Lazarus

2

My first real bath in months felt so good, I felt like the muscles that I didn't even know were tense had been released. Was this what it was like to feel stress-free? Even if it was only for one night.

The man's kindness had been surprising to me, he was willing to let a strange 17 year-old just walk into his castle and sleep there without calling the police. Why? That was one thing that went through my mind that entire bath. Why was that man so generous. What did he want in return? Sex? Money? I had none of that, sex? I couldn't wrap my head around it.

Once my skin pruned and my hair squeaked I got out of the tub. I wrapped myself in a fresh black towel and just stared into the mirror. My green eyes stared back at me. I took a moment to observe myself. I hadn't in months. My face looked a little sunken in, probably from the constant lack of food and sleep. My hair was long and had split ends. Who was this broken girl? I felt disgusted with myself. I started at the soft waves in my brown hair and wished they were as beautiful as the ones I had seen in my stolen magazines. After a few moments, I looked away.

Once I was dried off I reached into my backpack and grabbed a clean pair of clothes and my broken hairbrush. I brushed the knots from my hair and threw it into my bag. I threw on an old tank top and a pair of jogging pants I had grabbed for three dollars at the local thrift store.

I was ready for bed, but then I remembered he never gave me a room. I didn't like any of them except for his. Why did one man need this many rooms if he wasn't running a business or a hotel? That question plagued my mind as I opened the bathroom door only to find a man standing there staring down at me.

The smell of fresh pine surrounded him. He was quite tall, he practically towered over my 5'3 self. He was wearing a black dress shirt and slacks with black dress shoes. He had black hair and pale skin with dark burgundy eyes, not red but like an actual burgundy, you would see in magazines.

"You can stay in room 45," his voice was deep but smooth. I realized it was the man from room 1. He was attractive but slightly terrifying.

"Thank you" I tried to back away from him, but I only put myself back into the bathroom which wasn't the safest thing to do.

"Hungry?" his burgundy eyes continued to stare down at me, I couldn't tell if his eyes were filled with hatred or wanting. I knew I was not willing to give anything away to him. I nodded, "I'll order you something, what do you want?" He seemed impatient.

"Pizza is fine" I paused. He raised his eyebrows at me. "I like bacon, ham, and mushroom on my pizza, but we can have what you want" I stuttered. I knew pizza was quick and easy to order and didn't require much prep or clean up.

"Sounds fine," he stomped away and down the stairs. I wanted to sigh in relief, he made butterflies in my stomach appear.

I grabbed my backpack off the floor and made my way to room number 45. It was the first room I entered and didn't like. Suck it up, you have a free bed to sleep in. I entered the room again. It's just a room to stay in for one night, one night.

I opened the door to reveal the room again, this time it wasn't as terrifying. I entered it and searched for the light switch, there was none. I set my bag down before I searched around for a place to get light, the only thing I saw was the fireplace and a window that was covered by a thick black curtain which was so heavy I couldn't move it.

On top of the ledge of the fireplace was a box of matches that looked like they hadn't been used in 20 years. I grabbed them and kneeled in front of the fireplace, I pulled out one of the little matches. I tried to strike the match on the side of the box, it only took a couple of times before it lit up and I could throw it in the little pile of wood that had been left there from years previous. It didn't take long for the fire to catch and spread. The room warmed up and I had a little light to see around me. The room looked nicer in the light, the walls were a dark grey with white trim. The bed looked comfortable, but a little dusty and the bedside table was made of a chocolate brown wood with a glossy finish it was covered in a layer of dust just like everything else.

I grabbed my bag and set it on the end of the bed, I sat beside my bag and watched the flames kiss and lick the wood. It was like watching two teenagers in a park who had fallen in love for the first time. I sat there until the man came upstairs. He didn't come into the room, he just sat in the doorway and stared at me.

"Pizza" he huffed before he turned on his heel and walked away.

"Thanks" I scooted off the bed and followed him downstairs, more candles had been lit so I could see everything.

The dining room was down the hall I had seen earlier, it was the first room you walked into went you went down it. The room was quite large, there was a long table made of black wood where you could probably seat 20 people. Lit candles lined the table and two plates were placed on the table along with a box of pizza and two soft drinks. The walls were covered in long black curtains like most of the rooms in the castle I had seen. Across the room were a few doors I had no idea where they led to.

The man sat at the end of the table and grabbed a slice of pizza and a drink. He didn't look at me much until we started eating. It seemed like every bite I took, his burgundy eyes shot to me, every sip of pop I had, he looked, and the two times I grabbed another slice, he looked. It was rather unsettling. We didn't speak until the pizza was gone.

"When was the last time you ate?" he crossed his arms and leaned back into the chair.

I shrugged, "I think it was like yesterday morning or the night before." His eyes widened for a split second before he went back to having a straight face.

"Wow" he mumbled, he took an elastic off his wrist and started to tie his shoulder-length hair into a short loose ponytail... I didn't say anything I just stood up and started to clear the table. I balanced the two plates in one hand and the empty pizza box and two cans in my other hand.

"Where is the kitchen?" I pushed the chair in with my hip. He stood up, pushed in his chair and lead me to the kitchen, which was across the room through one of the doorways.

The kitchen was massive, it had a massive fridge and stove, above the stove were three giant cupboards and beside the fridge was more cupboards. A light above us filled the room, it wasn't the best light, but it was enough that you could see clearly. There were two giant sinks that I could have fit in, there was no dishwasher and no windows. By the fridge, there was a giant trash can.

I threw the pizza boxes and the cans in the trash before I shuffled to the sink and filled it with two inches of water. I dropped in some dish soap and used a cloth I found by the sink to wash the two plates, I rinsed them and placed them on the counter.

I turned to look at the man, he seemed to know what I wanted because he pointed to a drawer under the sink. I opened it and found a dishtowel. I dried them and set them back on the counter. I emptied the sink, dried it. I grabbed the two plates and looked at the man, he pointed to a cupboard by the fridge. I opened it and saw them, there were so many plates! He was only one man how many fucking plates did he need? I shoved the two plates on the closest stack I could reach and slammed the cupboard door closed.

"Ready for bed?" he asked. I nodded, he started to walk away so I followed him upstairs to the room he chose for me to stay in.

We were halfway up the stairs to my room when I decided to finally break the silence. "What is your name by the way?" he paused halfway up a step, his hand tightened their grip on the railing for a split second.

"Lazarus" he huffed before he continued his way up the stairs.

Authors note:

Thank you so much for reading my novel. Please don't forget to vote and comment down below what you think! I would love to hear your thoughts!