Royalties

Part 3: Panties

Emrys

My bed had been made and it looked like the room had been dusted while I was away. I opened the curtains to let the light in. it had been a really nice day, and would have made a nice and relaxing day off if I were back home. I hadn't even been able to soak in the sun because of everything. Now that I was alone in the comfort of my new room, I closed my eyes, sat on the bed, let the sun hit my face, and I cried. I just needed to let my emotions flow. The sooner they were out and dealt with, the sooner I could move on.

This was it. This was going to be my life now, for good or bad. I wasn't going home and I wasn't going to see my family. That was probably the most shocking and hard to deal with part. I had been so busy that I wouldn't even give my younger brother the time of day, and he is going through a teenage faze, so he hadn't been putting much effort in it either. Mom and Dad were always back and forth with travelling and work, so they had just a little time as I did. God, I was even thinking of quitting soon and finding a slower paced job so I could be there for Ethan when Mom and Dad were away. Now, that wasn't even an option.

Of course, this realization just made me cry harder. By the time I was done, I felt much better. Bottling all this up would have been bad for my mental health. I would have dwelled on it and it would have definitely gotten in the way of forming a life for myself here. I'd slowly be able to move on now.

I walked to my connecting bathroom (because I live in a fucking palace now so of course my room has one) and blew my nose into some toilet paper. It almost felt like I needed another shower, but I could wait until tomorrow. For now, I opened my window and watched the sun set. It was getting late in the evening and I was pretty sure dinner would be ready soon. So, with nothing better to do, I sat and waited in front of my open window.

As I expected, Rueben knocked on my door and we walked together to the dining room. Beck was already seated and waiting. He had a rather displeased look on his face when he saw me come in. I didn't pay it much mind because I knew it wouldn't be that easy for him to warm up to me like Rueben had. They were so different anyway that I'm sure a little bit of one on one time wouldn't automatically make him warm up to me either.

Dinner went pretty well. Beck didn't seem to want to contribute much to the conversation but it wasn't too awkward. I feel like I've really had to come out of my shell and play at being more extroverted than I am because Rueben is the only person, the only thing, that I really know. I don't have my family or friends to fall back to for comfort, just Rueben, and maybe Beck. What I'm trying to say is that I'm exhausted. Even when I had that hour or so to myself earlier, I wasn't able to completely relax because I was bawling my eyes out. So when I was making my way back to my room, alone, I was all sorts of out of whack. My legs felt heavy and I was tired as all hell. I was about ready to lay down on the floor and just sleep. It didn't help that I had gotten overly cocky, a classic Emrys Fowle move when overtired, and told Rueben I could make it back on my own. Like an idiot, I was lost in the hallways.

There was no point trying to remember how I had gotten from my room to the dining room because I couldn't figure out how I'd gotten from the dining room to where I was now. I was a lost cause at the moment. Since there was no point trying to figure my shit out right now, I went ahead and opened the door closest to me. I had been trying to find my way for the better part of an hour. Or maybe it had only been fifteen minutes. Time went by but I was too tired to pay attention so I had no idea how long I'd been lost. But, someone would probably find me in the room in the morning and they'd be able to help me find my room. That was the plan at least, until I heard a surprised, low gasp come from the room when I opened the door.

Beck stood staring at me in shock and disbelief in only his underwear. My eyes landed on his little black boxer briefs. Then I looked up and we stared at each other without emotion for a solid minute before Beck could regain himself.