CHAPTER FOUR: He Has a Library

(Tiana's POV)

It's been more than one week since I started staying under Carl's safe refuge, and I'm adapting really fine. Just that, I'm not used to idling around doing nothing. I did download a few games on my phone, but I'm not the type that enjoys playing games, so I'm usually bored when he is not around.

I'm sitting here trying to force the food I made down my throat as I have no appetite to eat. I'm still playing with the cutlery when Carl walks in and joins me in the dining room.

“Hey, how are you?”he said, pulling the chair and sitting opposite me.

"You're back; hold on, let me bring your food” I said nonchalantly before standing up to dish his food. He looked at me and stopped eating when he realized I wasn't eating.

“Are you okay? He asked, looking at me worriedly.

“Yes, i'm fine; I just don't have any appetite to eat.”

“Do you miss home?” Now that he is asking, I thought about it, and I never had a home. I was only living in a small house with my grandma, who cursed me every day for being her bad luck and being the reason her daughter left her for years and refused to come back and see her. No matter how much I worked hard to care for her, she never saw it; she only saw me as bad luck, and I don't even want to think about that woman who is said to be my mother. I only have memories of her from my childhood, and I clearly remember how much she hates me. I rolled my eyes and changed the subject.

"Do you have anything interesting in this huge mansion? I've only ever seen the living room, dining room, kitchen, and my room." He nodded.

"I was wondering when you'd ask that. How do you handle staying in that room alone all day?"

“I have the voices in my head to keep me company." I said it with a shadow of a smirk on my face. I glanced at Carl, and he had the slightest smile on his face.

Suddenly, Carl set his fork and knife on his plate and rested his napkin beside the plate. He stood and gestured for me to follow "I’ll show you something interesting.”

He led me down a hallway until we came to a door at the end of the hall. He pulled out a key and unlocked it. I was a little anxious. What was behind the door? When he pushed it open, I was hit with that familiar smell of thousands of old books. It was a library.

"Holy sh*t, why haven't you shown me this before?" I ran my hand over the worn leather and paper backs of the books on the shelf. I stopped and looked around. There was a couch in the middle of the room with side tables; one of them held a record player. I also noticed a grand piano in the corner of the room, close to the fireplace, which was in the center of the back wall. I was hit by a wave of nostalgia. When I was twelve, I had this kind teacher that taught me to play piano. She would smack my hand every time I got the note wrong or I hesitated. I took lessons from her until I was fifteen; she was the reason I was so good at piano. But I hadn't played since I was fifteen because I never had a piano. I only ever played at my teacher's house.

Carl noticed me staring at the piano, "Do you play?"

"Used to”

"Show me what you got." Before I knew what he was doing, he placed his hand on my back and led me to the piano. I was so happy to be playing again that I didn't realize he was actually touching me. I found myself smiling as I sat down on the black piano bench, Carl standing by my side. I placed my hands on the piano, playing a few chords, preparing myself for one of my favorite songs, “Clocks” by Coldplay. I finally began to play, slow at first, until the rest of the song came to me and I was playing it like I hadn't stopped playing.

When I finished, I was pulled out of my trance that playing the piano seemed to put me in when I heard Carl clapping.

“You're very talented, Tiana."

"Um, thanks." I said, I was still a little caught up in my music.

That was the first time I had played in at least eight years, and I forgot how much I missed it. I told myself that I would be coming here a lot; there was music, books, and a piano.

“I'm glad you can play; I haven't heard anyone play this piano that well since my mom last played." I just nodded, not knowing what to say.

"Can you play?" I asked.

“No, I can't; the piano belonged to my mother”, he said with a smile. He started walking towards the door, and I quickly pulled out a book before walking out of the library.

He locked the door before we slowly walked into the house.

“Here's the key to the library; you can go in there anytime you like.” He said handing me a single gold key, be sure to lock it when you leave.

And with that, he walked upstairs to his room.

I rested the key on my side table and placed the book beside it. I had grabbed “The Decameron” by Giovanni Boccaccio, and it looked old enough to be an original copy. I walked to my dresser and pulled out a change of clothes, then took a quick shower and got ready for bed.

Once I laid down, I didn't have any trouble sleeping. I was slowly getting used to this house, this bed, and Carl.

(FABIONA MANSION)

“You need to stop crying, eat, and get a good sleep; your daughter will surely get back safely. I will make sure of that; she's my granddaughter too, and no one dares touch my granddaughter, so eat, Francine. I never raised you to be this weak. Dave, talk to her and make sure she eats and goes to sleep” Fabio said before exiting the room.

——

“Did you come back with a good result?” He asked the man standing in front of him with a serious tone.

"Yes, sir, we found out what happened to your granddaughter, but we couldn't find the men who shot her, and we don't know if she's still alive or not."

"My granddaughter was shot? Who has the nerve to do that? And what do you mean you weren't able to trace the men? Is this the good result I asked for?”

"Sir, please wait; it ended up being more complicated than we thought. It seems your granddaughter was running after a girl who looked really identical to her when she got shot and abducted. If we are able to find the girl, she will definitely have a clearer explanation of what really happened."

"Then look for the girl and bring her to me."

"Yes, sir," he said before stepping out of the room.