Weighted Silence (Complete)

Chapter 3: Dion

3Dion

My eyes passed over Jefferson Monroe's drawing office with a combined feeling of anxiety and disdain. It had been a good many years since I'd set foot in this house and had no intention of ever returning. Then here came Monroe's estranged daughter... of all people, and Mrs. May's not-so-subtle insistence that I bring her up here... and by doing so, put my demons to rest.

Little did she know that my demons were doing just fine living in the closet unattended. I didn't bother them, and most days, they didn't bother me. I had no reason to face them and put 'those dark days' as Mrs. May put it, in my past. Regardless of what it would do for her 'peace of mind' I didn't want to overcome my demons. I just wanted to forget them. And I'd been well on my way to doing so.

Until now.

I let out a long breath as I heard Saylor stomping up the stairs above my head and followed her footsteps through the ceiling until she paused. I didn't want her up there. I didn't want her in this house at all. I didn't want either of us to be here, but I inhaled deeply, picked up the flashlight, and left the room, exhaling as I followed her up the stairs. She was standing before the first door on the left, grunting as she fussed with the key in the lock. Pursing my lips, I stepped in beside her, slid the key to the left, then banged my fist against the knob. The door swung inward on silent hinges as Saylor narrowed her brows on me.

"You do know that sooner or later I'm gonna drag it out of you, right?" She warned. "I want to know why you know this place as though you lived here." She paused before turning to me. "Have you lived here?"

Closing my eyes, I shook my head, then reached into the doorway to shine the flashlight inside, illuminating the small bathroom. Saylor's eyes passed over it, then to me as I took the key from the door and started across the hall. She followed, watching as I unlocked the door, then as I pulled out my white board and wrote, "guest room."

She nodded as I pushed the door open and shone the flashlight around. The bedroom was nondescript. A full bed in the center with pastel blue sheets, white carpet, white walls, white dresser. No paintings, no decorations. Literally, just a place to sleep. Without a word, Saylor took the key from the lock and tried the next door. It opened to another guest room that was much the same as the first. The door at the end on the right was a laundry room.

Turning, she went to the middle door on the left wall, and my heart pounded out a whole orchestra in my chest as she unlocked it and pushed it open.

The room was done up in shades of pinks, greens, yellows, and blues. Like a spring day...

The bed against the back wall was white with pink lacy blankets and yellow pillows, an assortment of stuffed animals scattered among them. I hovered in the doorway on the verge of hyperventilating while Saylor went and threw open the curtains hiding the huge window above the bed, bathing the area in sunshine, then stood in the center of the room, doing a slow circle as she took it all in. A dresser was against the right wall beside the closet door, a desk opposite. A framed mirror hung above the desk, a cluster of pictures and sticky notes taped to the frame.

"Who's room is this?" Saylor asked, turning to me. "Did he have another daughter I don't know about?"

Barely breathing, I shook my head, then lifted my board. "Niece."

"Niece? My cousin? Was that why you were asking me about Misty?" I looked away, unable to answer and heard her growl out a breath as she turned away. "Your silence is a real hindrance on progressing a conversation, you know that?"