Chapter Four
https://youtu.be/nH7bjV0Q_44
Of all the men I had come across, the one I was least comfortable being alone with was now walking at a rather rushed pace in front of me. Theo purposely moved just slow enough to not lose me completely, but fast enough that I found myself stumbling to keep up. It was still considerably better than being dragged across the floor.
I kept considering saying something, but I wasn't sure what it was I wanted to say. Should I apologize? It wasn't quite my fault for being here, but I didn't enjoy being troublesome to another being.
Theo abruptly stopped in front of a door, opening it swiftly before stepping in. I hesitated, which was enough to catch one of his cold stares that demanded me to not be annoying. I stepped into the room. My eyes scanned the room quickly, finding any reason not to look directly at Theo.
It was a bedroom. Or perhaps a massive one-room house with a bed against one wall. The ceiling was magnificently tall. The space alone was almost intimidating. Within the room, other than the bed, was a fireplace where a collection of rather comfortable sofas were gathered. In another area, there was a massive piano which would have looked untouched if it weren't for the music sheets with angry scribbles all over them. Beside the piano was a violin on a display stand. Closer to the bed was a stereo system setup and not much further away was a desk where multiple laptops sat opened on unknown programs. The rest of the room was adorned with tables which held random delicate objects atop, including vases and small statues.
"Before you get comfortable, I have a couple of rules," Theo said from behind me. I looked at him carefully. "First, don't touch anything. Second, don't speak to me unless I speak to you first. No complaining. No crying. Don't even breathe too loudly. Third, always do what I tell you to. If I tell you to cut open your gut with a knife, you'll do it. Understood?" I blinked at him blankly, but then nodded.
Theo narrowed his eyes. "You're so empty." He leaned towards me and I restrained myself from backing away. "You have no personality at all. And I'm supposed to name you?"
He stepped away, lifting his fingers to his chin in thought.
"Is 'Void' a name?" He asked, his question mostly directed towards himself. His eyes glanced from the distance to me, waiting for a response. I wasn't sure what type of response he expected, but after a moment he only made another noise of irritation before pushing me towards the fireplace. He shoved me none-too-lightly to one of the less desirable sofas where the leather cushions were stiff from underuse and planted me down firmly.
"Stay," Theo ordered sharply. He began to walk further into the room towards his computer systems without a second glance. I turned my head to follow his retreating form, opening my mouth momentarily before resigning myself to my continued silence.
I was hungry. I'd never eaten anything before, but I knew this pang within my stomach. I wasn't sure how to address this hunger with Theo or with anyone properly. Did I just announce it? What about a bathroom? No doubt one of the many doors within this room led to a magnificent one, but did I need to ask to use it?
The sofa was facing the opposite direction of Theo within the room. I felt like I had been placed in time-out, or perhaps just out of sight of him. I sighed quietly, tracing my hand over the cold fabric of the sofa. The one just a couple of feet away looked far more comfortable. There were pillows on it and it was closer to the fireplace. Though, if I was being honest to myself, the distance to the fireplace didn't matter because there was no fire lit within it. Something told me Theo didn't intend to bring me any warmth unlike what his family could if I'd only seek them out.
I wasn't going to attempt to anger Theo by switching sofas or asking for food, so I lowered myself onto my side, curling my legs close to my body until I was in fetal position. The leather felt like it was draining away what body warmth I had and the air was almost as chilly as the night outside. My teeth rattled in my head until finally I found myself drifting into a frozen, empty sleep.
I awoke in darkness. My skin felt pasty and the cold bit down to my bones. For a moment, I wondered what woke me. But then my eyes focused on a man standing over me. I nearly leaped across the room, jolting upright with a gasp.
Theo didn't even flinch. He only trained his eyes on me before finally stepping back and indicating to the coffee table centered between the sofa seats. A small bowl and a glass of water were resting on top of the table. He tilted his head towards me coolly.
"I'm assuming you have no preferences," Theo stated, his voice like throwing a brick into a dryer within my foggy mind. I only hesitated a moment, but my hunger was at the point of pain and it gave me the courage to approach the bowl. When I looked inside, I struggled to identify what exactly the food was. It looked like bird feed.
I gripped the spoon carefully, pushing around the small dry flakes. They looked utterly unappealing. But I didn't want to seem ungrateful. I lifted a spoon of the flakes to get a closer look and realized it was oatmeal. Only it hadn't been mixed with any type of liquid nor heated. It was just instant oatmeal mix. I glanced up to address Theo, but he was once again in his own area pretending I didn't exist. Instead, I reached for the glass of water and hesitated.
