Page 35 of Hollow House
We stayed silent, resting for what felt like hours. My body was growing even more tired but clinging to what I had found at Hollow House. I no longer wanted to run. I didn’t want to return to my house empty-handed.
My head rested on his lap as I laid there, curled up on the floor beside him.
A familiar beep sounded from his pocket, and I lifted my head off his lap. My eyes alternated between watching him play with my hair in the mirror to shut for a few minutes. Sleep was calling for me, but the night wasn’t over. Dawn was approaching soon, and I dreaded it.
I sat up, letting him pull out his phone.
“I have to deal with one more thing,” he said and lightly kissed my forehead.
“Don’t leave me here,” I blurted and slapped a hand over my mouth, embarrassed at how quickly I let myself get attached.
It was a night.
Tomorrow, things would be different.
Felix was wrong. I didn’t need a hook up. I needed my therapist and to swear off hook ups for another year. But again, maybe losing touch with who I was could be good for me. It was uncomfortable at first, but once I worked through whatever this need was, it could be okay.
“It’ll only be twenty minutes,” he promised. “Why don’t you explore the rest of the halls on this side of the mansion?”
Wandering had landed me in plenty of trouble before.
“For your article, of course,” he said with a mischievous grin.
Now, I really couldn’t say no.
Chapter 19
After the Wraith,Damon, left again and another waiter passed a drink off to me, I found myself standing in a new hall. It was one I had not been to yet, darker than the rest. This section of the house was far removed. It led to a single door at the end, and curiosity won me over, every other portion of the house a work of art.
I let myself wander to the only door and push it open. He said to help myself to the house, and I certainly was. Although, I imagine he meant the party still going on elsewhere. Or perhaps it ended—I hadn’t passed it and couldn’t hear the music any longer.
It didn’t matter.
The second I stepped inside, I realized it was an office, the large desk covered in papers, shelves lined with books gave it away.
It was straight out of a movie.
It certainly beat my old, beat up plastic desk as home. This belonged to someone important, someone of standing, not some measly journalist.
The Wraith claimed to be just that.
And he was serious…
Pictures hung all over the walls of every imaginable influential person—politicians I recognized, men in expensive business suits, women with more power than I would ever have, all standing with the same person.
Damon.
I didn’t recognize him. I hadn’t seen his face all night, but even like this, in a normal setting, I had no idea who he was.
The puppet master, the one pulling the strings, the person controlling this version of society.
A small sound behind me caught my attention, and I turned to find nothing.
I turned my focus back to the pictures, dismissing it as noises in the hall.
I set my cup down and glanced over every single picture, some with articles and awards next to them. He’d swayed elections, helped secure accolades for major actors, and even held favor with men on Wall Street.
Another sound, and this time, I froze. It was closer.Louder.
