Unfathomable Phantom (COMPLETE)

XXXVI. the confrontation

Chapter 36

Martha, her son, and her two grandsons went to their hometown which was like a three-day-journey from here since they will settle some papers there.

It was just Leo and I or so I thought. Leo went to the barracks for a while to talk to his colleagues but assured me that he'll be gone for a short while.

"Don't worry, you're perfectly safe here. Nobody knows about this place," said Leo as he began to work on the buttons of his military uniform.

I nod at him as my response. "There's food on the counter. Feel free to read more of my books upstairs. Promise, Clem. I'll be back right away," He added as soon as he finished buttoning. The whole time, I was just staring at him.

He looked at himself on the mirror, straightened his uniform, and said, "Well, I better get going,"

I rose from my seat, leaving the book lying on the bed. I stood right in front of me, a head taller than me. I looked up at him saying, "Stay away from trouble, Leo," and kissed him on the cheek.

With that, he left the room, followed by the sound of his footsteps and the last thing I heard was the main door closing.

And now, I am all alone in this house. With absolutely nothing to do aside from waiting for Leo's arrival.

Venturing the whole house all by myself did cross my mind but I decided not to since I am afraid of Victorian ghosts, okay? Leo told me that they rarely visit here. What if ghosts decided that this house is all free all to themselves and when I showed up here last night, they got angry.

I tried cooking but washed away the thought in fear that I'll just make something awful. I don't want to force Leo to eat my dish that tastes horrible.

And so, I just stayed in Leo's room, the one we slept in last night. Unfortunately, I failed to see the whole interior of his bedroom due to how dark it was last night but now, in broad daylight, I could see a touch of Leo.

There are hundreds of books on his shelves in the corner, his bedsheets, his walls are in the color of white. There's a window beside his bed.

When I opened his drawers, that's when I noticed that there were no clothes of his.

With that, my heart began to skip a beat in fear that Leo decided to leave me for good but then I realized that he, too, got his clothes last night from his parents' cabinet.

Well, perhaps when their house was burned down, all Leo's clothes were, obviously, burned as well and since Mister Douglas stole all their fortune aside from this property then Leo must've retrieved all his clothes from here.

Poor Leo, I could imagine the misery he went through when his parents died. Imagine, losing your parents, all that you have in one day.

I mean, where did he get his food knowing he has no money? Perhaps that was why he decided to just settle on being a soldier because there won't be any fees needed. Also, food and shelter are provided.

I let out a sigh and just decided to invest my time reading Leo's books which were all hidden in his drawers.

For hours, I've read. The whole time, I couldn't seem to focus since I kept waiting for the sound of the gate opening. I kept waiting for Leo.

Because of that, I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was already dark outside.

"Leo?" I called out, hoping he was here already but sadly, there was no reply.

What is taking Leo so long? I do understand that the journey to the barracks was far and that's why he decided to just ride a horse to get there fast but why is he taking so long.