it wasn’t what she was used to.
The bed was pushed against the wall, a soft looking comforter laid out cleanly on the full size mattress. Same as the walls, it had a teal floral pattern. Her other bed had been so much larger.... Jamie sat on it, testing it. Her other bed had also been a lot more softer.
She didn’t notice the man standing in the doorway until he set down the suitcase just inside of her room. He nodded his head at her, saying a quiet “Good night” before turning to leave. Jamie frowned, realizing she had forgotten something.
“Hey!” she said, standing up.
He turned and looked at her with dull eyes. “Yes?”
“I need a name for you, remember?” She tried hard to make herself sound confident, when in fact, her knees were shaking. Why was this so important to her? Why did it feel like this was going to change her life for forever? Jamie fought down the bile rising in her throat and met him head on.
He didn’t give a fight. Instead, he calmly looked at her and said, “Zyn.”
The door closed softly in her face.
Chapter 16
Jamie woke up the next morning with the smell of eggs and bacon wafting into her room. Her window, the only one in the room, was propped open and the soft chirp of birds made her smile.
It dropped the second she realized that she wasn’t in her own room. Birds wouldn’t have been chirping, and food wouldn’t have smelled as good as it did right now. She hadn’t been allowed to eat in her room, and the kitchens were a floor below on her, on the opposite side of the house.
She sat up slowly, throwing the covers off of her body. Her joints were stiff from how cold it had gotten last night, and she could remember waking up several times to grab the covers and pull them over her shivering body. She scrubbed a weary hand over her face and closed her eyes.
There was a knock on the door and then it creaked it’s way opened, revealing Zyn, the guy she was now going to live with till she could either find a way to run away, or when she turned legal.
He was standing there in dark jeans, a huge black hoodie, and his hair, as dark and as thick as her own, sticking up in random places. Another bird chirped into the awkward silence.
“I see that you’re awake,” he said with a forced casualness, wiping his hands on his jean-covered legs.
Jamie stared at him and then said, “Did you open my window?”
He looked awkward for a second, then nodded. “It gets pretty stuffy in the mornings, after all the cold. I figured you wouldn’t be used to it, so I came in here and opened it for you. Plus, I always get a peaceful feeling when I can wake up to what’s outside...”
Zyn trailed off at her dubious look, then turned for the door again. “Eggs, bacon, sausage, orange juice, and a plate of brownies are on the counter if you’re interested. I didn’t eat any, so there’s a lot.”
“What if I’m not hungry?” she asked, noticing how much of a brat she sounded like.
His shoulders tensed for a second, and then he shrugged. His voice was emotionless when he said, “Then dump it.”
And then he left, closing the door behind him. She noticed that there was no other sounds coming from the other side of the door. Either he hadn’t moved and was listening to her like a creep, or he was the quietest man on earth.
She chose to think the latter and got to her feet, not at all surprised when the floors creaked in unison with her back. She shoved her hands into her hair and looked around for the pony tail that she had left in last night. It was on her pillow, and while she pulled her hair back, she went to her suitcase and pulled it open.
Her heart dropped. Figures that her mother wouldn’t pack anything valuable for her. All she had were jeans, sweatpants, and a pair of sandals and tennis shoes with a couple of shirts that looked like they had come from walmart. She searched for her favorite pair of jeans and almost cried when she found them. Under the jeans, folded neatly, was a piece of paper on top of a dark purple hoodie.
She froze.
Her mind warred on if she should pick it up or not, but then she decided