▪ Fallen Meets the Seven ▪

Part 6: Sound Drowned Out

Although everyone keeps disappearing down it; the hallway is a pretty ordinary dimly lit...hallway I guess. The corridor that had three doors then a turn, one door to your left as soon as you walk through one on your right a little staggered after that one then one facing you. we walked past these then went around the 90-degree turn where another four rooms and Kev brought me to the second one on my left and allowed me to open the door.

"So as Austin mentioned your room is beside he's so I'm going to first off apologise for all the noise that will definitely come from his room, Jaz's is opposite to his and Teddy's is opposite yours so the rest of us are in the space we walked past earlier," Kev explained then he let me walk into my new room, he flicked the light on and closed the door behind me leaving me in there alone. 

The room was dusty but not horribly dirty, someone definitely lived in here as some of the paint on the furniture had been chipped and there were a few empty toiletries in the ensuite but the bed had no sheets and the shelves were empty. I sat on the mattress and looked around.

"Just a few licks of paint and I can make this room my own," I smiled

A thought hit me 

"I've not met everyone here yet" I stated aloud, "Jaz said that 8 people were living here now and if that includes Gutter then that's only 7," I hummed

There was a knock at the door snapping me out of my thoughts. I got up and politely opened the door and Taylor was stood there, her wavy hair still a little damp from her shower but now was dressed in a green knit jumper and some light blue jeans. 

In her arms were mattress cover, a pillow and a few things under the sheet I couldn't see yet.

"Hey Dez, I looked around for these to apologise for my first impression," she said softly "I get jealous of people's attention, it's just in my nature, but anyways I brought these," She walked in and placed them on my bed

"Oh well thank you, Taylor, you're forgiven I can imagine how long those hours must be at a coffee shop," I chuckled softly and started to put the mattress cover on and Taylor put the pillow at the head of the bed

"They basically go in slow motion. Sorry about how little this is, Simon has gone out to get you some necessities," She said

"Simon?" I queried

"Oh you must not have met him yet," she gasped softly "Simon Greed, he usually keeps to himself and is a little cold but he's the richest so the stuff he's covering that,"

"That would be the missing roommate then," I chuckled softly "Thanks for these,"

She handed me a piece of paper and a thin stack of 5's possibly equating to about $55 

"What's this?" I asked unfolding the paper

"All of our numbers, both work phones and mobiles and a few other important numbers like our staff, if you don't feel safe somewhere and we're not available, they'll walk close by and keep tabs on if anyone seems to be acting suspicious or taking similar patterns to you," she explained

"Why are you guys so paranoid?" I asked

"As you live here we'll explain a little more but I don't want to overwhelm you on your first day back on solid ground and no longer on puffy clouds," She assured me

I nodded and she got up to leave

"Thank you, Taylor," I smiled

She stopped in her tracks and without turning around she said in a sheepish tone

"Call me Tay," After this, she shuffled out the room closing the door behind herself.

{~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}

I walked into the bathroom and I started to undress, I hung up my white suit jacket on the back of the door, I wriggled my pants off my hips and stepped out of them as I started to undo the buttons of my shirt, I looked at my body in just my boxers and I ran my hand over a bullet wound in my gut and it all came flashing back to me.

The fear, the guilt,  the embarrassment, then a loud gunshot followed by a huge shock through my body as I was shot back down to earth. It was still really sore and I think the bullet is still there but I don't know what to do about that.

I leant into the shower and turned it on then went back to the mirror waiting for the water to warm up.

"I'm free," I told myself as I stared into my own eyes, "Noone will take this from you," 

The mirror started to fog up I decided to get into the shower, I slipped off my boxers and stepped in

As soon as the water hit my side I screamed and my knees went weak from the pain and I fell I tired saving myself by grabbing the curtain of the shower but that just pulled it from its fixture and made it come down on top of me.

"Dez?!" I heard Austin shout from his room followed by heavy fast footsteps

I had landed on my wounded side and caused the scabbing to rip and blood started to gush out onto the white tiled floor and I felt faint. I saw a blurry suit and then my body went numb all as sound drowned out of my ears and was replaced by my loud heartbeat in my ears then everything went black.

Blood, that's the only thing I could sense, the recent smell of fresh blood.