CHAPTER FIVE: …call me by my name...

HOPE

I was walking around the last floor which belonged to Ace before I became a co-owner without a care in the world, knowing fully well that I wasn’t going to get caught. One of the kind maids told me earlier that I was free to explore the place. As I poked my head into series of empty rooms filled with nothings but dusts, I suddenly came to a stop in front of the door leading to Ace’s room.

While I stood there it occurred to me that I after my encounter with him the other week in his room, seeing again became like trying to win the lottery. My heart sank on the realization that it was already weeks since I last saw him. It wasn’t because I missed him though. It was because my stay in the mansion was becoming too long and I was starting to warm to the place.

No, you’re not. I scolded myself.

I saw him that night. It was about a few weeks ago but the image of the blood I saw in between the collar of his shirt was still fresh on my memory. It wasn’t much but, I could swear by anything that it wasn’t an animal blood. He wasn’t a butcher and he wasn’t he a chef either.

The more I spent time at the mansion the more I started to understand how dangerous Ace was. I needed to plot more escape plans, at least everyone’s attention seemed to be away from me. I sighed and continued my way up to the rooftop. I heard there was a garden there from one of the maids and it was only accessible to Ace. But I was determined to find it anyways. After all I was told that I was free to explore the place and get myself acquainted with the place.

I reached for the knob of the door at the end of the stairs and tried to pull it open but it didn’t bulge. I didn’t even know what I was expecting; I knew that I wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place. I pulled the door again with a little more strength but it didn’t still open.

As I was about to turn around and get back to my room, I felt a presence behind me and froze in my steps. I couldn’t move an inch. It wasn’t because I was afraid though. It was just that… that… well I think I was afraid. Not afraid of him per say but afraid of what he was capable of doing to me. I didn’t want him to murder me like whoever that blood from the last belonged to. I didn’t know when my mental health became so weak but what I saw that day was stuck in my head.

WEEKS AGO

I was loitering around the hallway that Ace and I shared, fishing for possible escape route as I wasn’t about to give up on making it out the sweet hellish mansion. A few seconds into my search I heard footsteps behind me and I immediately knew it was Ace. I honestly thought that he was passed out in his room after his shower. After all that was what he made it seem like while I was in the room with him earlier.

I quickly hid at a corner before he figured out that I was there to begin with. I squatted down with my two hands clamped around my lips as I listened to the beeping sound coming from the lock on his door as he input his pass code.  I continued peeping at him from my hiding spot when I noticed a reddish stuff around the collar of his shirt. I gasped in surprise almost giving away my hiding spot when I figured out that it was blood around him.  It wasn’t just the usual simple stain though it wasn’t much either.

He was about to step into his room after he pulled the door open but paused and looked straight towards my direction. I guess my gaze at him was too intense and he felt it.

He caught me, I thought to myself without making a sound or moving an inch.

I stared at him as much as he did to me as well. The way he scrutinized my eyes, it was as if he could see through me. After a few seconds of our staring competition, he walked into his room without saying a word. I stayed there for a while before I found myself tiptoeing to my room.  Holding my breath, I laid on my bed waiting for him to badge in any second.

The next time I opened my eyes, it was already dawn and the smell of freshly made pancakes and mixed fruit juice filled the air. I lazily looked around the room to find the source of the sweet aroma drifting through the air and finally located the goodness on my night stand.

Another breakfast in bed, I mumbled before walking to the bathroom barely holding myself up with my wobbly legs.

THE PRESENT

I stood in from of the garden door with my hands around the door knob, focusing my senses on Ace who still stood behind me. A few seconds later, it was as if I could feel his breath on my neck. The sensation was ticklish and it sent gentle shivers down my spine. His presence kind of made me feel good for the first time in a very long time and I suddenly wished that I could move a step backwards just so that I could feel his body on mine. He smelled so good and I was a sucker for nice smelling men who knew their way around with fragrances.

Oh my God, Hope! You need to get laid. I half scolded myself and yet it did little to nothing in stopping the dirty thoughts pumping through my head.

He reached out from behind me, placed his huge hand over mine around the door knob and opened it.

He touched me.

“You don’t pull the door, instead you push it forward,” he said while turning his head to look at me and with his lips extremely close to my ear.

I wasn’t dumb. He knew what he was doing to me and I could tell that I also had some impact on him as well. I could feel the tension between us like a thick blanket. It was always there but we both chose to play and fight it. I wasn’t ready to act on it too and Ace seemed to love playing games more.

I nodded in response without speaking. I could swear that my voice would have sounded squeaky like a duck.

“Are you going in or not?” he asked and I finally moved forward, away from his tingly breath.

“Sorry,” I entered the place and moved aside for him to pass.

 He entered and stood before me and asked, “What’s my name, Hope?” I looked at him in confusion without knowing what to say. It wasn’t like I didn’t know his name. I just didn’t know how to say it. I always avoided situations that would have made me address him directly.

Should I call him Boss or Ace? I thought for a while before speaking.

“Ace,” I said but the name sounded strange in my tongue.

“Then use it. Always call me by my name except when we’re not alone.” He said and started walking further into the garden. I was watching him retreat further without saying a word despite having millions of things I would have loved to say.