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Her sweet voice carried into my hurting soul, encompassed by my past. She broke the restricting flow of my driving anxiety, settling me enough to close my eyes and regroup. Clearing my throat, I appreciated Tony fielding the others downstairs. "I'm giving you a space to escape to, but it was also my mother's favorite room."
"Oh, you don't have to do that, Draven. We can leave your mother's room. I'll be fine in the quarters you've given me."
"This isn't a bedroom, Sunshine." Finally braving my fears of seeing the gorgeous structure, I opened the doors and revealed the massive room filled with books of all varieties. If I ever wanted something from here to read, I had a servant come to get it. For the first time in years, I stepped foot in the room my mother lived in. This place held every shadow of her former form, drifting between the high shelves, dancing along the rolling ladder to gain access to the higher places, tucked into the alcoves where she hid between the pages.
Millie sucked in a hard breath, losing her words at the sheer beauty of it all. The dark cabinetry held all the classics and many romance novels my mother enjoyed when my father remained the piece of shit he'd always been as the man of the house. He never loved her the way she deserved, and it sometimes made me worry about how I might love as well. If it hadn't been for my mother, I wouldn't have learned what unconditional love was. Instead, I'd remain forever in his toxic grasp, learning to be cruel without any affection.
"She loved this room, and I learned my love for reading because I saw her treat every piece of literary work like it was the most fragile and important piece of our history." Crossing my arms, I lost sight of the woman beside me because my mind kept seeing my mother in different spots. I used to dash in here as a child to find her, running into her waiting arms as she'd squeeze the life out of me. With my hands tucked into my arm pits, the one over my heart slid out to rub over the aching organ.
"Reading will always be the most important thing our society is losing," she whispered beside me. That's when I felt her hold clasp tighter around my bicep as her head leaned into it. "Thank you for sharing this room with me."
"She would've loved to see you in here," I choked.
"I bet she loves seeing you in here again even more." Without me needing to say it, Millie got it. She understood me and all the problems I'd been facing. No more words needed to be added for this moment to mean everything I desired of it. The right woman would understand, and she did.
thirty-seven
Costas
Losing myself into another bottle, I had the night off before Draven and Tony planned to leave in a few days for the weekend to handle their business with what happened to his sister. Whiskers kept strutting over my papers on the table in the foyer, having me stroke his back. His tail end kept flicking upward with each pace he made to be rubbed firmer there. Purring, his sounds had become restful for me, and this compound had become his. Everyone knew the pet belonged to Millie, and they learned to love the social little guy.
Just as I took a deep swig of my bourbon, I heard the faintest sound of piano music drifting my way from the upper level. Turning my head in the direction of the sound, it couldn’t possibly be what I thought. She hadn’t been in that room in what felt like a century. Being right below in the common square, I let my eyes follow the sound, seeing the library door cracked. Whiskers made a meow of disapproval, but I had to stop petting him to focus.
I hadn't been the only one to hear the keys being played again as I noticed a certain young lady open her neighboring door to the sound. My mind had thought it’d been her in there, but now I knew our new guest played the piano too. For the first time in months, I saw Sofia leave her room. Her dark hair sat askew in a frizzy braid she hadn't redone in too many days, walking around in her nightdress.
Going stiff, I didn't want her to see me watching her movements. She crept toward the cracked door, remembering how many times her mother taught her piano lessons in the same room. The music room had two access points, one being in the library Millie had hidden in for a few days after Draven showed her, and the other was where the lady of the manor stood. Millie must've found the room while venturing around the stacks.
Sitting back, I hid below the shadow of the balcony above my head, seeing her observing the new woman in her home. Typically, I left well enough alone, but this felt rather important, so when Sofia slipped inside the room, I moved toward the office where Draven would be. My feet stayed light, carrying me to hide below the hum of the keys playing in a quiet symphony.
Allowing a few light raps to warn them, I placed my finger over my lips the second I entered for them to know to be quiet. Pointing upward, both men paused, holding their opposite ends of the desk as they balanced their faces over the middle to read over the same document. Draven's face puzzled because Sofia played better than what we were hearing right now. He wondered who might be possessing his family's grand piano.
"Millie," I whispered before making sure the music kept playing. Their eyes widened that she could play. She wasn't Beethoven, but she could carry the song to the finish. "Sofia just left her room and entered. I don't think Millie knows she's there yet, but I figured you should know your sister has left her quarters."
Draven instantly rushed to get by me, wanting to see his sister for himself. I stopped him from passing, knowing he'd need to trust the process in motion more than his desire to fix his sister in one second. "I think we should observe only. Millie might have more power than any of us."
"He's right," Tony whispered. "But we can go witness their interaction to make sure."
"I'll agree to that unless I feel Sofia needs me," Draven said, adding his own conditions to this method. He'd never been patient, but Sofia needed all the grace patience could afford. Millie would be her best bet, and the woman also dealt with women and kids like her every day. As much as it sucked to not be the one to fix it, we had someone intelligent enough to handle it.
The three of us made our way to the stairs, hurrying in silence because the end of the song neared. We needed to be up there the moment the women engaged. Our heavy legs were more muscle and athletic, helping us race faster from the shape we kept in. Once we were poised outside the door, Draven took the main gap as Tony and I settled for the crevice against the hinges. Draven needed the better view. We just needed to hear the interaction.
When Millie gasped after finishing, we knew she spotted Sofia. For the first time in months, I heard the soft, angelic tone of her voice. Sofia has always been like a little sister to me, so her hurt bled into all of us. We loved Draven killing Alexander, but we hated his haste that got him caught. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spook you."
"Oh, it's quite alright, but I don't think we've met. I'm Millie." Millie played it cool. Her ease into this felt all too natural, and I knew part of it was. She'd been an accepted caretaker, and she honed her skills by practicing.
"Sofia," she whispered back. Even though I couldn't see her, my mind knew she'd be shying into herself.
"Draven's sister, right?" Millie's voice never changed, keeping the same level of respect and curiosity, leaving out the pity most couldn’t hide in their voices.
A humming sound of agreement left her lips before a moment of silence fell. "Sorry for my intrusion. I'm just the only one who ever plays. Hearing you caught me by surprise."
"You play?" Millie asked before adding more. "I'm not very good, but I took enough lessons to remember a few songs."
"Oh, I thought you were wonderful." Glancing over at Draven, I knew my friend would be struggling with seeing this interaction. It would please him in the same sense, but I couldn't imagine how hard this grew to be for him.
"You're just being kind," Millie snorted. Playing a few notes, she made a simple melody. "Music just helps calm my nervous, so when I found this piano, I knew I needed to play it."
"I usually use it for the same thing," Sofia murmured.
