The Code To A Don's Heart

t h i r t y

"Come," I said after a while of silence. "I'll show you to a room."

Viktor hesitantly turned from the pictures and followed me up the stairs to my old room. I opened the door and flicked on the light switch. My walls were grey and baby pink, a large stripped pattern my mum had loved putting in. I had book and movie posters from Marvel to Jane Austen everywhere.

There was a large wardrobe and some cabinets where I'm sure a few of my old clothes still rested. There was a bed in the middle and a window after it. The bed was bare, nothing but the mattress that was part of its foundation but I'm sure I could find some sheets. Viktor entered and looked around, paying a lot of attention to my Pride and Prejudice poster, hearts lining around Mr. Darcy.

"I was 12," I tried to defend. I hadn't been here in forever. I even almost forgot about this.

"That's no excuse," Viktor teased making me roll my eyes. "I didn't peg you for the fluffy romance type."

"You don't know me," I pointed out, trying to make it come out as a joke but the fact hit home somewhere in my heart. "The girl who slept in this room all those years ago changed."

"But she's not completely gone is she?" he asked and I shrugged. He would believe what he wanted but I was convinced I'd killed that Peach long ago.

I stepped into the room and went straight for where I used to keep my sheets. I saw a few Disney princess ones and picked them out, along with a dark purple duvet that went with the theme. I turned and placed all the cloth in Viktor's hands.

"I trust you know how to lay a bed," I stated with a brow raised. "I'll go find us some pillows and the bathroom's just across the hall. Try not to wonder."

"Aye aye captain," He sighed and placed the sheets down on the bed. "I'll set base."

"Good. Then I'll see if there's anything to eat around the house for lunch."

Thanks to the weather, the sun was not out, a fact that I didn't like. Snow made everything out my window look white, bland and pure. It would be months before the sun properly shone down again and I prayed for this winter to pass quickly.

I walked out of the room and passed by brother's, trying to ignore the last time I stood in the threshold of that door. I went to my parent's room instead. It's where all the extra stuff was kept since they had a walk in closet but I hadn't entered their room since mum died. That was almost eight years ago. My brother and I tended to avoid going this far. My guess was that it was only Mrs. C who reached here.

I was scared to enter the room and see how bare it was. I remembered my dad cleaning out all my mother's things when she died, selling them all like it meant nothing to him. That was the day I'd realised my mother was utterly and truly gone from this world. I would never hear her sing or play the guitar again. I would never hug her again. So I hesitated at the door, looking down at the knob. I had to go in.

Pressing my cool fingers on the cold brass, I turned it down. The room wasn't locked to my dismay and the door swung open easily but it did creak. I let it be as wide as possible, just looking inside.

Bare couldn't even describe the state of this place.

It was naked, stripped of everything. No bed, no dresser, no colour on the walls. Just white and the cold dark floor. Tears rose to my eyes at the emptiness of it all and I wondered where everything had gone. My dad must have sold it to get money. I don't know how he could've had the strength to do this. I walked into the room and my steps echoed. The bathroom door was open and it was as naked as this room was.

I directed my gaze to the walk-in closet and reached for the handle. I quickly pulled the door open, readying my heart to find it empty but... it wasn't.