Page 101 of The Beat of My Heart
My traitorous stomach growls at his words, but I stand defiant.
“I said I’m not hungry,” I grumble. “Plus, I haven’t had my coffee, life does not start without caffeine.”
I glare at him as he smiles, and I know I just gave away my coffee addiction. I bite down hard on my tongue so nothing else slips past. God, I would make the worst spy. I’d be giving away secrets left and right. Maybe that’s why I’m here. Oh God, does he know I’m incapable of keeping my mouth shut? What could I possibly tell him, though?
“My chef will bring you coffee and some breakfast. There is an attached en suite through that door, and we have provided clothing. Make yourself at home, we will talk this afternoon,” Romero tells me as he makes his way to the door. Pausing, he turns to look around the room again, “This was Trevor’s room, I haven’t changed anything in here since he was a boy.”
I watch as he leaves the room, followed by his personal ogre. Listening, I hear the door click and know they locked me in. Scrambling from the bed, I’m thankful my legs are finally working properly. I rush to a window first and look out, but holy shit are we up high. Giving it a tug, I realize it’s a lost cause. Even if I get the window open, there is no way for me to get down without breaking my neck. Turning in place, I look around the room and see so many doors.
Opening one, I find a walk-in closet and am pummeled by the scent of a teenage boy. “What the hell is that stank?” Plugging my nose, I make my way into the cavernous closet and find it full of sneakers, cleats, and jockstraps. Basically, anything a teenage boy would need for every sport imaginable. Pulling open a drawer, I find it full of medals and various awards. I spend more time than I should snooping through everything. “I wonder if he knows this is all here?”
Exiting one closet, I open another door only to find another closet, exactly like the first. This one only smells of stale air, but it’s as full as its twin. I run my fingers across the clothing, all hung by color and item. “It’s like he packed a bag one day and walked right out of his life.”
“He did,” comes a soft-spoken voice. Poking my head out of the closet, I see an older woman with a tray. “Come on now. I don’t bite, and your food will get cold if you don’t eat soon.”
I eye her suspiciously, but the food smells incredible. “You take a bite first,” I say, feeling proud of myself for thinking of it.
She very daintily rolls her eyes, but opens the silver cover and takes a giant bite of egg. I watch as she chews and swallows, then she hands me a cup of coffee.
“That too, I say,” letting her know I want her to taste everything in front of me.
“Oh, dear. You are a smart one. No wonder Trevor is so smitten,” she says, taking a sip of the steaming mug of coffee.
I want so badly to ask who she is. Why is she here? How does she know Trevor? But thankfully, biting my tongue seems to work for now.
“He left for college and never came back,” she explains. “His room has stayed just as he left it. I come in and clean once a week, otherwise, this room sits empty.”
“Hmm,” it's all I say even though I desperately want to know more.
“Alright, dear, I’ll let you get ready for the day. I placed clothing and any toiletry items I thought you might like in the restroom. If you need anything at all, you can just press number 2 on the wall and it’ll connect you right to me. If you don’t have any requests for lunch, I’ll bring you whatever Mr. Knight is having.”
“That’s fine,” I say. “Thank you. Ah, I’m sorry, what’s your name?
“Jenny,” she says, “my name is Jenny.”
“Thank you, Jenny,” I repeat.
I woke up raging against the world, against Romero, and now I’m just confused. This is not what I thought being abducted by the mob would be like. Deciding to trust Jenny, I eat the food she prepared greedily. I guess I never did have dinner last night and being abducted sure can make a girl hungry. I roll my eyes at myself.
Taking my coffee, I mosey into the bathroom and am again assaulted by the scent of Trevor. He hasn’t been here in over ten years, how is that possible? I turn the shower on then dig through his drawers. I laugh when I come across his stash of condoms. There are at least six full boxes—not one of them is opened.
* * *
It feelslike hours since Jenny was here. I’ve paced every inch of this room and rummaged through every drawer. I don’t even feel guilty about going through Trevor’s belongings, it was nice to see this side of him. Plopping myself down on the bed, I let my head hang over the edge and I notice a secret drawer in the bed's frame.
I practically dive-bomb the floor in my rush to open it. I’m expecting it to be locked or, at the very least, stuck, but it opens easily. Inside, a shiny decorative box catches my eye, it sits alone in what I find is a large compartment.
Lifting it out, I find it’s heavier than I expected since it is only about the size of a child's lunch box. Hefting it to the bed, I climb up and look around. At the last minute, I turned the monitor Romero speaks through over. He may have cameras over every inch of this room, but since I only know about that one, I place it face-down.
Running my hands over the platinum box encrusted with jewels, I take in the intricate detailing. That’s when I notice the engraving,To my precious Grace Juliette, Love Daddy.
My hand covers my mouth as I gasp, “This was his mother’s?”
“It was,” Romero says, standing at the doorway of my room. I was so absorbed in my treasure hunting that I didn’t hear him enter. “I kept waiting for Trevor to come and retrieve it after she passed, but he never did. Lately, I’ve wondered if he has forgotten about it.”
“You knew it was here?” I ask.
“Oh, yes. Trevor was always hiding his most prized possessions. When he was about nine, I had his room outfitted with all kinds of secret storage spaces. The one in the bed was always his favorite. I told you I haven’t touched Trevor’s room. I’ve left it almost exactly the way it was when he left. The only exception is a few additions to that box, things I thought he would want,” Romero informs me.
