Page 76 of Heir to a Curse

Chapter 27

Sleeping in the hall had not been good for my back, but I did it the first night anyway, insisting on staying close to him, and fearing he’d be sucked back through some portal to another world.

Having to leave to go get my test brought on an anxiety attack like I hadn’t had in years. I begged Montana to keep an eye on Xiang, and he promised he would, though I was certain he had a million things he needed to be doing in the kitchen since I could smell bread baking through the entire house.

How I made the short drive to the clinic and back, I don’t even recall. Probably was not smart of me to drive, as my brain was still rolling in loop de loops over Xiang’s arrival. Sean Yang is what his passport read. Apparently Zhao had enough connections to make that happen. Not only to create a current identity for Xiang, but provide him a way back to me. I owed that man more than he could possibly fathom. Anything he wanted, if it was in my power, I’d make it happen and had already left him a voicemail saying exactly that.

By the time I got home from having the test, a swab which felt like it was touching my brain through my nasal cavity, my heart was pounding with worry. Would he still be there?

But Addy was sitting on the pillow I’d been using, in the hall outside his open door. She looked up at me and smiled. “I’ve been listening to Sean play,” she said. “It’s breathtaking, but sad.”

Had he been playing sad songs? I made my way to her side, taking a spot on the floor next to the pillow, since it wasn’t large enough for two of us. Xiang sat behind the chest; instrument stilled beneath his fingers. His hair was down today and I clenched my hands in need to touch it.

“Test complete?” Addy asked.

“Yes. It was like someone trying to scrape out my eyeballs from behind my nose.”

“Yikes. How soon before you know?”

That made me sigh. “Three days, up to a week. They will call.”

Addy stared at me, and then glanced at the open door. Xiang began another tune, this one light and happy, but slow, like a flower opening. “This is him?” She asked.

“Yes,” I breathed.

She tilted her head as if deep in thought. “We’ve had no damage to the house in over a month.”

I nodded, though unwilling to say the words for fear they’d do something like reactivate it. Had we broken the curse? Until Xiang was back in my arms, I wasn’t sure I could believe it myself.

“Let me go grab some stuff from your cabin. This room doesn’t have a bed yet.” She pointed to the room beside Xiang’s. I hadn’t started a remodel on that one yet. Though we’d already begun emptying it of furniture.

“I have a sleeping bag in the bottom of the main dressing cupboard. I can sleep right here.” I had been using the bathroom in the room next door, and making note of how dated the tile in there was. Did the rest of the house need that much updating? There was a difference between historical and dated. Sadly this house was dated.

She sighed. “Days?”

I nodded. I’d already waited over a month, and apparently several lifetimes. “I’m right where I need to be.” The smile that appeared on Xiang’s face lifted a weight off my chest I hadn’t realized I’d still been carrying. “Can you bring me my computer? And the tablet? I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie or a drama. He can tell me how inaccurateThe Untamedis.”

“If you promise you’ll eat, I’ll bring you stuff.”

“I’ll eat,” I vowed, so long as I didn’t have to go anywhere.

* * *

The next few days went by both achingly slow and in a rush. I made a nest of pillows in the hall, leaving only to occasionally shower or use the bathroom. Montana brought us food, even sat and ate with us a few times, chatting about what life was like before the ‘plague’ as he called it. The funny part, for him, it wasn’t all that different. Working in a mansion this far from anything, didn’t lead to a big social life.

The official clock on Xiang’s isolation ended three days later, though concerned about not receiving my test results yet, we decided to wait until I heard back on my test. I was going to kiss him breathless the second I could, and didn’t want to chance I’d give him something.

So I paced the hall like a caged tiger. Even his music could no longer soothe the need I had for him. He made tea and I’d watched so many times I was certain I had it memorized. He read and I watched him turn pages. If he was creeped out by my focus on him, he didn’t seem bothered, and often sat beside the open doorway, asking questions about this life I’d lived, and the world he had yet to catch more than a glimpse of.

“Was the bunny you?” I asked him once, thinking about the white rabbit I’d seen near my cabin. His hair matched the white fluff of the bunny.

“Bunny?” He seemed to think about that for a while. “Maybe? Sometimes I’d listen, almost see into this world.”

“And steal sandwiches,” I added.

“That was me,” he admitted and glanced at his empty tray. “The food is good here. Though strange.”

I was just thrilled he was eating. The gaunt edge of his face had softened, and while he was still thin, he seemed to be filling out a little. Montana had been very intent on giving us all nutrient dense meals to fight any possible illness. If it helped Xiang recover, I’d eat it all too.