Page 64 of Kings of Desire
‘I was wondering what happened... I know there’s a reason for the way he sometimes acts.’
‘I wish so badly that I could answer, but it’s not my place to say. This is something that he needs to tell you himself when he considers that the time is right.’
I didn’t insist, how could I when I already felt the answer before I even asked? I was just curious, hoping that maybe there was a one percent chance that he could at least give me a hint, prepare me for what to expect since I felt like with Ferris anything could happen.
‘Ok, I’ll let it come by itself,’ I spoke while turning my head to look outside the window and notice that we were climbing higher and higher up the Hills. ‘Are we going straight to Ferris?’ I asked confused since from what I could tell we were only a few streets away from his property.
‘No, your apartment is after the next turn,’ Alfred took a glimpse outside to reassure himself ‘Here,’ he announced to me on our arrival as the cab stopped in front of a three-floor mansion.
‘Here!?’ I spoke in awe, looking up at the wall-sized windows and peaking at the impressive display of wealth.
‘Ferris owns the building but had the first and second floor already rented out. You and your family will occupy the top-level.’
‘Top-level,’ I repeated words that were just stuck in my mind as if my last neuron just burned out.
I guess it didn’t take long for Alfred to notice my almost shocked reactions as every delayed gesture on my account was betraying the wave of emotions brewing within me ‘Take a deep breath and let’s go inside. Everything is going to be ok.’
In an ideal world, this was where Prince Charming had just come to my rescue, turning my life from rags to a fantasy dream. But there was just one catch- I didn’t have a Prince Charming, I had three of them and if their physical appearance could fool anyone they came straight from a fairytale, what they held within them was as far as it got from a happy ending.
‘I hope that you’ll find the accommodation suited for all of your needs,’ he spoke as opening a double wooden door that revealed a living room the size of a tennis court.
I blinked long, trying to take in the view and struggling to realize that I was the one who was going to live there. It was all taken to the extreme as if some royal decorator has come and arranged my new living space following the most eclectic of tastes. Ferris’s mastered the element of surprise, and he was refusing to fall behind this time.
It all felt surreal. As if it wasn’t supposed to be for me; as if I didn’t deserve it to be for me. Surely every single object in the room will have a price that undoubtedly I was going to pay at some point, yet it still felt too much for someone like me. And then the thoughts began swirling in my mind, like a merry go round in which Cole and Brax and Ferris were all onboard, spinning faster and faster in my world, day after day, hour after hour, taking the last drop of strength left. The deals, the promises, the rush each one of them provoked, the sleep deprivation and the dark thoughts, the worry and the pain- were all building up inside of me, grinding me from within until my body seemed to be melting into a pool on the floor.
‘Bea, are you alright?’ Alfred’s startled voice was sounding in my ears, though I couldn’t say a single word back, just floating around on my little black cloud, losing myself to the impossible exhaustion that was steering me into a dream.
I pulled on the blanket, clutching onto it as I was snuggling into the warmest place on Earth. It felt so safe, as I was secluded into my own piece of heaven while a citrus and woods perfume was gently pampering my senses.
‘Are you cold?’ Stray fingers danced in my hair, following each strand only to twist on its tip.
Where was I?
My eyes barely opened, only to find myself where the destination for the night was about to lead me before I lost all contact with reality.
‘Ferris,’ I whispered, realizing that I was on his couch while he was sitting on the floor next to me, as one of my arms was securing my body next to his own.
‘I’m here,’ he pressed his lips on my forehead, warming up the place that he stroked with a comforting sensation that was spreading throughout me.
‘What...what happened?’ I only remembered stepping into the new apartment, then everything went blank.
‘You fainted, and Alfred called me.’ He leaned his head to search for my eyes. ‘I should have remained there with you until you regained consciousness, but I hate being out of the house for too long, so I brought you here instead. I hope that was ok with you.’
‘I was coming to see you next anyway. I guess I took a shortcut.’ A girl could still be funny, right? ‘I was just preparing to call you when I stumbled onto Alfred waiting in my apartment in the Pit.’
‘So I get that you missed me,’ he curved the corner of his lip into a smile, letting a hand slip beneath the blanket and around my waist.
‘Is there any other way around,’ I answered, although my voice was far by having its strength back.
‘Not with me, there isn’t,’ he slipped a glass between my fingers ‘Drink, you’ll feel better.’
‘Tea… It’s delicious.’ I praised the strawberry flavor that was warming up my senses, but which at the same time didn’t manage to bring me back to my normal self. ‘I think I need coffee,’ I spoke just as my hand started trembling, spilling a few drops on me.
‘I’m pretty sure that you need sleep, not coffee.’ Now he was scolding me as if I said something wrong, when in fact all I ever did was to try to keep up with my end of the deal.
‘What about you?’ I asked, knowing that he can’t sleep until dawn.
‘What about me?’ He shrugged, although I could see it in his eyes that he knew exactly what I was talking about.
