Page 4 of Secret Confession
I have to fight a smile as Marcus flips him off, chuntering under his breath, so none of us can hear what he’s saying. Mrs Branch, who has been standing by in silence this whole time, clears her throat, capturing our attention.
“Shall I show you to your room, Ms Gibson?” she asks.
I give her a polite nod as I move to join her. Miles steps up beside me, but I quickly turn and stop him. “I can do this on my own, Miles. It’s more important that you get to work identifying the threat.”
“I can have someone take her things directly to her room whilst we’re doing the tour,” Mrs Branch adds.
Miles lets out a sigh, but he agrees with me. Pulling me in for a tight hug, we wrap our arms around each other and squeeze. Despite saying I can do this on my own, letting go of Miles is harder than I thought. He’s always been my safe place, my rock, and now I have to put my trust in other people.
Miles places a soft kiss against my forehead, before pulling back somewhat reluctantly. I can see the pain in his eyes, and I know leaving me here is just as hard on him. “Be safe, and be good. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will,” I reply, dropping my arms to my side, feeling an overwhelming sense of loss as Miles steps away from me.
“You have nothing to worry about, Court. You’ll be safe here.” Marcus stuns me by pulling me into a quick hug, which is over before I can even wrap my arms around him to return the gesture, but it’s still more than I was expecting.
I stand there for a moment, watching the guys as they walk away, waving at me as they climb into the car. With each step away from me they take, I seem to get colder and more numb, as fear settles into my bones.
I want to be brave for them, to trust that Morelli Mansion is the safest place for me to be right now, but even if that’s true, it doesn’t change how apprehensive I feel.
This is the start of a whole new chapter in my life, filled with the unknown, and as much as I want to embrace it, I can’t help but be afraid.
Despite not really knowing him, when I think about Maximus Morelli, I have no doubt he’ll protect me the same way my brother and his best friend would, and that leaves me with a sense of safety and calm I didn’t expect.
It’s been a week since I moved into Morelli Mansion, and I still haven’t learnt my way around. At first, I spent all of my time walking around in awe, exploring each room with eyes full of wonder, as I’d never seen anything like it before.
This place is pure luxury, and I quickly found my favourite rooms. I have spent hours exploring the massive library that covers two floors, filled with more books than I could ever read in a lifetime. There’s even a sliding ladder to reach the upper shelves, and I have been living my best life sliding along, lost in a fairytale, like I’m a child all over again.
There’s also a cinema room, with comfortable recliner chairs, complete with its own popcorn machine in the corner, which is far too big for the amount of people that live in this house.
The home gym is stocked with the most up-to-date equipment, with at least two of each machine, and is a million times better than the one on the university campus. Everything is kept clean and immaculate, and there’s a fridge full of water and energy drinks.
But my favourite part of the house, by a long way, is the large heated indoor pool. It’s located at the back of the house, in what can only be describedas a sunroom. There’s a domed glass ceiling that covers the pool, but there seems to be a protective coating over it, as whenever the sun is out, it never feels too bright.
There are sun loungers and chairs spaced out around the pool, so you can sit or lounge wherever you choose. There’s also a hot tub in the corner of the room, making it look like a high-end spa rather than an at-home pool.
What I love most about the pool is that it’s always the perfect temperature. Even when I’ve wandered down here in the middle of the night, when I’m fighting against the nightmares that will inevitably come if I fall asleep, the water is always perfect.
Despite loving all that the Mansion has to offer, the shine has started to wear off, and I’m feeling on edge constantly. I’m also much more lonely than I ever expected, given that I usually like my own company.
I see Mrs Branch all the time, and she’s always polite and friendly when we make conversation. There’s also a constant stream of staff who bring me meals, or tend to my every whim, but despite being around so many people, I feel very alone.
My nightmares are keeping me up most of the night, even though I feel safer here than I have in most other places. Whenever I close my eyes, they creep up on me, burrowing under my skin, so that even when I’m awake, the fear is still with me.
The all-consuming fear is starting to get the better of me, and I’m scared of going outside now. I won’t even talk to the few friends I have left on the phone, in case it gives away my location. I’m so paranoid that I don’t know who I can trust, or if someone I thought was a friend could be betraying me.
It’s gotten to the stage where I’m trying to put off going to sleep, as I know with a certainty that the nightmares will come, and even when I wake up, it’s like a part of it still lingers beneath the surface.
It’s past midnight, and I’m exhausted after a week of poor, interrupted sleep, but I don’t want to get into bed, as falling asleep will be easy. So instead, I find myself wandering the halls of the Mansion, exploring new places that I’ve still not seen.
This place is that big, I could wander the hall for weeks and still not see everything. For one thing, I’m constantly getting lost, as all the hallways seem to look the same.
My rooms are located in the East wing, and I’ve spent the last week familiarising myself with the different floors on my side of the Mansion. I’m sure there are still a lot of rooms within the East wing that I’ve not yet explored, but I know the layout well enough.
The main part of the house, which is in the centre of the layout, is mostly where I lose my sense of direction. As it’s the shared part of the house, it took me a while to gather the courage to explore, as I didn’t want to interfere if anyone else was using that part of the house.
As a result, I’ve yet to learn the layout as much as I have in the East wing, and with all the corridors looking the same, I regularly get lost—though I’m getting better each time I explore.
One thing Mrs Branch was clear on showing me was the boundary line for where the West wing of the house starts. The West wing is Maximus’ private wing, and he was very clear that I’m never to pass the boundary line. It’s one of the rules he stressed to me on the very first day.
