The incident that happened last night completely freaked me out and I couldn't sleep the entire night as I kept seeing footsteps outside of my bedroom. It was during dawn that I got some sleep.

When I went downstairs for breakfast, I noticed there was a file left on the table and then I remembered that Devin and Dayana were supposed to go for some conference meeting early in the morning, and Theo and Chandler had already left for school.

That meant I was home alone with Castle.

I tried not to dwell on the fact that being alone with Castle might be a little nerve-wracking since I had to look over my shoulder constantly.

The kitchen was slick and modern, still had a vintage oven, and I knew for a fact that their parents had probably loved and cherished the old designs and kept it. I poured myself a glass of OJ and grabbed two slices of toast as I settled down onto the stool near the island bar and read through the file.

There were pages of Dos and Don'ts, Castle's likes and dislikes and what they expected of me as his Caregiver. A few lines that were highlighted caught my eye; it mentioned that Castle wasn't allowed to roam freely out of the house unattended. He also could not have his meals unsupervised, and from what I could collect from this document was the fact that basically I was supposed to be Castle's guard-dog.

Castle's life seemed gloomy. I made a mental note to get to know him better regardless of how brooding and creepy he was, and I would become his friend if nothing else. His brother was paying me well. It was only natural I took this job very seriously.

"Good Morning, Miss. Millicent. I see that you're up early." Susan, the cook, walked into the kitchen, a bright smile plastered over her face.

"Good Morning, Susan, please call me Millie as everyone else in this house does. And yes, I enjoy waking up early."

"That makes the two of us." She commented, "I hope you had a good night's sleep."

I wondered if this was some kind of trick question, if she knew about Castle prowling around late at night and wanted to see if I spilled, but the more I tried to analyze her, the more I realized I was imagining it. The question was casual.

Susan was a plump woman with a lovely smile; she had the motherly vibe going about it.

"I did." I lied.

I read through the entire file, and couldn't help but think about the caretakers that were hired here before me. What was the reason they fired her?

She served me a very appetizing looking waffle topped with whipped cream and strawberries. I thanked her and knew this was my chance to do some investigating.

"Susan, is it alright if I asked you something about Castle?"

"Go ahead, honey." She said, pouring me a cup of coffee.

"Does Castle normally stay up late until midnight?"

Her bright mood suddenly turned gloomy as she stared into the distance at a memory. "He likes to run free most of the time, so they let him. Mr. Montgomery thinks there's no harm. There was a time when they used to lock him up in his bedroom at night because the Caregiver who was here before you, Tracy suggested that, and she..." Her eyes suddenly turned red, and she snatched a few tissues as she cried, "she harmed the poor boy. Tracy would beat him, and let him scream, and he kept banging on the door, wanting to be out. She was a disgusting woman. The caregivers that came before her weren't any better. I often found wounds on Castle's body inflicted by them."

"That's awful," I said. "I wish I was here sooner."

She took my hand in hers. "Please do the right thing by Castle. He doesn't deserve to be treated like that."

"I will, I promise you. Is there anything else that I should know about him?"

"He won't talk much because he can't remember some words. You need to figure out what he's trying to tell you, dear."

"I'll make a note of doing that. Thanks, Susan, that was helpful."

I left the cook alone after that since I didn't want to upset her more than I already had. It was quite clear the previous caregivers who failed to understand him on a personal level abused Castle.

If I wanted to be his friend like I'd told him before, I knew I had to at least try and make an effort, and for what it's worth, I knew handling Castle would still be a piece of cake compared to living with my uncle where I was treated like an object, and nothing short of a maid.

I closed my eyes and let the memories flood me. I needed to forget that life!

I went upstairs to his room after breakfast, and the door was unlocked, but I still knocked on it. When I didn't hear an answer, I entered inside and found the television blaring, an old rerun of Tom & Jerry was on.

Unlike the last time that I'd been here, all the books and toys were put back into its space. The room was dark, no lights were on and the drapes were closed, so I walked to the French windows and opened them, letting the room bathe in the sunlight. I didn't miss how there were bars on the windows.

