Trapped in Venice Chapter 6 Pt 1

Chapter 6

I went into the room, later noticing that it was a study, complete with the mini library and leather wingback chairs. The fire was blazing in the fireplace, and Caleb was…nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?" I asked Phoenix, whispering involuntarily.

"In here," she said, and pulled a green book from the bookcase on the back wall, making the wall go in, and she grabbed a handle, pulling it open. The doorway was small and dark, and, curiosity getting the best of me, I walked in first.

The inner room was more of a sanctum, Caleb in there, sitting on a wingback chair like the ones located in the preceding room, fingertips pressed together in a thoughtful pose, looking to the floor.

"Close it behind you," he said to Phoenix without looking up. I looked about the room, fascinated at the structure. It was almost a tower, stairs on the sides of the walls, steps leading up to various levels of hundreds of bookcases. I saw a couple of doorways, and wondered if they led to individual rooms within this small area.

Phoenix brought me to the couch sitting in front of the chair, a rug between the both of them, and I sat beside her. She started talking.

"So…do you care to explain yourself?" I was a bit afraid about this comment. She was acting an awful lot like a wife, and I wondered where I stood in this conversation. If this was a husband-wife quarrel…I wanted nothing to do with it.

He sighed, sitting back in the chair. "Do I really have to explain myself to you?" he asked, voice harsh.

"Of course." Was her prim reply. She grinned a toothy grin, sitting up and crossing her legs.

He sighed, and said, "Laine ran into my scene last night, and Ryan, since he thought she knew too much, has commanded me to take care of her for a while."

I gaped at him. The audacity! I was a grown woman, not someone to be trifled with, not a possession to be passed around! "Hey!" I said, and Phoenix gave me a look.

"So, he actually got you to take a woman who isn’t family into your own home after all these years?" She exclaimed.

"Yes," he mumbled, like a boy to his mother.

She then burst out laughing. I looked from one of them to the other, and shook my head at myself, grinning. They weren’t married. Of course they weren’t. They were brother and sister.

"And she spent the night in your room?" she asked, laughter still in her voice. Her face was pink, strange in contrast to the dark clothing she wore. He nodded. "This is epic!" she exclaimed, laughing more. Caleb looked at me, rolling his eyes. I shrugged, and looked at Phoenix incredulously.

"Are you done yet?" Caleb asked tiredly. "Because if you are, I’m kicking you out of my little sanctuary. I can’t find any peace with you in here."

Phoenix glared at him angrily, and stood with a huff. "Fine. Let’s see the next time I make you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." She marched off, pulling a lever beside the doorway, making it open, and walked out, door closing behind her.

I gaped after her for leaving me alone with him. Sure, I’d slept in the same room as him, but…this was different…I watched him as he walked from his chair to the chair behind his desk. "So," he said, "do you want to know about my kids?"

I thought this was something strange for a guy who had just met me to ask...but, this was the first time he'd had a chance to tell someone something and actually have someone listen, I suppose. So, I nodded, and listened.