Page 23 of Day Break

I hadn’t realized until now how secluded the home was. I couldn’t see a road or any other homes from any of the windows.

To the right of the front door was a large office with a massive wood desk and cabinets. There were comfortable looking black leather sofas and chairs facing the desk. When I turned to leave the room, I saw the walls of bookcases and held in a gasp.

I ran my fingers over the spines and silently dreamed of reading them. Later, I thought. The possibility of showering and putting on some new clothes had me turning away from the shelves.

I climbed the circular staircase, trailing my hand on the smooth wood banister. At the top, I stood on the highest stair and frowned down at the bright white carpet. Then I looked at my worn sneakers, which were caked with mud and grass stains.

I toed them off and realized my socks were no better. I leaned on the railing to steady myself and pulled them off as well. At least my bare feet were cleaner.

Leaving my shoes on the top stair, I turned to the left and made my way down the hallway, opening each door as I went. The first one was to a large bathroom filled with light colors and bright colorful paintings. The second was to a smaller bedroom that was obviously a guest room and had an empty closet.

The next room had a large dog bed at the side of the king-sized bed and clearly belonged to George and Byron.

Not wanting to disturb his personal space, I shut the door and turned back towards the stairs.

On the other side of the balcony, to the right of the staircase, sat three more doors. As with the other side, the first door was a bathroom that matched the other almost perfectly. The next two doors were bedrooms. The first was a very male looking space. It looked much like the guest room except this one had several personal items. The closet had male clothes in it, none of which would fit me.

The last bedroom, however, had soft pink walls, a cream-colored bedspread with pink pillows, and several other feminine touches around the space. I made my way to the closet and was happy to discover a closet full of women’s clothing.

Instantly, I noticed that it was all an older style, as if it had been sitting in the closet for the past ten years.

Since he’d asked me to stay in the rooms off the garage, I figured I could bring the clothes out there and see what fit. I found a gym bag on the floor of the closet to use.

I took several pairs of jeans, a couple shirts, and a sweatshirt and sweater that I believed would work. I didn’t dare hope to find any underwear or a new bra. Those items seemed too personal.

There were, however, several tank tops with sewn in bras, so I grabbed a few of them instead.

I also found a couple of pairs of shoes in my size—white tennis shoes and slip-on sandals—as well as clean socks that had been shoved in a box at the bottom of the closet.

After packing up what I thought would work, I turned and saw a framed picture sitting on the dresser. Setting the bag down, I picked up the white flowery frame and stared at the picture. The two people in it looked like brother and sister.

I could tell the photo was from years ago. The clothing and hairstyles were dated.

The girl, a muddy blonde, had braces and just a hint of womanhood peeking through her girlish charm.

My own youth had been far more controlled than this girl’s. Actually, I couldn’t remember ever being young.

I closed those thoughts out, pushing them away as I switched to assess the boy.

The brother was obviously older, maybe already sixteen, whereas the young girl was closer to thirteen or fourteen. I tried to block out the memories of what I’d been going through at the young girl’s age—changing from sister and daughter to wife, homemaker, servant, slave, prisoner.

In the picture, the boy had already grown into his manly charm. His arm was flung over his sister’s shoulder casually, a gold ring on his finger a symbol of his wealth. He had a smile and a look in his eyes that said trouble. His sex appeal was strong enough that anyone not related to him would have drooled and grown weak at the cocky smile.

I swallowed hard, wondering if I would have ever fallen for someone’s charms. I’d never been given that opportunity.

Setting the frame down, I turned and looked at the room once more.

Now it was obvious. This was her room. Something told me that she hadn’t made it much farther in life than that picture.

I looked at her face once more.

“Thank you for letting me borrow your clothes. If I can, I’ll return them to you soon,” I promised softly.

Then I picked up my bag and walked out.

CHAPTER FIVE

“What humbugs we are, who pretend to live for beauty, and never see the dawn!”