Life Changes

Iris was looking forward to sleeping in her bed in the middle of those towering bookshelves in the library but when they arrived home, the renovation of the basement was already finished. They were just gone for two days and everything was back in the basement that she could not recognize.

The walls were changed into bricks, lighting was modern and funky. Something that she didn't expect from Calixto. Her wish to have a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf was granted as well as a more private sleeping area. She now has her own bedroom and a computer table that was so cool that her jaw literally dropped to the floor.

She was thinking of complaining about the basement construction but when she saw her computer desk, she changed her mind and just mumbled a word of thanks to Calixto as she closed the door of her own bedroom. She never expected to get one since Monette's father never listened to her every time she would beg to have a small bedroom in the basement. A small room where she could close a door for a bit of privacy but Theo said no.

He said that since the whole basement was all hers to use, having her own bedroom was a waste of money. No one was going down the basement, which was quite true in the past but now that Calixto was sharing the basement with her, her need for her own bedroom was of utmost importance. He may be considered their master but it didn't change the fact that she was a young girl and he was a man.

She had never had the opportunity to ask Calixto why he would not move to the house since he owned everything, why he had to stay in the basement with her. Their feeding time never exceeded more than five minutes. She could continue to do her so-called duty towards Calixto that staying in the basement didn't make sense at all.

The crevice under the basement stairs where he slept was also uncomfortable. The place served its purpose when he was in deep slumber—dead to the world, but now that he had woken up, his place wasn't a susceptible place to live when you have a mansion literally above your head.

Calixto has always been weird. He slept in a hole on the earth but he always appeared clean and neat, wearing expensive designer three-piece suits. Where he got those clothes and where he kept them was something that Iris always wondered about.

Before meeting a strange man that he called father, she had no plan to show any interest in Calixto's life. She was focusing her time and energy on running away from home.

However, that was before Calixto's father had her kidnapped, tied her in a chair, and fed her dinner as if nothing happened.

She was beginning to have more connection with Calixto other than his food supply. And even when she didn't want to do it, she had to be ready just in case she had to hide away from them as well.

The information that Calixto told was also adding to her problem. If she had a family and they had thrown her away—-which she didn't believe for a minute, she should find them and try to find out the truth. Was she really abandoned and thrown away? Or her biological family have a valid reason why they left her in the care of strangers?

She would not have the answers to her question if she would just stay here in the basement, no matter how awesome it looked now.

She looked around the newly renovated basement and gasped in surprise when she saw the bookshelves full of the books that she wished she could buy, displayed beautifully on the shelves.

The thought of running away was suddenly far from her mind. She started checking the place a little bit more enthusiastically and allowed herself to shriek in happiness every time she would find something that she asked to be included in the renovation of the basement.

When Calixto asked for her input, she just answered out of necessity because Calixto would not stop asking her if she would not give him an answer. But she didn't expect that he was actually and quite serious when he said he would have it included.

Knowing that Calixto followed what she had said about what she wanted in the basement, excitement surged up around her and she dashed to the room that was supposedly her bedroom.

She exhaled a deep breath, counting one to ten before slowly twisting the doorknob and pushing the door open with her heart pounding wildly in her chest with anticipation.

Iris gasped and her hands flew to cover her mouth when the view of her room appeared right in front of her eyes. It was like the drawing of her dream bedroom came to life.

She sucked in some breath, and entered the room slowly, scared that what she was seeing would disappear and she would be left out with nothing but disappointment.

"Oh my God!!!" She covered her mouth harder to stop herself from squealing. She dashed to every corner of the room, running her hands to every plane and surface, checking if what she was seeing was not a dream.

When she had seen all the corners of her bedroom, she turned her attention to the huge bed in the middle of the room. Testing the bounciness of the mattress by putting pressure on the edge of the mattress and smiled broadly to herself.

"There is no other way to know if it's good," she grinned, talking to herself and jumping to the bed. She shrieked when she bounced up in the air when she threw herself on the bed, not caring about anything else.

This room is hers and she wanted to make it hers. She deserved this room. She had waited and suffered in silence, barely demanding in almost her own life. She wanted some changes and that began with a new bouncy bed in her own bedroom.