"Cass the door! It's for you get your butt out here!" Lily yells from the kitchen
"Coming just one sec, I'm almost done!" I yell looking at myself in the mirror one last time before heading out the door. I am still doubting if I want to go through with this and open that door. Cole and I won't work but my heart tells me otherwise. Deciding I need answers I grab my purse and head out the door determined to get the answers I need from Cole. I'm shocked when I discover a man who isn't Cole waiting at the door, he is older and has gray hairs all over his head.
" Good Afternoon Cassie my name is Francisco and I'm here to take you to Mr.Davis" he says with a gentle smile.
We walk out the door and down to the lobby where I follow him to a black Limo that's parked right in front of the hotel entrance. As he opens the door I get in and find a large bouquet of white roses sitting on the seat along with a note. I pick up the roses and bring them to my face to give them a sniff as I open the note and read it.
My Dearest Cassie,
I know you have many questions and I haven't given you any answers but all of that will change, thank you for giving me this chance to let you into my world I promise not to waste it.
With love,
Cole
Holding out the piece of paper I read it a couple more times because I'm in disbelief, Cole is ready to be honest, but why now? What changed that he's finally ready to open up and let me into his world. Folding the note back up I set it safely inside my small purse and I sniff the beautiful roses one more time before looking out the window and letting my thoughts drift me away to the many possibilities that could be tonight.
After a few minutes I snap back into reality and realize that were on a long dark road where all I can see is what's being lit up from the limos headlights. Immediately, I'm on high alert because the Vegas strip is no where to be found, mentally slapping myself for not paying more attention to where I was going, I grab my phone and open up my maps to try and get my location but there is no service of course.
Just as I start to panic the limo slows down until it stops completely in front of a huge black gate. Slowly the gate opens and we start moving again, the driveway is lit up by only small lights across each side and everything else is pitch black. After heading up the drive way for a bit I see a huge house that looks like a palace with towers on each corner like the ones in a fairy tale. Still unsure of what's going on I decide that once we stop completely I will try and make a run for it to the nearest exit and then I can figure it out as I go. We stop by the front steps that seem to go up forever, and just as I am about the make a run for it I see the big front doors of the house open. Then, I see him walking out of the door in a crisp navy suit and all of my worries are gone in an instant as he starts walking down the stairs to me. Just then Francisco comes around and opens my door for me so I can get out.
"You look stunning Cassie." Cole says taking the last of the steps down and holding out his hand for me to take.
"Thank you. For a second I thought you were trying to kidnap me, bringing me to a secluded area." I say jokingly taking his hand
"Who says I'm not?" he grins wickedly causing me too blush because I realize he probably has things up his sleeve for the tonight.
"I didn't want to take you to a loud place filled with people chattering and bothering us , I want us to be able to be alone and have privacy so I brought you to my house." he explains as we make our way up the never ending stairs
" Of course you own this. Why wouldn't you? " I whisper to myself but he hears me and just gives me a smile
Finally reaching the top of the stairs I realize that the doors I figured were regular sized are in fact massive doors, that you shouldn't be able to open from how heavy they look. As we get closer they start opening and I pause as soon as I get to the doorway, it's like stepping into a museum so it takes me a second to take in the sight of everything. Straight ahead of me I see a beautiful double sided stairway that leads up to a second floor and on top of that another stairway that leads to a third floor, there are paintings all around the entrance that show different events in history. The one that catches my eye is at the top of the stairs by one of the long dark hallways.
Drawn to it I walk up the stairs to get a closer look, its the only black and white one you see and its so dark compared to any of the others. Something about it calls out to me, starring into it I feel Cole's arm wrap around my waist after a few seconds. " Do you like it? It's my favorite." he whispers into my ear.
"I do but I can't figure out why? " I respond as I tilt my head and study it more. There really isn't a lot on it but the few things that are on here say so much. The painting is a room with a window at the end and what looks like two hooded figures one on each side, they have no legs and no faces only coats and pants but no feet. Under the window is the word BLIND carved into the wall and a single light turned on over head, below on the ground is dirt with patches of mushrooms growing out in different spots around the room. In the window there is a man on the bottom right corner with only his face and fingers visible and is he is trying to climb up and out of the painting. The mans eyes are white and with no life in them his face is decayed and dirty.
"Why have I seen this before and where?" I say out loud
"It's a very famous painting so I don't doubt you've seen it before. It was painted by a polish man who said he wanted to paint what dreams were like as if looking at a photograph so thats what he did. All his paintings are like seeing nightmares so it seems like you've seen them before because you probably have in your dreams." he looks into the painting as if he's remembering something and is suddenly snapped back to the real world.
Studying him as he explains it to me I notice the scrunch in his eyebrows and the uncertainty in his voice as he slowly turns to look at me.
"That sounds like a very sad life. Why would he want to do such dark paintings?" I say into his eyes
"Sometimes we project what we're dealing with in our own lives and what we're going through or what's going on in our heads. People have dark intentions and minds Cassie don't forget that" he says closing the space between us and slowly caressing my chin. Instinctively I reach out to hug him and feel the closeness between us, which he takes as an invitation to crash his lips to mine and deepen the connection we were having in that moment.
"Cole we can't get side tracked although I would love to keep kissing you, you promised me a conversation." I break our kiss and pull away from his embrace.
"Follow me" he simply says interlacing his fingers with mine and leading me back down the stairs.
YOU ARE READING
US
RomanceCassie Harris was a young, beautiful and successful doctor. She was a force to be reckoned with. Cassie never had a chance to enjoy her college years because she was to busy studying and preparing for her future. She didn't have time for the partyi...