I could hear the shower running, and a few minutes later, Castle walked out of the steaming bathroom with a towel hanging over his hips.

He stood frozen on the spot, surprised to find me in his room.

"I...I knocked on the door before entering," I explained stupidly.

His hair was still wet from the shower, and his brown eyes looked almost golden in the sunlight. He had broad shoulders and a body that was sculpted like a Greek God; with a set of lickable abs and a trim waist. There was a faint dusting of light brown hair on his chest that looked so soft; that I wanted to touch, the trail disappeared into dangerous territory.

Castle might be cuckoo, but his body was right as rain.

Oh, God! It was so wrong of me to check out a man who wasn't in his right mind to pay attention to women, and I felt extremely guilty, but that didn't change the fact that he was ridiculously gorgeous.

His dark eyes flashed towards me as if he knew what I was thinking. He looked at the open windows and back at me, his fingers curled and uncurled as he charged forward. I took a few steps back in fear of what he was about to do, but he walked past me, and that gave me time to notice some scars on his body, darker on his wrists and a jagged line across his back.

Castle pulled the drapes almost harshly, bringing the room into darkness. He was facing the other side when the towel slid down and I had a perfect view of his round backside.

Heat crept over my neck, "I'm-I'm...sorry, I'll leave."

"Stay."

I was taken aback.

Castle talked!

And he asked me to stay. It proved that he could comprehend what I said to him.

It was the first time I heard him talk; his voice was soft and hauntingly addictive, and he sounded like he didn't have too much practice with speaking.

I wanted more.

I craved to hear another word from his mouth.

I stayed until he'd dressed up completely in a t-shirt and jeans. I watched him as he took a dry towel and settled down on his bed. The water dripped from his hair.

"May I?" I asked with my hands raised towards him for the towel.

He didn't say a word, so I took that as a yes. I dried his hair with a towel, feeling completely aware of his body heat being so close to mine, the scent of his shampoo made my knees weak, it was a mix of something spicy and blackberries, and maybe you could also throw a little vanilla into the mix.

"Now you're all nice and dry," I said, carrying the wet towel to his bathroom to hang there for drying. I walked out of the bathroom to find him sitting on the floor, cross-legged. "Would you like me to read you a book?"

He shook his head vigorously. "Go...go out."

He was asking me to get out of his room?

I stared back at him, trying to understand what that meant.

"Go out." He repeated, his large golden-brown eyes watching me with interest. "I...I want to go."

"You wanna go out into the courtyard?"

He nodded, slowly looking up at me from the floor, small stealing glances.

"Okay, let's go."

We walked outside the mansion towards the open courtyard, the huge German shepherd named Trixie leading us ahead. It was strange how Castle couldn't communicate much with me, but with Trixie; he had an entirely different language going. The dog knew exactly what her master wanted and she would follow his commands.

Fetch. Down. Wait. Stay.

I bet she was used to following him around even before he lost his memories. Sometimes I wished dogs could talk so they could tell stories. Real. Happy. Ugly. The truth that they'd witnessed.

I sat down on the patio while I watched Castle play with the dog. It was a good thing I'd brought a book with me so I wouldn't get bored, Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. I'd read the book before, but since it was so entertaining, I was going to read it again. I'd found it lying around at my breakfast table, so I'd grabbed it.

Trixie barked at something at a distance, barring her teeth out. It had to be a squirrel or birds, or something like that. Castle watched her from the sidelines, not attempting to stop her.

I'd finished reading the first chapter and flipped to the next page when an origami peacock fell to the ground.

I picked it up, and it seemed like there was something written inside it. I quickly opened it.

The words scribbled inside shocked me.

Leave while you still have a chance.

It was the same handwriting as the one I'd received from Castle, so that meant this came from him.

Why was Castle warning me? 

* * *

If you enjoyed reading this chapter, please Vote & Comment :)

Stay Safe!