Her Eyes

Five

Nikolaos' POV

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

I opened my eyes, the morning sun beaming through my window. I must have forgotten to close the curtains the night before. A small groan left me at the thought. I felt miserable, but I knew I had to get back into my normal routine before my parents came over and nagged on about how I should have lived with them rather than staying alone.

I admit, I regretted my decision from time to time, missing the hot, homemade meals and company. Hardly anyone lived as far away from the city as I did, and those that do, live farther from me. I could never admit it to them though, because if I did, they would force me into their home and the pressure of becoming an accountant wouldn't be as easy to dismiss.

They were adamant about having me be an accountant, no matter how many times I expressed distaste for the career. I wanted to do something creative with my life, something that brought joy to me and others, and photography seemed to be the career that could do just that. I loved how images of still life, nature, animals, people, or just infrastructure brought out so many strong emotions in people, and I wanted to do the same.

I rubbed my eyes, sighed lightly, and turned my head to the side, wanting to peer out the window. My breath stopped short. Beside me lay a girl, some girl I'd never seen before. My eyes traveled down her figure; she was naked.

"What the – !" I jumped out of bed immediately, feeling myself for any changes. The girl's eyes snapped open at my shout, and she looked at me panicked before rustling away to the corner of the bed. She tangled herself in the sheets and fell backward off the bed with them, a loud thud sounding as she hit the floor heavily.

I grabbed a pocketknife I kept in a small drawer on my bedside table and jumped to her, pointing it at her accusingly. "Who are you and what are you doing in my home?!" I demanded, her sparkling green eyes shaking and glancing around the room.

The girl was breathing heavily but never responded to my question as if she never heard it. "Hey! I'm asking you a question!" Her eyes snapped back to me, and I hesitated at her scared face. Her skin was a warm olive tone, and her long, curly hair covered her face. Her face was soft and round, and she had small groups of freckles dancing around her nose. Her eyes were dark green, shining brightly when the sun hit them, and her figure was petite.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out, so she grasped her throat, coughing in the process. "You ... can't speak?" She nodded furiously at the question, clasping her hands together. My brows narrowed and I stared at her, not knowing whether she was telling the truth or not. I sighed, sitting on the side of my bed facing her, and leaned forward.

I wake up one day and a girl is sleeping beside me completely naked who can't speak. What a news headline that would make.

"Where do you come from?" I asked calmly, too tired to worry about much else. The girl piped up and went to stand, though she fell immediately and whimpered slightly. Concern washed over me at her pained figure, and I walked closer to her, kneeling before her. "Hey, can you walk?" She shook her head at the question, tears welling in her eyes as she lowered her head, sniffling.

Instinctively, my hands wrap around her and pat her back soothingly. I hate seeing people cry. My mother was the first person I'd ever seen cry despite the strong persona she put up, and I hated every moment her wailing and sniffling entered my ears, shattering my heart continuously.

"Let's ... get you some clothes, yeah?" The girl didn't respond, but I took it as a yes and pulled her from the ground, carrying her to the bed and placing her down gently. She was light, far too light. A frown covered my face as I walked to my closet, grabbing a large gray sweater for her to wear. I didn't have much color to offer in my clothing selection.