Watching Her

Chapter 14: perfection in a room

He did not even bother showing me my room himself, he asked one of his maids.

Not that I did not have respect for maids, they always seemed to kind for the rest of the world, but I did not have respect for his decision of tossing me to the next person. At least I did not have to carry my heavy suitcase around with me. 

Her black locks rested against her back as she opened the white double doors to the room I would have to spend the next weeks in. My fantasies about it being a normal guest room or a personalized bedroom suddenly disappeared. 

"This is your room now, Ma'am." I could hear slight accent in her tone, but I did not know from which part of the globe. Yet, she smiled as she looked up to me. A smaller women with a great smile and a soft voice. 

An idea crept into my mind, maybe it was good that he had left me earlier than expected. Not that his departure was in any way polite, but he probably did not care. Like all rich men, they knew they could act however they want if they had the right amount of money. Sooner or later, I would surely make it clear to him that he could not act this way with me. I couldn't care less about his fortune, even if his family was wealthier than mine, I had a little less to lose.

Once I took a step into the room, I could not help but gasp. I felt her presence next to me, so I felt slightly impolite. Yet, my manners did not show as I walked around the room, slowly, cautiously. It was more than my imagination could have ever drawn out before. It was larger than any other bedroom I had ever been in before. 

The curtains pushed aside, so that the moon light lit the room into a comfortable, yet serious atmosphere. The king bed was large enough to fit a whole slumber party, and my favorite books would certainly have a good place behind it on the shelves. The bed stood between two smaller bed side tables in a dark, wooden material. On top of one there was a small lit candle in a rosy color, giving off some warm light. Just enough to make this room cozy, I knew I did not need more. Lamps were hanging off the ceiling just above the tables while one plant in the corner of the room was giving this a more realistic look.

The grey fur carpet beneath the bed looked like it was actually real for a second and I did not want to ask her if the coffee table was made of actual black marble. Yet, the two armchairs were close to looking more comfortable than the bed. There was a tv as well, mounted to the wall beside the doors. On the other side, an empty desk stood there with an office chair. How could every chair, pillow and bed look comfortable here? While I did not want to take another step through the room, to make sure that I would not break anything or tip something over, I inspected the decorative pillows on the bed with the matching blanket. 

The maid made the honors for me and turned on a light. As soon as I heard the small click of the switch, light panels hidden behind beams near the ceiling, now fully erasing the moon light and giving this room a touch of kindness between all these cold colors. The lights hanging above the two tables were now brighter than the candle, but the slight scent was still there.

My breath stopped in my throat and I could not manage to say at least a single word. 

It was grand, it was beautiful, it was...Perfect.

"I will always be available if you need anything." Her raspy voice pulled me back to reality, away from my enjoyment. I realized now once again, that this was my bedroom for only a few weeks. The few weeks that I would spend at Mateo Bane's house.

"Th- Thankyou..." My voice drifted away as I tried to remember her name. Had she told me anything about herself? I had not asked. 

"Carlotta." She finished the sentence for me while I turned around, surprised. I would have thought that she was somewhere from Latin America.

"Yes, thank you." I gave her a small nod and she did not take any more time to leave the room as quick as we had entered it. 

Once she was down the hallway, I had watched her leave, I finally let out a sigh I did not know I was holding. Some type of relief was behind this, I now had a place to hide at when this whole situation would only stress me out more. I had privacy. 

And there it was. My suitcase standing in the corner when a question sprung into my mind. Where would I put all these clothes? The shelves standing behind the bed surely would not fit enough of them and I did not like leaving them scattered on the floor. Even though it happened to me multiple times a week. 

I needed some kind of closet. At least a few racks or anything that would help me keep this room clean. It would only add to my embarrassment if Mateo would see my socks on the floor. Or anybody in this house. I would have to remind myself that I did not have anybody I could trust here, no matter how nice they seemed at first. And surely the driver was not thrilled with me at all after leaving him standing like that. 

I wanted to call Carlotta back to my room, but one look outside my bedroom and listening to simple nothingness in this hallway was enough of an answer. I also did not want to go back down the stairs and search for her in this labyrinth, I barely knew the outline of this house. 

"Well, okay," I whispered to myself, scared that anyone was nearby. Anyone that was spying on me, waiting for me to say something scandalous, something against the Bane family. Anything in that direction would be the death of my social and familiar life. And I hated it, but that was the way it was. 

I went to the suitcase as my heels clicked on the deep brown floor, now realizing how much my feet ached. Taking them off once reaching the other side of the room, the coldness hit me again. I tried to find any shelve or rack that would like to hold all of my belongings without crashing down the next night, but I was only met with a single door. 

Hesitantly I pushed down the handle, suitcase in hand, heels on the floor. It was dark, far too dark for me to see anything to I tried to find a switch with my free hand. I needed to quickly set the case down as my arm was starting to ache already, but I did not want to break anything. 

Click.

Of course, I did not expect a walk in closet, I had never owned one, but I used to dance through my mother's while my parents were out for dinner. This was so much more. 

A huge, rectangular seating cushion stood in the middle, another carpet beneath it. Rows of closets and matching drawers decorated either sides of the room in a bright, white color. Lights hung in the insides of those while there was a grand chandelier for the big light. The single pieces of glass sparkled while I felt the need to fill all of these empty spaces. 

This time, I managed to gasp while I went from drawer to drawer to find out how they each had different depths to accommodate clothes, sunglasses or accessories. The hangers above were coated with satin so that they would not damage any of my pieces and there was a mirror wall at the end of the room. 

Lastly, I turned to the mirrors. I saw how messy my bun had gotten, how crinkled my blouse was and I thought to even find a stain on my pants. I looked messed up and I felt like it. What was I supposed to feel in a situation like this?

Should I have been happy for a chance like this to get away from my parents?

Should I have been nervous, careful?

Should I have left the moment I heard his voice?

I decided that this was not the exact moment to think about this right now, that I should focus on unpacking. Settling in.