Chapter Four: Rose
I thought about leaving after I realized that I had been left alone. If I were smart, I would have done it. I would have taken enough food to last me a week and ran. But the thought of sleeping on an actual bed that night was enough to persuade me to stay for the night.
I surveyed the trash and made my way to the door Blair had pointed at. After opening it, I saw that it was a small supply closet. I fumbled around for the light switch, and after finding it I could see what all I had to work with. It wasn’t much- only a broom, a mop and a few different sprays. There were no trash bags- those seemed to have been used up and left in random places around the house, never quite making it outside.
I left the kitchen and looked in a few other places downstairs for anyplace that might have trash bags, seeing as there was no way I’d be able to make any kind of progress without them. As I stumbled around the kitchen, living room, dining room, front room and study I kept an eye out but saw nothing useful. I did see a lot of expensive furniture and decorations, but nothing to pick up the garbage surrounding it.
I decided to go upstairs and wander those halls until I found them, and to give myself my own tour of the house. I immediately became lost. Each hallway looked the same as the next, each with the same pale blue walls and dark stained floor. There were a few paintings hung up, but they were so muted that I they didn’t stick in my memory at all.
I was about to turn around and attempt to find my way back downstairs when I thought I heard something coming from around the corner. Music was being carried over, and beautiful music at that. The sound lifted me higher than I thought possible, and almost put a smile on my face.
I walked towards the sound, around the corner and down that hallway until I got to a door that had been left open so that I could see only a sliver of the interior. I pushed it open a quietly, hardly breathing, until I could see where it was coming from.
Angel was playing the piano inside a small room that seemed to be made for that sole purpose. His fingers were flying across the keyboard, carrying the notes and stitching them together to make the song I was hearing. His eyes were shut in concentration, and every few seconds when a small wisp of his hair would fall onto his eyelids he would shake it out of the way without stopping.
I leaned in a little more, wanting to hear more clearly when I lost my balance. The door gave way and flew open, while I barely caught myself on the frame. The music stopped and Angel opened his eyes, his own immediately finding mine. I was startled to see how much they had changed from downstairs. While they had been bright earlier, they were now completely frozen over. Two pools of water that had been chilled into an ice.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-” I started, but he cut me off.
“Get out.” He said with an expression to rival Blair’s.
“Sorry, it’s just… do you know if you guys have any more trash bags?” I tried, but his stare only grew harder.
“Get out!” He said, rising a little out of his chair.
I didn’t need to be told three times, so I stood up straight and shut the door. I stood outside of it, catching my breath from where I had fallen. The music started again as I walked away, angry and upset that there wasn’t any decent person in the house.
