CORMAC
The meeting went as planned.Brenna’s father went back to Ireland reassured that his part of the deal was in good standing.
As much as I try to put it out of my head, the words said in that small meeting continue to plague my thoughts.
It was nothing that he said... it was what Brenna said.
She’s lonely.
This large house has never been the space for joy and happiness. I don’t know what she’s used to but I can’t give that to her here.
But the depth of her feelings strikes a chord deep within me.
Loneliness.
I know loneliness. I’ve lived with it for the majority of my life. It only got worse when my brothers moved out.
Then when my father nearly got pinched by the American government and he was forced to flee back to Ireland to stay,the loneliness carved away the most basic parts of me. Now loneliness is all I know.
I’ve grown accustomed to it.
Am I damning this woman to the same life? It seems too cruel.
I don’t even know where to start in order to change it. I guess the simplest answer would be just to talk to her.
I’m sitting in the parlor room once again but today it’s not relaxing me as it usually does.
A deep groan in the ever-shifting house urges me to my feet and before I realize what I’m doing I’m off searching for this woman I’ve tried so hard to ignore.
I start my search in the library where she seems to spend most of her free time. I don’t find her there. I check her room and she’s absent there as well.
The more I search for her the more annoyed I start to feel about what I’m doing. It’s not like I have anything to say to her.
When I check all the places I expect her to be a pit forms in my stomach. If she’s not where she’s supposed to be then that must mean she’s someplace she isn’t supposed to be.
I move with a purpose to the east side of the mansion.
Not even the candles are on in this area. That’s on purpose. This side of the house is nothing but death and painful memories. It needs to stay dead.
I turn the corner and see Brenna standing at the very bottom of the stairway that leads her into the very space I don’t want her to be.
“I thought by now you’d know better than to disobey me.” I snarl at her.
She turns quickly, obviously not expecting me to be sneaking up on her.
“Why can’t I go up there?” She questions.
“Because I said you can’t.”
“No shit, but what is it that you’re hiding up there? Dead bodies? I’ve seen those.” She shrugs and turns to look at the stairs again as if she’s still thinking about walking up them.
I want to tell her there are no dead bodies up there. But that’s not true. There may not be any physical dead bodies up there but it doesn’t mean that isn’t the final resting place of some.
I make my way over to her, standing between her and the stairs. “You have the whole mansion to look around. Just stay away from up there. It’s not really that difficult.” I shove my hands in my pockets, my palms itching to touch her for some reason.
“I know you don’t know much about me but difficult is in my DNA.” She jokes but takes a step back. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s abandoning her curiosity or because she doesn’t want to be so close to me.
Why would she?
