Chapter 35
Kiara stood by the entrance of the grand Italian villa with her eyes scanning the rolling hills in the distance. The deep green against the blue skies made everything feel surreal as she swept her eyes over to Posey.
"Ready?" Posey smiled, but her eyes didn't light up.
"Yes," Kiara nodded.
With a deep breath, Kiara took a step into the large home and heard the door close behind her. The salty breeze of the sea on the other side of the home ran through the halls, blowing all the curtains and playing all the wind chimes. Tobias waited for Posey and Kiara at the bottom of the staircase, eyeing the empty wall where a family portrait used to hang.
Following Piper's advice, Tobias and Posey had all the photos in the house removed. They did not want to overload Kiara with pictures of herself that held no memories. She already had too many questions for them and each one was a knife to their heart.
"Tobias," Posey touched her husband's arm as they stopped beside him.
Tobias nodded. He took in a long deep breath and looked over at Kiara.
"Your room is upstairs," he said, forwarding his elbow to her. "Shall we?"
Kiara hesitated. Her nervous gaze flickered from Posey to Tobias before a small timid smile crossed her lips too fast. She took a step forward and looped her arm through. Tobias patted her hand on his arm. He could feel her hand apart, barely holding his arm as she began to follow him up.
"You'll meet the staff in a bit," he informed her as they climbed the stairs. "We're all here. Whatever you need, just ask me or your mom."
Kiara nodded once more, "Okay..."
From the corner of his eyes, Tobias watched Kiara look around. They came to the second floor and turned the corner towards her room.
"Are you alright?" Tobias asked, worried she might be overwhelmed.
"Yes," Kiara nodded. "I just...."
Tobias waited, "Yes?"
"There was someone else too, right?"
"Who?"
"The guy," Kiara looked over her shoulder. "Black hair....tall."
"Killian."
"Yes," Kiara nodded. "Is he staying here too?"
"Yes," Tobias nodded.
Kiara wanted to ask Tobias where Killian was but she felt too uncomfortable. She didn't know these people. All she wanted was to be shown to her room so she could lay down and process everything the doctor had told her. Her heart was beating too fast.
"This is it," Tobias sighed as they came to stop in front of a closed door.
"Thank you," Kiara quickly pulled her hand away from Tobias.
"Do you need anything?"
Kiara shook her head.
"Alright," Tobias turned the door knob and pushed the door open. "Why don't you rest up, look around. I'll see you at dinner."
"Thank you," Kiara said once more as she stepped into the room.
The god lingered outside for a few seconds as Kiara slowly closed the door. She heard his steps move away before she turned to look at the room. A large bed sat across from where she stood pressed against the door. Two french doors opened up on either side of the bed into an open balcony that wrapped around the room. A spacious bathroom was tucked into the corner in the left with an walk in closet that seemed to be stuffed.
