Take Me Away | Richard Madden [Completed; Editing]

Chapter 30 - It's My Pleasure

Mia didn't know what the deal was with Richard's room, but she hated it. The beige walls were tainted with patches of leftover wallpaper that had been taken out decades prior, the carpet was still stained with careless adolescent misses and spills, and the clutter on the wooden desk that Richard had maintained during his youth still appeared to be whole.

Perhaps it was the smell. Mia couldn't remember what the air had contained during her childhood, but she could vividly recall when her nose itched irritatedly as a teenager.

Richard would spray on anything he could find from his father's cabinets, and Mia found it distasteful: a young man that age drowning himself in a layer of musk. Even as she stood in front of his closet as an adult, Mia could still catch a whiff of it. But the four-cornered space smelled like boxes now. Cardboard containers were stacked near the only window next to the bed, and even more were found under the desk. Mia wasn't sure what they housed exactly, but she guessed it to be a mixture of old knickknacks and heirlooms that were too plentiful to display downstairs.

Resting her hand on the cold, bronze doorknob to the closet, Mia took in a deep breath. She knew it was wrong to go through Richard's possessions without his permission, but she was curious, and inconceivably bored. Besides, she thought, most of the items were likely outdated and had been purchased when Mia was still around to see them as new, so in her perspective, there were no more surprises left to startle her.

She tugged on the door went it wouldn't budge the first try. With a few more turns, the rusty old handle managed to detach itself from the latch, and Mia covered her nose as a dust cloud sprinkled overhead.

The closet was practically empty. Less than a dozen plastic hangers hung on the rack, and the lightbulb above had burned out. The only thing left was a shoebox on the upmost shelf. Mia recognized it from the last time she had visited.

Pictures and pictures; she knew it was full with piles of pictures. She carefully got onto the tips of her toes and reached for it, slipping a few fingers under the cover to pull it down. Her hip jerked downward as her knee flew up to support the gravity, almost like catching a basketball that had fallen from the sky. She smiled at how it almost overflowed, and how the first image on top was one of Richard in his diapers, crying at the flash that reflected in his eyes.

Mia picked it up and turned it over, but there was nothing written on the back. Looking at the next photo, she giggled, realizing that it was her and Richard as children, running around in the backyard and playing with a hose. She wished life were still that simple.

"I have yet to sort those out and place them in an album."

Mia nearly jumped at the voice that echoed through the bedroom door. She instantly placed the photos back inside, returning the box to where it belonged. Her embarrassed smile greeted Pat, who had carried in a tray of food.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to, I was just—" Mia stammered as she closed the closet behind her. She leaned against it, her hands at the crook of her lower back. "I couldn't help it."

"Nonsense. Do whatever you want. This has always been your home as well," Pat said, placing the tray on the nightstand beside the headboard of the bed. "You missed dinner. Now, don't even think about leaving this room without clearing that plate."

Mia inhaled the welcoming aroma of roast beef that had been calling her since she heard Pat cooking in the kitchen. Her stomach ached, but it was bearable, and dinner wasn't the only thing she had missed that evening.

"Was that Richard I heard earlier?" she asked.

Pat sat at the foot of the bed and patted the space to her right. She crossed her legs, waiting for Mia to join her. "Yes, dear. He appeared to be in quite the rush."