Chapter 78: A Different Morning

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: A Different Morning

Garrett woke earlier than he meant to, the light through the curtains still soft and grey, the house around him silent in a way his own apartment never quite managed even at its quietest.

He lay there for a moment, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. The bed itself was easily the most comfortable thing he’d ever slept on, the mattress giving in exactly the right places, the sheets softer than anything he owned. None of that mattered much against the simple fact that his body hadn’t caught up to where he actually was. Some instinct kept surfacing under the sleep, some low hum of awareness that this wasn’t his space, however carefully it had been prepared for him.

He gave up trying to fall back asleep after a few minutes and got up.

Finding the bathroom took him longer than it should have. The guest room’s layout was unfamiliar enough that he opened one door expecting it and found a closet instead, empty hangers swinging slightly from the momentum. The actual bathroom sat through a different door entirely, and once inside, he found everything already arranged for him. A toothbrush still sealed in its packaging. Toothpaste. Towels folded with more precision than he’d ever bothered folding anything in his life. A full set of toiletries lined up along the counter like a hotel display rather than something meant for actual daily use.

Small things caught his attention as he moved through his routine. The soap smelled different from what he normally bought, something more expensive and less familiar. The mirror sat at a slightly different height than the one in his own bathroom, angled in a way that made him adjust his stance without quite realizing why at first. Even reaching for the towel took an extra second, his hand going toward where the towel rack would have been in his apartment before correcting itself toward where it actually was here.

None of it bothered him enough to comment on. He just adjusted, the way he’d adjusted to plenty of stranger things since the system had first shown up in his life, and finished getting ready.

He’d barely finished dressing when a knock came at the door.

Garrett opened it to find a woman he didn’t recognize, dressed in the same understated staff uniform, a tray balanced carefully in her hands.

"Good morning, sir," she said, polite and brisk. "Breakfast is ready, if you’d like it brought in."

"Sure. Thank you."

She stepped past him, setting the tray down on the small table near the window with practiced efficiency. Toast, golden and simple. Scrambled eggs, fluffy in a way that suggested careful preparation. A small bowl of fresh fruit, cut and arranged neatly. A pot of coffee, steam still curling faintly off the surface.

"Thank you," he said again, and she offered a small nod before letting herself back out, closing the door softly behind her.

Garrett sat down and ate slowly, in no particular hurry. The coffee was good, better than what he usually made himself, and the quiet of the mansion settled around him in a way that felt almost strange after the noise his own building usually carried, footsteps overhead, traffic outside, someone’s television bleeding faintly through the walls. Here there was nothing. Just the soft clink of his own fork against the plate and the occasional distant sound of the house itself, quietly running through whatever routines kept it functioning this early.

By the time he’d finished the meal with coffee still in his hand, some of the earlier unfamiliarity had eased slightly, replaced by something closer to actual comfort.

Another knock came a few minutes later, softer this time.

Garrett got up, coffee still in hand, and opened the door.

Emiliana stood there, dressed down from yesterday, hair slightly less arranged than usual, looking genuinely pleased to see him.

"Good morning, beautiful," Garrett said, easy, unforced.

She smiled at that, something warm crossing her face before the surprise caught up with it. "You’re already up?"

"Woke early. Didn’t feel like lying there staring at the ceiling."

"Guess it’s not the easiest place to sleep the first night." She glanced past him toward the room, then back at his face, studying him for a second. "How’d you sleep, though? Actually?"

"Fine, once I actually got there. Bed’s better than mine, for what it’s worth."

"Thats good to know."

"Its a bed in a mansion after all."

She laughed softly, then noticed the mug still in his hand, steam long gone from it by now. "Wait, have you eaten already?"

"Someone brought breakfast a bit ago. A different face."

"Ah. She’s usually up before the rest of the house, Margaret" Emiliana leaned slightly against the doorframe, comfortable in a way that made the whole exchange feel unhurried, domestic almost, nothing about it demanding to be anywhere else. "Good. I was going to ask if you wanted to eat downstairs, but sounds like you’re covered."

"Covered," Garrett agreed. "Though I wouldn’t say no to more coffee."

"I can arrange that."

"Very generous of you."

"I embody hospitality." She caught herself the second it left her mouth, a small laugh escaping. "That sounded better in my head."

"It didn’t, but I appreciate the effort."

They settled into easy conversation for a while, Emiliana still at the doorway too engrossed in whatver little conversation they were having to care about entering, while Garrett still with an unfinished coffee in his hands

"So what’s the plan for today?" she asked. "I was thinking we could actually do something. Not just wander the house."

"Sounds good." Garrett considered the rest of it, the practical piece he hadn’t mentioned yet. "I’ll probably head out this evening, though. We’ve got class tomorrow."

Emiliana’s expression shifted immediately, the easy warmth from a moment ago giving way to something sharper.

"Wait." She sat up straighter. "You’re leaving this evening?"

"Yeah. Figured I’d head back tonight, get some sleep before class."

"You’re leaving already?"

Garrett paused, catching the weight behind the repetition, the way her voice had climbed slightly on the second version of the question like the first hadn’t fully registered.

He didn’t have an immediate answer ready for whatever had just shifted behind her expression.