Nesta
Carefully, very carefully, i sneak to a group of rooms.
My heels click on the tile.
This mansion has serious gothic vibes. Black doors, grey walls, katana's on the walls...
There is a hint of Japanese, Italian and Russian culture everywhere.
in the end of the hallway, i can see a bookshelf filled with books from Fyodor Dostoevsky: some in Russian and some in English.
My favorite.
However, in this part of the manor, there aren't a lot of rooms; 3 to be precise
The room that has a tower. That's his. Jett once mentioned that her brother got the best room that had a tower.
I'm so glad sometimes that Jett has a broken TMI.
I payed great attention of the building when i was outside so, the tower was on the left of this wing of the manor
However, to my bad luck, in the left i have two rooms.
Both locked.
Thankfully, living with Cole teaches you a few tricks, not only how to not smell like cigarette in front of your mom.
Picking locks was something we loved doing when there was a treasure hunt in the city. Those were some of the moments i loved with Cole and....my cousin.
My heart clenches at the memory of my cousin,Rion.
I swallow, fighting my tears at the memories
Every time i see Emiliana, i remember Rion's face. And every time she sees herself in the mirror she remembers her older brother, making her miss him even more and put her in even more self destruction.
And who am i to judge her? Im the one who drowns in Vodka every time i think of that night.
The accident...
I wipe my tears with the back of my hand,swallowing the lump in my throat and regaining my composure.
Now it's not the time.
I take from my leather leg garter a safety pin and take a hair pin from my hair.
Suddey, i hear footsteps and voices.
"Make sure there's no people in the hallways David.Banks will kill us if another of the kids goes missing" i hear one of the guards say.
I need to choose which door. Quick!
I go to the right door, following my intuition and get on my knees near the door, now on eye level with the lock and insert the hair pin on the bottom of the lock hole,the bottom of the cylinder, to keep the stability. Next i open the safety pin and insert it near the hair pin and play with the pin tumblers, trying to get them out of my way and at the same time inserting the hair pin deeper in the cylinder
In total there are five pin tumblers but the third one is always the trickiest.
1 down..
2 down..
There's the third one and i grunt trying to get it out of my way. I sigh when i do.
3 down.
4 down..
"Hey Lev, i think i'm hearing noises in Madden's wing" The other guard says and panic grips me by the throat.
I pick the 5th pin tumbler faster than ever and gripping the hair pin for stability and the safety pin at the same time and twist the lock, the lock opening and grab the doorknob, getting inside the room faster than it's possible and shut the door, trying not to make any sounds.
I sigh in relief. THANK YOU GOD. My heart almost got out of my chest.
I am sweating and my fucking hair isn't helping either. I swear, if my mom wouldn't go through a mental breakdown if i cutted them, i would without blinking an eye. Too much fucking work.
My pantings calm down now as i hear the guards' voices getting more distant.
I take my phone from my leg garter, thankfully i had a smaller phone lying around and switch on the flashlight at its lowest level.
Now i become more aware of my surroundings.
A king sized bed.
Two grey nightstands.
A raven wall length photograph.
A lantern near it, on the wall
One wardrobe and a work table organized to the slightest detail and an origami black bird on top of the table.
Like the one he gave me.
And.. on top of the nightstand is a black butterfly knife.
My heels click on the parquet now as i approach the nightstand taking the butterfly knife and flipping it open with expert movement.
Where i learned it.. you guessed it. Cole Thatcher. If only he was so good at shutting up like he's at knowing everything illegal, would be better.
The blade is also black. It's beautiful.
I close it and place it back on the nightstand, and reach for his work table.
It is organized to the detail and has no personalization like pictures.
I feel like I'm missing something.
Suddenly my earring falls off, knocking on the ground, making more noice than necessary.
"Fuck" I grunt getting on the ground looking for my earring while holding the flashlight with my other hand.
Suddenly i hear a growl and my heart sinks to my feet.
Slowly, i lift my head and see a fucking Doberman taller than the table standing in front of me like I'm his next meal
I don't fear dogs, i even love them but in these situations when a dog this large is looking at you like that, you'd be ready to pee yourself too.
I stay still, not moving as approaches his nose to me sniffing.
I feel surprised as the dog licks my hand i squeal in surprise but then laugh quietly and pet his head "You're not gonna eat me, aren't you?"
I check his collar and flash the light "Sirius."
"You're a good boy aren't you Sirius?" i coo, scratching Sirius' throat gently and he licked my hand.
"Good boy." i say and get to my feet.
There's nothing here. I check every drawer in the room yet nothing. This can't be it.
There must be something more. Like a secret compartment or something.
This room is completely organized to the detail. Everything matches except this is the room that has access to the tower. And i see no entries here.
Unless...
I look at the window and see the side the tower is.
Next up go to the wall that is covered with a huge black and white, raven photograph.
Hell.It isn't a photo.Its a fucking painting . I wouldn't have noticed it if it wasn't for the signature "Madden Mori"
He actually made this painting?
It is ethereally beautiful. The details..the accuracy...everything about it is pure perfection. Yet what does this painting hide?
I grip the edges of the frame but it doesn't budge. Not even a little. Which leads me to think and know:This is the entry to the tower.
There must be a switch for it to open.
Then it clicks.
The lantern. I twist the lantern and the whole painting moves backwards, opening like a door.
Checkmate.
I push the door open and a set of spiral stairs appear.
Taking a hold of my dress, i get in and close the door but not fully, it might be even tricker to get out.
My heels click as i climb the stone stairs, while holding my phones flashlight.
Finally, i arrive in front of a door and my luck, it's open.
Gripping the doorknob, i open the door, as it creaks and reveals a room.
It's filled with drawings, a bookshelf, a king sized bed, cloud gray colored walls filled with bird drawings and some unfinished canvases, although only one of them has a white sheet covering it.
A TV in front of a black leather couch, right above his desk
And finally the desk. A laptop, shelfs organizing paperwork, sketchbooks, pencils, charcoal for sketching,rulers.
Right behind the bed there's a huge window covered my grey curtains.
The bookshelf is filled with the best works from literature, mostly from Fyodor Dostoevsky, Edgar Allen Poe, Franz Kafka..
"Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky tempts me to take it. That was a book that made me finally read literature with interest.
I drowned into that book and still haven't reached the surface.
I return my attention to the desk to search the drawers for a phone but a phone is right near the laptop.
I hurry to take it in my hand and when i do i recognize that it has the same phone case.
Is this dumb luck?
Hurrying, i dial my friend's number in my phone and ring her up.
She answers in a heartbeat "Did you find it?" i hear Mio's hurried voice as she sounds like she's running to her laptop.
"I fucking did. Now hurry." i say, my nerves eating me alive.
"Okay..You should have a notification received right now. You need to confirm it" But the notification doesn't arrive.
"There's no notification, Mio." i say worried.
"Huh?There must be one."
"I'm telling you the notification is not coming." i say worried and yelp as i hear a creak behind me.
I turn around quickly and flash my light, seeing Sirius.
Jesus Christ.
I can feel my hair standing at his ends.
"Jesus Christ buddy, you scared me to death." i say sighing.
"He doesn't really like people." i hear a cold voice that makes my blood go cold behind me and hang up on Mio. I don't want to put her in danger too.
Now i realize. This isn't his phone. I was tricked.
Slowly, i turn around to face him and he holds the phone up "Looking for this, love?"
And I.Am.Fucked.