Good Intentions

8

It must be a fancy club, Leo thought.

After dinner, Nick ushered him back up stairs and showed him to a different room, which he guessed was his new room. Everything had already been prepared for his arrival. The comforter was a basic black shade which matched the drapes and the carpet. There was a desk next to one side of the bed, which included a mini bookshelf and a few laptop. In front of the bed was a stack of new clothes and a towel on top of a velvet love seat. The walls were white but Nick had informed him that he could have it painted if he so desired. His new room was larger than his micro-apartment. It felt nice to be in such a luxurious space, even if he didn't want to be there in the first place.

"There's a connected bathroom just to the right. I don't know what kind of shampoo you use, so I just bought a random selection of them. Oh, and soap too. We'll be leaving in an hour and a half, okay?" Nick explained.

"Okay," Leo said as his eyes continued to scan the entire room. If he was going to be staying in a room like this, he wouldn't mind the fact that he had been kidnapped.

Nick left shortly after. Leo took advantage of this and proceeded to run up to the king-sized bed and flopped onto his stomachs. The throw pillows bounced about and crowned his head. He took a deep exhale. It smelled of eucalyptus and lavender. Rich people detergent, he thought.

"Master Kotori, your bath is ready," a voice he didn't recognize called from the bathroom. He flopped onto his back and sat up in a panic.

A lady who appeared to be around the same age as him revealed herself from behind the half-closed bathroom door. She wore a standard-looking maid's outfit, which was down to her ankles and long-sleeve with lace and ruffles. Her auburn hair was tied in an uncomfortably tight bun and although her looks seemed traditional, her face was pleasant and inviting.

"Oh, I apologize. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sure Master Pines forgot to inform you that I will be assisting you from this moment on," she told him with a smile. "I'm Adeline Rose, but you can just call me Adeline." Her accent was French, and was a lot heavier than Nick's.

"I'm Leo," he said as he extended a hand to shake hers. "You really don't have to help me. I know how to shower and clothe myself."

"I know, but Master Nick wishes for you not to be left unsupervised after what happened. The window in the bathroom is too small to escape out of, so I can stay here in the room as you bathe if you wish. Master Nick means well. He's just worried."

"Or so it seems."

She frowned slightly at this. "I know you two haven't known one another for too long, but I can reassure you that he's really does care, and even because of the bond. He's expressed gratitude that you've given him at least one chance."

She didn't let him answer back before she said, "come along now."

With his shoulders slouched, he followed her into the bathroom where the scent of sandalwood and roses hit him in the face like a brick. It was strong, but it wasn't overwhelming nor did it sting his nostrils. In the middle of the unnecessarily large bathroom was a marble-pattered tub, which was filled to the brim with bubbles.

"The master told me that you were feeling sore, so I poured some Epsom salts and dried flowers. It's good for your skin and your muscles. I don't want you tripping around so I just placed your shampoo and soap next to the tub. I'll be right outside if you need anything. Please don't hesitate to let me know if something's wrong."

With that, she quietly exited the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Leo spun around to look around him more. He thought it was pathetic how this entire bathroom was bigger than his kitchen and bedroom combined back at in his apartment. In some way, he deeply envied Nick. Their ages weren't too far apart, but Nick seemed that he was getting by very well while Leo struggled to buy himself breakfast the majority of the time. The only logical solution would be to change jobs, but Leo couldn't bring himself to do that. Hacking was a passion of his and couldn't imagine ever letting go of it. He didn't deny that it didn't make him as money as he hoped to make, but he would rather die then work a boring but high-paying job. The reason why he didn't get much money despite his heavy workload was because he primarily hacked for his own personal pleasure. Many people kept possession of their own little secret, and he liked tracking down horrible people and reporting them to the police. Whenever anyone asked what he did for a living, he often replied he worked with the police.