(18+) Someone in the dark

Ch. 15: Flowers

I had never felt a kiss more powerful than this. Instead of taking my breath away, it filled my lungs with life that seeped into my veins and made my heart beat again. Steady, vibrant, and faster. What started as a tantalizing, searching lip lock gradually grew into something more passionate and hungrier. He was a stranger, yet with him I felt at home. And he didn't know me, yet he seemed to know exactly what I needed.

He grew bolder, and I sighed and pulled him closer. A little moan escaped between us and a low murmuring from him expressed words I couldn't understand. Not that it mattered. All I wanted was more of what he did to me. I welcomed his thigh between my legs and the weight of his body heavy on mine, and I smiled against his lips when I could feel his member growing against my pelvis. But after one little thrust, he pulled back with a frustrated groan and abruptly stood up from the bed.

"I'm so sorry. I should never have done that. I didn't mean to take advantage of you. Honestly, I just..."

He turned away and rubbed his neck, and I knew he was blushing just as hard as I did. I watched him as he walked over and carefully picked up the pieces of glass and put them in a bin he had under his desk. The glass had been empty and was probably standing on a sideboard next to the door until he knocked it down while helping me.

It was then I noticed his room, and my mouth fell open.

His desk. It was full of flowers, all of them which I recognized as the ones I'd picked to put on the napkin when serving his food. He really wasn't joking when he said he liked them. He must have collected every single one I'd given him. And even though I only meant it as a friendly gesture, I couldn't deny the little flutter in my stomach when I saw that all of them beaming toward me with heavenly colors. Even the oldest ones that should have been dead a long time ago. This room was truly a heart of love. Tragically, the house was a body of evil that threatened to destroy it.

But for now, the heart was still alive and strong. And so were the flowers.

"Thank you," I said quietly, and he turned to me with raised eyebrows. He was done with the broken glass now and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his slacks.

"You have nothing to thank me for. If anything, you should be mad at me for..."

I didn't want to hear anymore, so I cut him off by sitting up on the bed.

"Why do you keep blaming yourself? You didn't do anything."

Instead of answering, he swallowed and stared at the floor, and it made me frown.

"What is it that you're not telling me?"

"I... Uhm," he started, but it ended in a chuckle.

"Well?"

"I like you," he said bluntly, and I let out a little gasp.

"Y-you mean...?"

He nodded and smiled.

"Yes. In that way."

"But you don't even know me."

"I guess sometimes you just know," he said with a shrug, and I bit my lip and blushed hard. I didn't dare to look at him until he came over and sat down next to me, and I felt his warmth like a beam from the summer sun. It made me want more. And when he took my hand in his, my body reacted with a little tremble and my tongue automatically swiped across my lips. That didn't go unnoticed because I could see his eyes darken and he licked his own. Then he squeezed my hand and lifted it up between us.

"That's the reason it helped." He looked down and tried not to smile. "You know. The kiss. Because I have feelings for you."

"Oh," I said, and I knew I sounded dumb. I just didn't know what to say. It's been so short, and we'd barely spoken. Then again, he was a ghost. Maybe he'd been spying on me, and I didn't notice? I mean, there weren't that many women around here that could stifle his curiosity. He was a man, after all. A really handsome one too. I could see it now that he let me see him properly. He looked just like any normal guy, although with an extraordinary charisma you didn't see very often. The way he carried himself and his calmness made me feel protected from all evil. Literally. I just didn't know for how long.

"See? Your skin is returning to its natural color, and your hair..."

He studied me again and chuckled.

"You know what? You look pretty even with gray hair."

I hid my face in my hands and giggled until he removed them and carefully tucked a strand behind my ear. He wasn't smiling anymore, but his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

"The house steals your energy until there's nothing left. And the only way to fight it is with love."

Enthralled, I saw him lean forward, and I stopped breathing. And when I didn't pull away, he closed the gap entirely and kissed me again. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few seconds, but it still made me gasp from the chain reaction it created inside me. I wasn't sure about my feelings, but I sure felt his. And when he brought my hand up to his mouth and kissed that too, my heart melted.

"You made my favorite," he said, suddenly changing the topic to the dinner. He was still smiling, and he looked so happy that it made his eyes glow. "I haven't tasted Kentucky fried chicken in a very long time."

"Very long?" I asked and thought about Leo's answer when he said he had been here for an eternity. And he seemed to understand what I was saying.

"Not that long. Just too long. Since I was a kid. My mother used to..."

It looked like he bit hit tongue from saying more and stood up to get the tray. And even though his serious facial expression told me he didn't want to talk about it, I couldn't help myself.

"Where are your parents? There are no pictures that..."

"They left," he said abruptly and put the food down between us. "My so-called father made her leave."

"Your father made your mother leave with him?" I exclaimed, horrified.

"Yes. And he didn't even hesitate over the price to pay for their freedom."

I gasped in disbelief.

"You? They left you to get out?!"

I couldn't believe a mother would abandon her own child, especially at a place like this. It should be the other way around. That she sacrificed her life for her child.

"It doesn't want you to feel loved. That's why I've locked myself up in here. It's a compromise. They need me to lure people here to keep the evil alive. Like you, I can't leave. But in here, they allow me to do whatever I want, which is why..."

"... it looks like a rainbow exploded?" I finished and made him laugh out loud. Instead of the dull, gray cloud that covered everything and anything, his room was sparkling with colors. Drapes, bed sheets, abstract paintings, pillows, and blankets. It was almost like the room had stolen all the colors from the rest of the house. It was nothing less than an oasis in an everlasting desert.

"Samuel and Crystal aren't the evil in this house. They might have been bad at grand-parenting, but the circumstances... It's the house that's evil. My grandparents are just it's tool to get what it wants, just like I am."

He looked at me with sadness and eyes that pierced through my soul.

"It wants you. And because of me, it's taking you down faster than it has done to anyone before."

He picked up the plate with chicken and offered me.

"Here. You need it more than I do."

I squinted at him, picked up a piece, and gave it to him. Then I took one for myself.

"Sharing is caring, right?" I said with a smirk. And then we ate in silence for a few minutes.

"I could feel your emotions in the way we played that song," he said suddenly and broke the silence, and I knew he referred to the way we connected in the conservatory. It amazed me how comfortable I felt around him, and how natural things felt in such surreal surroundings. "And I knew you understood mine when I played. You've got so much love to give."

He paused, as if he held back something.

"What?" I asked and bit my lip, and I was honestly anxious to hear the answer.

"I want that. I know it might sound selfish, but it's not. Not really."

"What do you mean?"

"I can make you shine again. I can give you your colors back."

I narrowed my eyebrows and tried to scan his thoughts.

"How?"

"By returning that love."