The Stranger In My Bed

Changes

Maybe it was the fact that I had become so used to sleeping next to him or the fact that I went to bed early last night. Either way, I woke up very early the next morning. The sun had risen just enough to give some faint light to my room. I thought about sleeping a few more hours, but I knew I'd never get my body back to sleep.

I sighed and threw off the blankets. I shivered slightly in the cool morning air. The room was silent, empty. Despite this room being smaller than Mr. Weston's it somehow felt twice as big. The walk to the dresser seemed to take an eternity.

I thought I heard a faint ringing in the distance. A phone? Not possible. The only phone in the mansion was the emergency phone, and it only made calls, it didn't receive them. I only heard it a few seconds before it vanished. I listened carefully but I never heard it again. Maybe it had been a bird, or my ears were ringing.

I shook my head and turned back to the dresser. I couldn't let myself get distracted by silly things like strange sounds. I knew it was early, but I had no idea what time. I also had no way of knowing what time Mr. Weston had finally gone to bed. It would be better to get ready sooner rather than later.

My day with Henry had been simple. It was kind of nice to not be harassed by a persona for once. Wine and good food. It was an easy day, so why did I feel so empty thinking about it? I sighed again and stripped off my clothes. I was so tired I hadn't even bothered to change last night.

Once again, the big, empty room made me feel exposed. I hugged my body to keep off the chill. I thought I heard another sound as I dug through the dresser, but I ignored it. I couldn't be distracted by every little sound this old mansion made in the morning. Then I felt a hand brush against my waist.

I tried to cry out but a hand quickly covered my mouth. I heard a voice next to my ear, shushing me.

"Quiet, quiet. It's just me," I heard Mr. Weston's voice whisper. "We don't want to wake Thomas, do we?"

As I turned my head to look he released my mouth. He smiled at me and stroked my cheek with his thumb. The way he treated me was warm, familiar, intimate. That meant he was someone I'd met. Why else would one of his personalities come to my room?

"Why are you alone in this room? My bed was cold and empty when I woke up. Isn't it your job to keep me comfortable?" He said teasingly.

"I-I don't have this kind of relationship with Henry," I mumbled. Obviously, this was one of the personas I was intimate with. It wouldn't hurt to tell him the truth. "Thomas and I thought it was best to have me stay here on days unfamiliar personas appeared to avoid complications."

"Henry? Well, that explains the alarm clock," he said shaking his head.

"Alarm clock?" So I did hear a ringing earlier.

"Henry gets very offended if we 'order out' for breakfast," he said with a chuckle. "I don't remember when it first started, but a while ago he started setting an alarm for about six in the morning. That way he could be awake and start cooking before anyone had the chance to. He's never actually been able to use the alarm though, so really all it does is wake me up. "

"Sorry about that, sir. Should I get rid of it?" I asked.

His smile grew bigger and he had a mischievous look in his eyes. His hand slid down my face and brushed the hair away from my neck. He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on the curve of it.

"Everything we've done and you still insist on calling me 'sir'?" He chuckled softly. His other hand began to slide down my waist slowly. "Are we still keeping things professional, Ms. Walton?"

The sarcasm in his voice sounded familiar. The phrase he used, "keeping things professional." I gasped out loud and pulled away to look at him.

"Victor?!" I asked, shocked.