Never Tell Secrets (18+)

Ch 17 - Found You

 ATTENTION RADISH READERS! Please don't leave any spoilers in here or you'll be getting a spanking from Alfie. Or Elliot. Or Keira. Whoever you'd prefer. 😘

***

I awoke, disoriented and confused. Where the hell was I? I sat up in the plush bedspread, trying to place myself. When I saw my Evergarden sketches on the wall it all came flooding back to me.

Alfie...

The soft October sun shone through the window, telling me I'd slept most of the day away. I blinked sleep out of my eyes and checked my phone. I found a brief "K" from Keira in response to the text I'd sent telling her where I was, which told me she hadn't been so drunk last night that she'd forgotten to check in with me before she passed out. Or that she was so angry with me for going to Alfie's house that she was saving the blow up for when I got home...I was hoping for the former. 

I looked around myself for a moment, unsure what my next move should be. How the hell had I ended up here? I had been so determined to keep Alfie at a distance but last night...nothing could have prepared me for last night. He had cracked himself open and allowed me to walk right in, and what I'd found inside had been worse than I could have imagined.

I tried to process everything I had learned but I couldn't, what Alfie had done was too much to comprehend so quickly. I resigned myself to the long haul. This wasn't gonna settle in my mind overnight. But...now what?

I looked around the room, at the detail, the thought that had gone into it. He had done this for me without knowing if I would ever set foot in it... but did it matter? I steeled myself against the emotions that stirred inside. Alfie could make grand gestures easily, he could always get it right when he wanted to. I'd never doubted his feelings for me. That wasn't the problem.

Manipulation and lies was the problem, and knowing how deep his propensity for both of those qualities ran had me looking at the room differently. Had me wondering if this was just a ploy. Lull me into a false sense of security and then BAM, mental mind fuck all over again.

Besides that, the room on it's own had me feeling uneasy now that I was seeing it in the clear light of day. This wasn't normal. It was supposed to be romantic and thoughtful, but this level of obsession was also deeply unhealthy.

Sick of my spinning mind, I got out of bed. First stop - bathroom. There were two doors leading off the room, one I discovered was a walk-in closet and dressing room, the second a parisian-esque bathroom with light gold finishings and a slipper tub. It was pretty and warm.

Of course, my products were already in there. Shampoo, conditioner, my favourite body wash. My makeup too, right down to the shade. This behaviour had unnerved me once but I knew Alfie so well now. He was a man of details. He paid attention to every part of me and the scared part of me wished he would stop. It made me feel too special. Like I mattered. Like I was going to get hurt again if I let him in.

I showered and fixed myself up quickly before returning to the closet. Once, I would have balked at the idea of taking any gesture or gift from Alfie. Now, we were way past that. Taking an outfit changed nothing when he was already a part of my core.

I prepared myself for an extravagant closet, for the vast array of Prada and Chanel that I was sure would be waiting. But opening a closet door, I found...nothing? I picked the next door, and the next and the next. Nothing, all empty. There was a chest of drawers. I opened the first drawer and finally found underwear and socks, neatly laid out. The next drawer, plain jeans, and beneath that, T-shirts and sweaters. Pretty, but basic. I couldn't help but notice the clothes were inexpensive as far as Alfie's usual price tags went.