Page 29 of The Truth Between

As my foot landed on the last step, the creaking of the wood made me pause as I waited to see if I heard anything else. When I didn’t, I walked into the dining room and then into the kitchen, but no one was there.

And nothing looked to be disturbed, so I wasn’t sure what had fallen over.

I could use this as my excuse to look around the rest of the house.

With that excuse in my back pocket, I walked down the hallway I recognized from my ventures to and from the basement. I glanced at the portraits that lined the hallway as I came up to the first door. Franklin hadn’t bothered explaining to me what any of the doors in this hallway led to during the quick tour he gave me, so what better time than now to find out? Maybe there was a more discreet way of getting out of here that I could use.

Those thoughts didn’t make navigating this hallway any less stressful. In fact, it felt as if the people in the portraits were staring at me, chastising the decisions I’d made.

I stopped at one door and gently knocked, waiting to see if someone would answer. When I didn’t get a response, I opened the door and stepped inside.

I immediately regretted it.

It only took me a second of standing in this room to figure out it was Soren’s office.

The office was a nice size, with huge bookshelves and a large desk in the room’s center. On it sat a monitor and a laptop and I immediately thought of the laptop he bought for me. From where I was standing, it looked to be just as expensive, if not more so, and I found it quite ironic that he had such a high-powered device in this space, given the old, weathered aesthetic that was present throughout this house.

There was a large window to the left of the desk, which had similar curtains to the ones that hung in the guest room I was staying in. Because of that, the light from outside shone brightly in here, allowing me to see most of the room without having to turn on the lights. A fireplace was also in the room, and I could imagine the relaxing atmosphere it created when it was lit.

I took a step closer to the desk and noticed that there were a lot of personal items that made sense for him to have in his home, but still, it surprised me. It was obvious that Soren spent a lot of time here, and it was probably the place where he came to get away from the world.

And I was invading it.

Much like he’d invaded my life.

That helped my nerves settle down. If he could do this to me, I could do the same in return.

I shifted my body slightly and found a silver tray on the floor beside pieces of silverware and a shattered mug. I assumed the noise I’d heard was the tray and its contents crashing to the floor.

The question of how the tray had fallen circled my brain as I walked over to the accident, but I got distracted by a piece of paper sitting on the edge of the desk. It wasn’t the paper itself that had attracted my attention, but the fact that Eddison Payne’s name was written on the document. I guess it wouldn’t be unheard of for Soren to have something with Payne’s name on it, but I couldn’t help but think this was not a coincidence. Then again, I rarely believed in them anyway.

I leaned forward to pick up the piece of paper so I could get a better look at it. I read all the words on the paper once and then twice.

Then, I concluded that nothing on it made any sense.

It was a scattering of words on a page that I couldn’t piece together, which, given the fact that this note wasn’t for me, probably didn’t matter. But with Payne mentioned in the letter, I wanted to know what it was all about.

I wished I had my phone to take a picture of the piece of paper so that I could review it later. And snatching it was a bad idea because if Soren noticed it was gone, he would know something was up and that I, more than likely, was snooping around his office.

Against my better judgment, I put the piece of paper down and turned my attention back to the things that had crashed onto the floor. I debated whether I should clean it up when I heard a noise that sounded too close for comfort. It was in that moment that I considered myself to be royally fucked.

I needed to get out of here, but as I turned, the sound of footsteps getting closer to me sounded throughout the hallway, causing me to freeze once more. Something clicked in my brain, and I was able to move my body until I slipped behind a tall bookcase, forcing me into the shadows of the room. It forced me to stand in front of a door that was partially hidden by the bookcase. For a split second, I couldn’t help but wonder if that was done on purpose.

I heard the door open first and then, from my vantage point, I watched as Soren entered. His gaze swept the room, landing on the mess on the floor. I couldn’t see his face, but he moved closer and examined the upturned tray and the disaster it had created.

Soren, leave so I can get the hell out of here.

I repeated the words to myself over and over again, hoping that someone, anyone, would be able to distract him to the point that he would leave this area. Then he rose and stood there silently as if he was listening for something. Whether he could hear me breathing or not crossed my mind.

The seconds felt like hours and the silence was deafening. My heart raced as I prayed he wouldn’t find me. I could feel my body trembling, my palms were sweaty, and my mind was spinning with every possible outcome of this situation. What was he going to do if he found me? What would my punishment be? If he didn’t see me, how long should I wait until I tried to leave? All these thoughts ran through my head at the speed of light.

I wished that I could see him. Get an idea of where he was in the room, but that might reveal where I was. All I could do was try desperately to remain still and silent. My panic only grew more intense as time passed, and I couldn’t hear if he’d left the room.

When I heard him mumble something, I sucked in a deep breath, which, only a few seconds later, I was sure was one of the worst mistakes of my life.

“Iris.” Soren’s voice sounded rough yet smooth at the same time. “What are you doing in here?”

18

---