7

Eleanor hobbled over to the bathroom and her mouth dropped open in shock. Not what she was expecting. She hobbled back into the room to examine it. She hadn't actually looked at it before but now, it was beautiful. Huge king sized bed in the middle with little tables and lamps around it, a black comforter draped over it and a plush material around the massive head board. A huge set of spacious wardrobes took up the right side of the room and on the left side, a wide smooth oak table took up residence beside the window and the window! With a lovely white window-sill, it was huge, with the bottom of the window sitting just a few feet away from the ground, barely reaching her waist, providing a vast view of the forest. Wow! Some drawers at the other end of the room opposite the bed and a few chairs around the room, completed a very nice looking room with the main colours being black, white and the occasional brown and dark blue. Very lovely! In the middle of nowhere! She hobbled back to the bathroom and her breath once again left her. White shiny marble floor, a row of cappuccino coloured cabinets and a counter top to her left, a toilet right beside it with a big brown window, open to the beautiful greenery, then up ahead was a cubicle. Probably where the shower was. From the look of it, it was huge. She walked in and to her right was a huge mirror. She looked horrible! Well, it was expected, seeing as she'd experienced things she'd never thought possible. Her hair was all over the place, her eyes were rimmed red and her clothes were dirty, she was a real mess. What really surprised her was the pink slash on her head. She went closer and touched her head, watching her reflection in the mirror. It looked like make up. No one would have believed she was ever injured there which made her wonder, "Just how long was I out for?" She decided that mystery man would be the one to answer that and walk in further, then halted. The right wall ended and presented a vast space, where the most glorious looking bath tub she had ever seen, sat, complete with stairs leading in, lights around it and even back rests, all themed a lovely shade of cappuccino brown. It was absolutely Beautiful! She could use it right? She felt guilty for even thinking about it but it called out to her. Mystery man did say she could take a Bath right? Not a shower. Ugh, he mustn't have thought about her using it at all, plus, it seemed private. With a sigh, she went for the cubicle. It was large too. She stripped and as soon as she walked in and slid the door shut, water blasted her from all sides. She screamed and the door opened, luckily, nothing could be seen through the cubicle wall.

"You okay?" She heard him ask

"It's fr-freezing. How do I turn it off?"

"There are control handles on the wall to your right. Blue's cold, red's hot, green's warm."

She scrambled to shut off the water and it went off. She exhaled "thank you" then hit warm. She didn't mind that she didn't get a response and exhaled in relief and sweet joy at the water that came from everywhere. She peered at the controls and noticed arrows pointing upwards, downwards and to the sides of the hot and cold water controls . In curiosity, she pushed the arrow pointing upwards, above the hot water control and saw a light flash above the green handle then show 32°c and felt the water heat up. Her mouth fell open. No way! NO FRIGGIN WAY!!! She pushed the button that pointed to the side and all the water behind her stopped and only the water to the right side of the bathroom sprayed. She laughed in awe

"This is awesome!" After playing with the controls some more, she borrowed the bath and shampoo bottle she saw and got down to washing herself and her hair. It was a struggle but she bade the bath cubicle goodbye and stepped out. She picked up her dirty clothes and limped to the cabinets and picked up a huge fresh brown towel. She sighed. Mystery man sure enjoyed his comfort. She limped her way out, peeked and hobbled into the room and quickly folded her old dirty clothes, threw the towel in a hamper and threw on a blue cotton dress. Comfortable, warm and loose fitting, then went back to brush her teeth and comb her hair. Once done, she pulled on her flip flops and noticed that the sheets had been changed. She bit her lower lip, feeling awkward, and took off the wet and dripping bandage, then winced at the sight of her ankle. Her ankle was pinkish purple and swollen.... Well that was expected. She threw away the bandage opened the door and a lovely aroma greeted her nose. She hobbled out and found herself in an otherwise dark hallway, if not for the sunlight shining in from the left. She went in and found a gasp deserving kitchen, complete with a television, middle counter and comfortable looking seats.

