It's Complicated

Chapter 19: Curiosity

I lay in bed wondering what could possibly be in that room? Maybe it's childhood memorabilia? Or maybe it's some weird ass sex dungeon, I mean I did see her reading 50 Shades of Grey for a while. Curiosity is getting the best of me, I want to know what's inside there. Correction. I NEED to know what's inside!

I try to force myself to sleep but I can't. The thought of something mysterious three doors down (music pun, did you get it?) is seriously driving me insane! I almost convinced myself to go peek as Kim slept, but with my luck I would've climbed out of bed & woke her up from her sleep. If I'm gonna peek into the room, I must be strategic, she can never find out that I went in there. I need to go to bed. I need to stop thinking about that room, but I can't stop myself!

Hours pass & I'm still restlessly awake. My eyes are beginning to burn from lack of sleep, but no matter what I try to do I can't shut my brain off to sleep. Kim gets up from bed & leaves the room. I lay in bed on my phone checking all my social media accounts. Nothing much has been updated due to the fact that it's 6 AM & most of my friends are preparing to get ready for gym, something I should be doing.

I quickly grab a leo, shorts & a t-shirt & put it on. I begin making my way downstairs when I hear Kim's phone going off, Mare is calling. "Mare, what's wrong? Why are you crying!?" I don't know what's going on, but the tone in her voice makes me concerned. "Mare, we'll cancel today's practice & we'll get out of town for the day. Annie can stay here & invite someone over. It'll be okay, it's all gonna be fine! I love you! I'll call you later!" She ends the call & I quickly run back to my bedroom to jump back into bed.

My heart is racing, I don't think I've ever run that fast in my life. I hear footsteps, it's obviously Kim. She opens the door, flips the lights on & makes her way towards the bed.

"Um, today's practice is cancelled. Mary has some things going on today that we need to take care of. You can stay here & invite a friend over if you'd like, no boys though! Or you can have your mom come get you, whichever you'd like. I'm just going to be out for the day, Mare really needs me."

She has a frantic look on her face the entire time. I take a minute to process it all. "I'll probably just stay & maybe invite Kate over. I have loads of school work to catch up on anyway! But you all be safe. Let me know what happens!"

Kim jumps on the bed & gives me a hug & kiss on the forehead. "Love you girlie! Thanks for understanding! I'll let you know when I'm coming in so maybe I can pick up some dinner! Have fun doing school!" She laughs after mentioning school. She quickly scurries into her room to get dressed & leaves the house in under 5 minutes. I guess whatever Mary is dealing with is pretty serious.

I begin to do schoolwork & start feeling hungry. I decide to go grab a snack. I found myself in awe with how big Kim's refrigerator was, not to mention it was packed with yummy treats! I settled on a yogurt bowl with some of those Eggo waffles Caleb used to like. It brings me back to a time when everything was simple & seemingly perfect. I won't lie, I shed a tear. The one person I needed lately isn't here anymore, it sucks.

I make my way back to my room, once I reach the top of the stairs I notice the room. THE room. It's like it's taunting me. I really want to see what's inside there. Even though I want to see what's inside, I don't, Kim would be upset with me. I sit down on my bed & continue my school work, much to my surprise I get a couple of school days done & soon decide that I'm done for the day.

I thought to myself, "well since today's practice was cancelled, I should probably work out a bit." I change out of the clothes I'm wearing & put a sports bra & Nike pros on, although I don't want to work out I should. I walk over to the workout room, but the forbidden room keeps taunting me, I'm still so curious. I take a deep breathe & walk inside the gym room & begin light conditioning. I soon become faint & overwhelmed. My chest begins to tighten & I'm dizzy. Why does this keep happening?

I sit down on the floor & try to catch my breath. I check my phone, it's only 4 PM. Kim still hasn't text me, I assume that what's going on is serious. It has me worried. I want to text, but I don't want to be a pest. I need to occupy myself with doing something before I go insane wondering what happened to Mare. I mean sure, I was still upset with her but I'd never wish any harm on her whatsoever.

I'm finally calm & able to breathe normally. I stand up & decide to go back to my room & maybe even talk a bubble bath. As I close the door to the room I see the room at the end of the hall. "A small peak won't hurt, right?" I convinced myself to go in as my curiosity got the best of me. I walk down the hall & everything feels tense. My heart is racing, my palms are sweaty, my breathing increases.

I grab the doorknob. I noticed there's a small key hole, like one you'd see in the movies. It's big enough to peek through, but too small to see what's really inside. I crouch down & try to see what I can make out in the room. I see a bed, I think, maybe even a dresser. It looked like a normal room so why was Kim so protective over it? Why wasn't I allowed to go in? Nothing seemed to be out of the norm.

I put my hand back on the knob & begin to open the door. It's locked. Of course it's locked, but why? I check the usual hiding places, the top of the door frame & under the rug, but the key to the room is nowhere to be found. I begin to myself that maybe it's a sign that I shouldn't be nosey, but I can't help it. I look out a window near the door to the room & notice all the greenery, it's beautiful out. It hits me, "check the window sill!" I check & sure enough found the key!

Deep breaths Annie, deep breathes. I put the key into the door, twist it & hear it unlock. Now my heart is really racing. I'm about to find what Kim has been trying to hide. Why was so secretive about it? I turn the knob & open the door & reach around for the light switch.

The lights come on & my jaw instantly drops. I can't believe what I'm seeing. Everything begins to make so much sense now. But why would she want to hide this all? I begin to look around the room, making sure not to touch anything or move anything out of place. I notice the pictures on the dresser & the name on the wall, I traced over it with my fingers. My heart drops. There's so much to Coach Kim that I didn't know. I found a photo album & sit on the ground to look at it. I flip the pages & pages of photos, my heart breaks all over again.

"Annie?" I turn around to find Kim standing in the doorway with her eyes full of tears. She's shaking, I feel so bad. I close the photo album & put it back where I found it. I run to Kim & hug her. We slowly fall down to the floor. I hold her tightly, trying to comfort her. She sobs & tries to make coherent sentences but I can't make out what she's saying. I begin crying with her. "We.. we need to talk.. about a lot." She says in between cries. What the hell have I done?