I knew what oatmeal was and I knew how to make it, but it was as though everything I knew was what I had been told about rather than anything I'd actually experienced myself. It felt strange to constantly attempt to do something I knew but had never done before. I shook the thought from my mind and poured the water into the oatmeal, stirred, and decided that was as good as it was going to get.
The rest of the night was uneventful, besides the moment when I could no longer resist the need for a bathroom. After a bit of uncomfortable shifting, Theo finally took notice and only said a few words: "Bathroom's that way."
The restroom was as intimidatingly magnificent as the rest of the place had been so far. Even without shoes, I could hear my footsteps echo as if the place was only meant for ghosts. The floor was made of marble and the walls of a nearly golden shade of granite. On one side were two sets of sinks alongside a massive mirror. On the other was a caved area of the wall where window that peered out to nothing rested, its only purpose the stained glass artwork that had been etched across it.
In the center of the bathroom marble steps led to a large bathtub that more likely represented a hot tub fit to hold 15 people. And beside this was transparent glass that squared away a luxurious shower.
Fearing irritating Theo by stalling, I quickly finished my business and moved to the sink to freshen up. It was here I looked upon my reflection for the first time since I came into existence, finally seeing for myself what it was that others could already see.
My hair was a bit messy from my experience in the forest; its strands shades of white blonde that when framing my pale skin made me appear nearly albino. My eyes were wide and round, staring at my reflection in the color of light blue, almost violet. I was petite, nearly starved. I touched my cheek, tracing my hands over my skin slowly, looking for evidence of a past I couldn't remember.
There were no markings that proved I had been out in the sun too long nor were there scars from acne when going through puberty. I searched for freckles, birth marks, or any sign of individuality. But I appeared like a colorless doll; lifeless and without a past. The only evidence of being touched at all were the puncture scars left on my shoulder from when Jax had sunk his fangs into me and even those were almost invisible. Remembering where I was, I quickly left the bathroom to go back to my spot in Theo's room.
After that point, the only places I was allowed to go was my designated couch and quick visits to the restroom. I hadn't the nerve to ask for anything more, being that Theo obviously wanted nothing to do with me. I wasn't quite sure what type of schedule was kept except that a majority of the waking hours seemed to be night. Once the daylight started to outline the thick blackout curtains of the windows, Theo retired to his own bed and I found myself curled up in my spot, hungry and freezing.
The next night was the same; oatmeal mix and a glass of water, a chilly room, an uncomfortable sofa, and only short visits allowed to the restroom. Theo often left the room to do God knows what, but still I feared trying to do something outside of his orders in case he would just know.
On one night, Theo came back with a small bag of clothes, most of which were much too large for me and some of which weren't even meant for women. I didn't complain at all. In fact, I quickly snatched the larger fabric up happily. He also had with him a smaller bag of accessories; oral hygiene supplies, razors, hairbrush, and such. When he demanded I use the shower, I felt as if I had landed in paradise.
Once the daylight outlined the curtains, I fell asleep a lot quicker feeling more warm and comfortable outside of anyone's touch than I had ever felt since I'd come here. When I awoke to the setting sun, it was because of a string of music notes that brought sudden life into the typically morbid room. I sat up quickly, startled by the music.
On the table was another setup of unappealing but necessary-to-survive food, but I paid no attention to it. I turned to find Theo tapping away at the keys of the piano, his fingers quick and graceful. He played out a curious tune, one of low depression with high notes of hope that fumbled suddenly in mid-stroke. Theo stopped momentarily, reaching for his music sheet to scribble out notes for new ones before continuing determinedly.
It was the first time I had heard music, but at the same time it wasn't. The notes sang in my soul like life itself, bringing about a different heat within me. It was as if until that moment I had only seen the world in black and white.
I hesitated, the slow tune giving me courage.
"Theo?"
Theo abruptly stopped mid-note as if he had completely forgotten I existed. He only paused a moment before starting up again, probably pretending I hadn't spoken at all. After all, it was against one of his rules. I took a deep breath.
"Theo? Can I move?" I asked politely.
He only continued playing his music without comment, tossing me a side glance just briefly. The glance was enough to make me nervous, but at the same time I felt something stir within me. At first I couldn't identify it, but as he continued playing without answering me, I could sense the growing irritation biting at me. It startled me; to be irritated at a vampire. What good would that do for me? But still, my irritation at being ignored, fed unappealing food, and left in the cold was surely building quite suddenly.