Mystery man was stood behind the stove, back facing her and she was right. He was very tall, around 6'5. Almost a head taller than her 5'7

He turned, she gave a shy smile

"Hi"

He observed her properly. Beautiful, thick and very curly long black hair, brilliant grey-blue eyes, cute button nose and some of the pinkest lips he'd ever seen, in her big blue dress and her fingers interlaced in nervousness. She was, indeed, very... Very beautiful

"It's rude to stare" she smiled naughtily

His eyes met hers "You're one to talk" and he turned back to the stove

She pursed her lips "Thank you, f-for uhm... Treating me.... And not killing me"

He pulled out two plates and that was when she noticed the rice, beans and fried chicken. He placed them on the counter, pulled out two chairs and walked up to her. Her eyes widened and she tilted her head far back to look up at him. She wasn't a fan of people who weren't family members coming very close to her. There was no particular reason, it just left her feeling uncomfortable, as was the case right now. She squeaked when he picked her up and carried her to the chair, gently placing her down.

"I could have walked by myself"

He rose a brow, cast her leg a look and said gruffly ''You're welcome''

She unconsciously played with her dress "Thank you"

"Eat" was all he said before digging in himself. "Thank you" she responded and began to eat herself and she moaned at the flavor that met her taste buds. It wasn't good because she was hungry, it was good because it really was.

"Díos, è cosi incrédibile!"

She finished up and finally noticed him staring at her. He looked to the plate, then her body then back to the plate. She blushed and drank her juice.

"You can eat. Nice" he took away their plates while she twiddled her thumbs, feeling useless. He returned with a new set of bandages, sat and motioned for her to hand over her leg. She frowned, "oh no, I can-" he shot her a look and she slumped and slowly handed over her leg "thank you". He got down to wrapping it with surprisingly gentle hands and she relaxed, observing everything.

"How tall are you?" she asked, tired of the silence.

No response. She exhaled and picked at her nails

"I.... I borrowed your shampoo."

Still no response.

"I'll buy you back a new one as soon as I get out of your hair. I also used one of your towels, I'll wash it before I leave"

He said nothing, didn't even regard her. Just wrapped up her ankle.

She ran her tongue over her cheek wall "What is your name?"

Nothing

"How long have i been here?"

Nothing.

She huffed "You promised we were going to talk but you aren't saying anything."

He looked up at her with his eyes taking on a brownish hue... No, not his eyes, just the outer part of his irises. She squinted and leaned into him in awe. He just watched her. She was like a child.

"Your emotions determine the colour of your eyes, right?

"Six feet, seven inches" he said.

She frowned and watched him walk away, return the bandage to a cabinet and return "What?"

"My height"

"Ohhh- wait, 6'7? Wow. That's tall" she gently lowered her leg for him to sit.

"What are you doing here?"

She looked around "I-i don't know, I thought you-"

"Lake Creek. Why are you here?"

"Oh.... Be- you only answered one question."

"It's not necessary to buy a new shampoo or wash anything."

"Oh no, I have to, plus, that wasn't a question."

He stared at her for a long time.

She huffed, "Thank you for helping me," and made to get up.

He rolled his eyes. "You smell a whole lot better than you did when you came". She actually smelt great. Apples and strawberries with a tint of spice. Strangely lovely.

She paused, "Gee thanks. Wait, did you just use my idea back at me?" She smiled, "you do have a sense of humor."

He rolled his eyes and looked at her expectantly "Why are you here?"

"That is exactly what I want to find out" she continued to try to stand.

"Why did you smell so bad when I brought you?"

She groaned "You have never had a girlfriend, have you?"

For the life of her, he smirked. He actually smirked!

She scowled then exhaled "We both want answers. How about we both answer each other's questions? My mind's all over the place. Please?"

He nodded once "Why are you here?"

She shot him a dry look "Tell me your name"

His eyes flashed a dull shade of red. She grimaced "You are annoyed with me?! YOU are annoyed with ME?!", She questioned, taking a guess at what the colour meant

He regarded her in annoyance, which slowly melted away as he took in her equally annoyed face..... It was cute.

"Andreas"

Her brows rose. Hot man, hot name, gah! "Okay. You already know my name-"

"I do, Ella Bella."

She froze. Only one person called her that.

"The man who tutored you as a kid was my grandfather."

She gasped, "That's another reason why your eyes look so familiar! Mr. Montrier is your grandfather?! No way! I used to call him uncle disco eyes."

A small smile danced around his lips. "He spoke a lot about you."

She smiled fondly, "I love him! So you recognized me when you saw me?"

"When you took a bath and I saw your eyes."

His voice was deep, assuring, and smooth. Pretty Nice to listen to.