Castle

Chapter 2

TWO

The dining table could have easily accommodated twenty people, but there were only seven seated with me. Eight, if you included me.

I felt a little nervous when I first entered the room, afraid that I might trip over my own feet and make a complete fool of myself in front of these people. Thankfully, as we entered, Devin kept his hand on my back and I felt a little better knowing he was by my side.

All the eyes in the room zeroed in on me like I was the newest species that they couldn’t wait to dissect. And if that wasn’t enough, I kept worrying about what the family would think of me. I didn’t come from wealth; rather quite the contrary and looking at my outfit, it was obvious I didn’t belong here.

Devin pulled out a chair for me and I settled down, thanking him. Dayana sat on my left side, and she gave me a welcoming smile. I couldn’t believe how strikingly similar she looked with Devin; it was like looking at a female equivalent of him. She was beautiful, with honey blonde hair, sparkling emerald eyes, and dimples that would have any man worship the ground she walked on. Her style screamed at levels of sophistication.

She was a goddess on earth, literally.

“I’m Dayana. I’m sure Devin told you about me.” She said sweetly.

“Yes, he did.”

“Let me introduce you to the rest of us. The grumpy young man sitting directly opposite you is Theodore, but he prefers Theo. He thinks Theodore is kinda old-fashioned and makes him sound like a grandpa.”

“Speak for yourself, Vixen!” Theo grumbled.

“Language, Theo! That’s not the way to talk to your older sister.” Devin scolded in his older brother’s tone.

“Whatever.” Theo retorted.

He seemed like a typical bratty seventeen-year-old kid. He’d lost his parents at a very young age, and that must have been hard. I could completely relate to him because I was the same when I was his age.

Just like his older brother and sister, he was also gifted with their good-looks. I bet a lot of girls in his high school swooned when he walked by, and speaking of I wondered if he played any sport. For a teen, he was built like a bull and probably ate like one too.

“What the hell are you staring at?!”

It took a while for me to realize Theo was talking to me. My face went hot. “N-Nothing,” I stuttered, “I’m sorry.”

“N-Nothing…s-s-sorry.” Theodore imitated me.

“Theodore, I expect you to respect those who are older than you. That isnotthe way to talk to Millie. Apologize to her right now.”

“Make me!” he threw his napkin onto the plate and pushed it harshly off the table.

It went crashing down and shattered on the floor. Maids scurried forward to clean the mess.

“And I don’t fucking care about dinner. I’m going to order pizza, anyway.” He climbed to his feet, snagged up a sandwich from the tray and stormed out of the room.

It felt like I nearly survived a hurricane. That kid needed to learn some manners, and fast. I take back what I said about him being a bratty teenager. More like Satan’s spawn. Heck, Damien Thorn from The Omen trilogy was even polite.

“I’m sorry on his behalf, Millie,” Devin sighed.

“He’s seventeen, but still going through that puberty phase, you know,” Dayana interjected. “Teenagers are scary.”

“It’s okay, really.”

"Theo hasn't been the same since our parents passed away," Dayana said, and a heavy silence filled the dinner table.

“I’m sorry to hear about them. My parents died when I was little, so I don’t remember them much, but I can still feel the loss. I can only imagine what you’re going through.”

“Thanks.” Dayana murmured, giving my hand a little squeeze.

We began with dinner then. I looked at the full plate of meal on the table before me. They served starters in the beginning, some fancy shrimp dish with avocado and cucumber, and deviled eggs, which were followed by duck slices in cherry sauce which was absolutely delicious.

I gobbled the food like I was a death-row inmate and this was my last meal. I even licked the cherry sauce off the plate. So much for pretending to be a lady. From the corner of my eye, I noticed how Devin regarded me with interest. The corners of his mouth twitched upward.

Between chewing and taking quick bites, I choked on my wine.

Dayana laughed, “Slow down. The food won’t disappear.”

“She eats like Trixie.” A small voice said.

I looked in the voice’s direction. I hadn’t even noticed the little boy sitting two chairs down from me.

The boy looked identical to his older siblings, and there was a certain sadness in his sea-green eyes, like the kid had seen a lot of unspeakable things, and he was staring at me as if he could look into my soul.

“Who is Trixie?” I asked.

“Our dog, she’s a German shepherd.”

I coughed, trying not to feel insulted, because clearly, the kid wasn’t trying to be disrespectful and only stating what he’d observed. Did all the younger Montgomery’s swore that they would slander me as soon as I stepped foot in this house?

“You must be Castle,” I pointed out, smiling at him regardless of being called a hungry dog. “I saw the train and the artwork in your room.”

He looked at me like I’d fallen off the rocker. “Hell nah. I’m Chandler. Castle’s over there!” He pointed in the other direction.

I turned towards where his finger pointed and my fork almost slipped out of my hand.

Castle wasn’t a kid. Not by a long shot.

Either that or I needed a pair of glasses because this was a man sitting at the end of the table. A freakin’ grown man.

He had wavy sable hair neatly combed, and striking aquiline features with a straight nose and an angular jawline, and eyes the color of Crème br?lée that I was having for dessert.

If Disney Prince’s were real, they’d look like Castle. He was probably better looking than Devin, and I wasn’t even exaggerating. Devin was all charming and easy to talk to, while Castle appeared to be a complete opposite of his brother in every way. There was a certain darkness masked under his golden features, a mysterious aura.

