and chuckled. "Better than hot, I guess," I replied with a smile, but my insides were disinterested.
"Damn, let me get you another one," said the man at the stand (wow, that rhymed), as he gave me a few napkins.

Tattoo man gave an awkward chuckle as he watched me clean off the most wet parts of my black shirt. "That's okay, I'm starting my first day at the café anyway, so I'm sure I'll get a lot messier than this."

"Maybe to make it up I can get you what you came for," he said with a shrug.

"Sorry, man," said the stand man and gave the tattoo man a replacement drink. If I had names I would use them. "And for you?"

I glance at him, then at the stand, and back to him again. He gave a small nod. "A cheese danish please," I ordered, and the guy rang it up before the tattoo guy gave a few bucks to the stand guy.

"Thank you," I said with a small smile, and he nodded again.

"I should get going. Hope your first day goes well," he said before walking off.

I got my cheese danish and began walking. The guy in the hood I saw before had left, I guess, he'd disappeared, so did the tattoo guy. The rush had quieted. And I was on my way to the cafe.