Cherry Creek - Dani Matthews Page 0,52

the time I park my car in the garage at the Deveroux mansion, my head is throbbing. It's got to be from stress. It seems like the more emotional I am, the worse they are. I need to start managing my stress and anxiety better.

That last thought causes me to mentally roll eyes as I walk up the stone path towards the mansion. If people weren't keeping secrets from me, I wouldn't be this stressed out. There is no way to not care when nothing seems to be as it appears.

The mansion is silent and feels deserted when I step inside. I slip off my heels and pick them up as I go to the kitchen. Adelaide is gone for the day, and I'm disappointed. I have no idea what's in her tea, but they seem to help with my headaches. I set my shoes down, then start opening up various cupboards and peering inside. She knows I love that tea, so she should have some packets laying around somewhere. She makes it for me every morning.

“What are you doing?”

I yelp, abruptly releasing a cupboard door, causing it to slam shut loudly. I turn to find Roman standing in the kitchen, his blue-green gaze full of curiosity as he studies me. “Addie makes me a special tea in the morning, it helps with my headaches. Do you know where she keeps her tea packets?”

“She makes her tea from scratch.” Roman’s eyes sharpen. “Are your headaches getting worse?”

“I think it's just stress,” I murmur lightly as I walk over to the refrigerator and pull open the door. I scan the shelves for my dinner, spying a saran wrapped plate with my name on it. Adelaide's taken to writing names in marker on everyone's meals when last week Roman had unintentionally eaten my dinner.

“Are you usually prone to headaches?” I hear Roman ask.

I grab the plate and shut the refrigerator door. After I pull back the saran wrap, I glance at him. “Not usually. I've had a few in the past, but aspirin took care of them.” I ball up the saran wrap and peer at him worriedly. “Do you think I should see a doctor?”

“I would give it another week or two,” he says lightly. “If they don't go away, I would bring it up to Khristos.”

“Can we talk about Nathan?” I ask, switching the topic. I've been wanting to bring him up to Roman, but it never seemed to be a good time. Roman's been moody lately after he'd gotten in trouble, and this is the first time I've seen him not looking grumpy.

“What about him?” He crosses his arms over his broad chest as he smirks.

I hate that smirk. “He seems interested in me, but I'm not into him. He tried to kiss me Friday night. Again. Can you say something to him?”

He looks at me with laughing eyes. “Nathan's a total player. He's just looking for a good time. I think you could use his kind of fun.”

“Yeah, I don't think so,” I say dryly. “Guys are the last thing on my mind,” I tell him as I grab my plate and walk to the microwave.

“They should be your first,” Roman mutters.

I turn and stare at him. “What did you just say?”

“I said, you shouldn't always think the worst. When it comes to guys,” he clarifies.

***

I can't sleep.

All my suspicions are swirling around my head. Why am I here? Why had Khristos been watching me even before Brad's attack? How long has he been watching me? Am I still being watched? I haven't felt like it lately, because the odd sensation of being followed has disappeared. What does Khristos want with me? Why hasn't my mom contacted me? What if something happened to her? There are so many questions floating around in my head, and they are starting to cause my temples to throb.

I need a distraction.

I'm climbing out of bed and walking to the door before I'm even aware of what I'm doing. I haven't really gone out of my way to explore the mansion.

I guess I will tonight.

The last thing I want to do is wake anyone up, so I make my way to the back of the mansion where I know there's a set of stairs leading down to the lower level. The stairwell is dark, so I feel around the wall at the top of the stairs, searching for a light. When my fingertips brush against the flat switch, I flip it on. Small