I n d o м ι т a в l e

(15)

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"You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness."

― Jonathan Safran Foer

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{Chapter: 15}

Unedited ✖

{ A S P E N M O N T G O M E R Y }

I wake up like an angry bull seeing red.

I remember Every. Single. Detail.

That mutt bit me and made me pass out, who the fudge does he think he is? I accepted him as my soul-partner and in return he bites me?

I wake up in the same room I woke up in yesterday, the maroon walls still as boring the last time I saw them. His desk although this time is much more organized and neat. He must have organized it while I was passed the fudge out on his bed, the mutt.

I made quick work of tossing the covers off of me and for good measure, threw them completely off the bed, the pillows too. After that I leaped off the step and onto the floor before stomping towards the door in a way only a woman can pull off without looking like a child pulling a tantrum--at least that's what I tell myself.

I throw the doors open and not bothering to close them before I left continued to trudge angrily down the hall.

I searched the entire house; the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom downstairs, the basement which looked exactly like a boxing ring--minus the actually ring--, the bathroom upstairs, the two empty guest rooms upstairs, his office, and lastly the loft.

I'm panting by the time I'm finished and angrier than when I woke up. Where in the blazes is he? I cross my arms, surveying the small loft that I crawled up into from the office room below me. The loft is empty accept for a few lone boxes shoved into a corner.

Several random items poke out from the boxes that aren't taped up and I catch sight of a small picture frame, but it's far enough inside the box I can't see the actual picture. My anger momentarily forgotten, I decide to snoop a little.

He isn't here to stop me...

My bare feet slide across the dusty floor beneath me, the wood groaning slightly with every step I take. It looks like no one has been up here in a long time. I let out a short breath and send several cobwebs fluttering in the corner, dust blowing in my face making me cough, gagging when more dust lands inside my mouth. Gross.

The loft is actually somewhat similar to my room back at Edith and Julius' place but smaller. The ceiling is slouched on both sides and shaped like a triangle at each end of the room, a couple random boards piled in the corner next to the boxes.

I make my way towards the four boxes stacked in the corner, dust and cobwebs also covering them along with every other nook and cranny.

I scrunch my nose up and try brushing away the nasty webs, jumping back when several spiders jump out from their hideouts, spooked at my invasion. I wait several more seconds just in case one of them decides to come back and eat me for destroying it's home before deciding it's safe.

I pull back one side of the box, blowing away the dirt covering the items inside. A flannel shirt is folded neatly on top and I reach inside, running my fingers over the soft material. I frown when my fingers graze over something hard beneath the shirt. Picking it up I realize something is wrapped inside the soft blue and gray fabric.