“Hi Castle,” I greeted him and smiled. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m going to be taking care of you from now on. I hope we can be friends.”

Castle stared at me with a poker face. He didn’t even twitch, not so much as a smile, and just continued to gawk at me like I was a Rubik’s cube he desperately wanted to solve. I now understood what Devin had warned about his brother being different.

Chandler laughed at my side.

“Castle, say hi to Millie.”

He didn’t. Instead, he resumed digging in his plate and stuffing the food in his mouth. I noticed the food that was served to Castle was different. He was having biscuits and gravy.

Devin probably noticed my assessment. “Castle has a lot of likes and dislikes for food, so our cook, Susan, makes him special meals.”

“I see.”

“He likes to dine in his room sometimes, and when he does, I would request you to keep him company.”

“Of course,” I said, and then turned to Dayana on my side. “How old is he?”

“Thirty.” She answered. “He’s our older brother.”

Well, I’d signed the contract thinking they hired me to be a nanny for a child or a teenage boy.

Being a caregiver to a grown man was never the plan.

Guess I didn’t have a choice anymore…

The rest of the dinner passed comfortably, and to be honest, I enjoyed being here, becoming a part of a family so classy and wealthy. I felt privileged, something I’d never dreamed of, to sit with them and be included in their conversations. I realized if I was good at this, and did my job perfectly, Devin won’t have a chance to complain and who knows, I might keep this job permanently.

Before retiring to my bedroom that night, I talked to Dayana. “I think Castle doesn’t really like me.”

She laughed like I was being ridiculous. “That’s not true. There were over three-hundred applicants for this job, and he chose you.”

He chose me?

“I don’t understand.” I admitted, “What do you mean, he chose me?”

“Well, he pointed at your picture and told us he wanted you as his caregiver.” She explained. “And Devin thought why not, so he interviewed you over the phone, and Castle listened to the conversation.” She patted my shoulder. “It’s going to take some time, don’t worry. He likes you.”

“He can talk, right?”

“Of course, he can. Well, I don’t blame you for thinking he doesn’t. Most people who meet him think that way. He just chooses his time to speak.”

“I hope you don’t mind my questions, Dayana. I just want to get to know him better. How did he lose his memories?”

“The boating accident. He hit his head, but was lucky to survive. The doctors said that Castle may never regain his memories.”

“Oh!”

I felt sorry for Castle. He’d been born into a privileged family with more wealth than he could use in a lifetime, but tragedy had stolen everything from him.

“I have to accompany Devin to a conference early tomorrow morning. I need to go to bed.”

“Sure. Sorry to keep you waiting. I’ve had a long day too.”

“No problem, and goodnight, Millie.”

“Night,” I said.

“Oh, and Millie...”

“Yeah?”

“Lock your bedroom door when you sleep.”

She disappeared down to her bedroom, stifling a yawn, and left me there wondering what that was about.

I started climbing the stairs to my room, and since most of the lights were already out; the place was dark with only a few lights left on, leaving the place dimly lit. Just then, I felt a chill running down my body, but I kept walking until I heard something behind me, so I stopped and turned.

Castle stood at the end of the staircase, wearing blue pajamas with little turtles on them. His eyes were dead set on me, a grim expression plastered on his face. Something about the way he was looking at me felt so wrong, and I felt my heart drumming against my chest.

I could have sworn I hadn’t seen him a few minutes ago when I was talking to his sister.

“Do you need anything, Castle?” I addressed him directly.

As expected, he didn’t answer. It took me a few seconds to realize that he was holding something in his hand.

“What’s that in your hand?”

Again, there was no response.

“I need you to talk to me, Castle.”

He swayed from one foot to another and continued to repeat that.

Okayyyyy….

“Good Night,” I told him and began making my way upstairs. This time, I didn’t look back.

Regardless, I knew he was following me. The loud thumping of his footsteps following me was a good enough reason to make me flee. I sped up and when I reached the floor; I hurried inside my room, shut the door, and locked it.

My heart wanted to leap out of my chest.

He was standing outside. I sat down on the floor and looked through the gap between the door. I noticed some movements there.

I was scared, but I also didn't want to call Devin because I desperately needed to keep this job!

He might think I wasn’t cut out for it.

There was a knock at the door.

I wasn’t going to answer that!

After that, I heard nothing for a while, so I thought he left and almost jumped out of my skin when there was another soft knock.

I was having my doubts about the story that Devin had spun regarding the previous caregivers being fired because they hadn’t treated Castle well. I could bet that they had left after being harassed by him, and not the other way round.

I counted to five and answered the door to ask him what his problem was, but when I opened it, all I saw was darkness on either side of the hallway, save for the light streaming from the large windows.

“What do you want?” I asked.

There was no sign of him.

I started closing the door when a little toy pickup truck rolled forward and stopped in front of me.

At a distance, I saw the silhouette of a tall figure.

Waiting. Watching.

The truck was radio-controlled and kept bumping against my toe. I looked closely at it and saw a little folded note inside.

I picked the note up and quickly walked inside my room

With shaky hands, I opened it.

The words were scrawled in red crayon.

Hi Millie.