I abruptly stood from my spot on the dreadful sofa as though I had lifted myself from the depths of Hell, preparing for an epic battle of gory proportions. Theo, on the other hand, took no notice at my brave move. He only momentarily paused to correct another note on his music sheet before continuing.
When my action held no retribution, I felt suddenly unsure. I considered for a moment just sitting back down. But before I could back down I was already moving towards the music I was so suddenly intrigued by and consequently Theo.
I moved carefully across the floor, virtually ignored by Theo completely, until I was standing just behind him. I watched his fingers fly over the keys so confidently, striking music from this instrument as if it were a part of him, all while scanning over his work on his own sheet critically.
After a moment of watching him play, I moved forward and sat next to him on the piano bench. I wondered only momentarily if he'd snap at me or demand me to go away, but found that he instead was solely focused on his work and continued ignoring me. I stared at his dancing fingers, drawn by the magic of the music notes.
I could imagine my own fingers dancing in his place. I looked up at the music notes he had drawn on the sheets so meticulously and realized the longer I peered at them; the more I understood what they said.
Theo unexpectedly stood from the bench, moving swiftly across the room to his computer systems. The sudden silence was almost deafening. I hesitated, but then began to flip through his composer journal until I was at the beginning of the particular piece he had been working on. There were so many markings, scribbled out notes, and chaotic replacements that for a moment I only stared determinedly. And then I placed my fingertips atop the designated keys carefully.
I struck the first notes hesitantly, startled by the responding music I had caused. I immediately paused, looking at my hands curiously. I knew how to play this instrument, but I wasn't sure how I knew. It was like a memory, or some detailed instructions I had been told, but it wasn't a skill personally taught to me.
I looked back to Theo's notes and began again, slowly at first. My fingers felt weak and slower, less sure than Theo's had been. But the music came just as loudly, numbing my nerves and beginning to take away my discomforts. I only struggled through the first few staves before my confidence in my own movements struck at the notes Theo had created.
"Sit up straighter," Theo suddenly ordered, causing me to fumble with alarm. I immediately moved my hands away from the keys, but he quickly gripped my wrists and placed them back. "Slumping slows you down. Try again." I hesitated, glancing up at him uncertainly, but he didn't appear to be angry. If anything, he was intrigued, as if for once I had done something worthy of interest.
I started slow again, but under his eye I sat straighter with relaxed arms and proper foot and arm length positions. I had known the proper posture before but the slumping part was my own lack of confidence. This time, the notes came across with more ease.
At first, Theo only critiqued my playing, shifting my fingers himself occasionally and directing my posture whenever I began to slip. Then he began to interrupt my playing to change the notes on the pages once again, instructing me to start over with his improvements. After that, he took a seat next to the piano and prepared his violin before joining the hauntingly beautiful tune of the violin behind the piano's song.
This went on for a long time... too long, actually. After a while I was beginning to regret my decision to involve myself in this entire situation. I felt like some monkey that had learned a trick and now would be a slave to said trick until my death. If I had danced, I would've been instructed to twirl until my feet fell off.
"You need to put more heart into it," Theo interrupted once again, demanding the same thing but with different words. I pulled my aching hands away, casting him a sharp, disgruntled look. He paused, his eyes setting into what could have been something similar to amusement though I wasn't sure what could've amused him. "You just need to listen to some works by great composers such as Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt, Mozart... really there's too many to list. Come on, let's..."
Theo suddenly paused, tilting his head to the side in concentration. I watched him with confusion. Had he a sudden thought? Or was he having some sort of medical reaction to spending too many hours harassing me with his musical obsession.
"We have to go," Theo abruptly announced, turning to me, "Seb wants you to come with me. Looks like he doesn't trust you to be in the mansion alone."
"Where are we going?" I asked uncertainly, looking down at the oversized sweater and strangely bright pair of men's capris that ended up going down to my ankles. I had used the waist tie effectively to prevent it from falling completely, but I still looked insane.
Theo was already putting away his violin. He shrugged at my question.
"Errands," He stated simply, "Move it, Void."
I narrowed my eyes as he moved towards the door. I may not have a name, or otherwise remember having one, but it most definitely was and would not be Void.
---------------------------
Figured I'd try to get another part out before my seven hour flight to Seattle!
Music: Work Song by Hozier
Picture of Theo and Sebastian up top ^^ Thanks for reading!
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: ZingTruyen.Xyz