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I guess the only good thing that came out of this night was the fact that he and Amy seemed to get closer.
Maybe this’ll allow her to open herself up more to the idea of letting him in.
I peel off my clothes, throwing on an oversized shirt from high school and some shorts before climbing under the comfortable blue comforter.
I text Amy good night and tell her that I got really tired and just wanted to call it a night alone.
She sends back a smile and a thumbs up and I roll over, not instantly falling asleep because my mind keeps drifting to the room across the hall.
Chapter 11
Canon
Today is one of those rare days where I don’t have shit to do.
It’s a Friday and I’m not scheduled to work, nor do I have a drop to do with Ian. The light from the sun peeks through the dark gray curtains, casting a warm glow throughout this lifeless room they have me sleeping in. I look around and take in the dark brown oak of the bedpost and nightstand that matches perfectly with the dark oak of the bookshelves across the room.
The shelves are filled with less books and more trinkets than anything, making me feel like I’m looking at a display in Ikea. Besides these, there’s nothing else really in the room that’ll give me more of an idea of the family that I'm staying with.
Everyone is gone for the day judging by the silence in the house, so I hop out of the bed and decide to start looking around. It’s important for me to know everything about my surroundings anyway, just in case something were to happen.
I open my door and notice all the bedroom doors along the hall are closed as I stride down the hall towards the stairs. As I walk down the stairs, I take in the pictures along the wall that follow you as you descend.
There’re singular portraits of Amy and Connor that look like they were taken for senior pictures. While in Amy’s she’s giving off a bright smile, Connor gives a smug smirk that tells you he’s over it all.
Next to these are a couple family pictures that look like they were taken on vacation. Kane has a young-looking Connor on his shoulders while Amy hangs onto his leg laughing. Melinda crosses her arms but smiles affectionately at her family. They look far from the family I see eating dinner together every night.
When I get to the bottom of the stairs, I know my first destination is Kane’s office. I take a right and walk up to the all-black Frenchdoors that separate the office from the rest of the house. After taking a second to make sure there’s no noise in the house, I push open the doors and walk in.
To my right, there’s a wall with large windows and a black credenza underneath, decorated with more family pictures. In the middle of the room, a large black desk with what looks like black glass houses a huge desktop computer with files splayed everywhere. The wall behind the desk is covered from floor to ceiling with black China cabinets showcasing different awards and decorative pieces. A black executive looking office chair sits behind the desk with a matching chair on the other side. A dark gray loveseat sits on the left wall underneath a large abstract painting.
I walk deeper into the room and behind the desk, looking at the papers spewed all along the surface. Nothing but what looks like building plans and random business stuff. I move the mouse a little to make the computer display come to life, not bothering to guess the password, nor even caring because the screensaver has locked me into place.
There’s a collage of pictures with Amy and Connor, but that’s not what has me frozen. It’s the pictures of me sprinkled in. They’re clearly off guards that were taken of me, but to see them mixed in with his other kids' pictures has me feeling some type of way.
“Mr. Peterson would be pissed if he saw you in here.” The voice startles me, but I don’t let that show.
I look up to find Goldilocks leaning against the doorjamb with her arms crossed. Eerily similar to how I was in her door the day she came to stay for the summer.
“I thought you’d be out with Amy, charging up one of her many black cards,” I scoff, opening a random drawer behind his desk.
“That’s not my thing,” she says, straightening up and placing her hands in her pockets, “besides, Amy doesn’t even have one of those. Kane believes in ‘financial literacy’.” That makes her chuckle for some reason.
I keep looking around while she watches silently. I’m not going to let her interruption steer me from my current goal.
“Are you looking for anything…” she starts, waving her hand around, “specific?”
“No,” I say simply, but then get an idea. “How well do you know this house?”
“Well, considering that I used to be here religiously as a kid, I'd say like the back of my hand.”
“Good, you’re giving me a tour then.” I say, not asking.
“Surprised Mr. Peterson didn’t show you around,” her eyebrows raise, accentuating her dark brown irises.
“Kane has apparently been busy with a new building development. I don’t have time to wait around for anyone.”
She just nods in understanding.
