Just a Crush

Chapter 16

•·.·✦ Chapter 16✦·.·•

Aubrey didn't know what to expect when she went to Travis' house so she was a surprised when they pulled up in the open garage of a modern styled home. It was decent sized and from where she stood on the driveway she could see a stone path leading to what looked like a pool behind the house.

He led her inside and at first glance it looked like a typical bachelor pad. The walls were beige and the furniture a tasteful, white and brown, but upon closer inspection it was much more than that. Aubrey felt like she'd walk into the pages of Home magazine.

"Who did the decor? It's beautiful," she commented in awe as they moved down the hallway.

"Cory's mom is an interior designer. She couldn't wait to get her hands on this house," Travis said remembering the woman's excitement when she'd first stepped through the door. He could have sworn her eyes had sparkled.

When they got to his room, Aubrey couldn't believe how much it suited his somewhat dark and silent personality. The walls were stark white in contrast to everything else which ranged from different shades of grey to black. She stared at the bed and frowned. "Where do you sleep?" she asked puzzled.

He stared down at her in mute surprise then pointed at the floor. "How could you tell?"

"The bed looks...untouched," she said as they walked back to the living room. They sat down in the plush couch and Aubrey eyes widened when she noticed the flat screen mounted on the wall. "That's huge."

Travis nodded. "Cory's mom insisted that anything smaller would take away from the authentic feel of the image she created. Didn't make any sense when she said it, still doesn't make sense now."

"It kinda does to me," Aubrey said then looked at him questioningly. "Why do you sleep on the floor?"

"When I was kid I use to sleep under my bed. I stopped after a while but I'd already grown use to the floor. I just couldn't break out of the habit."

"Why did you sleep under your bed?" she asked puzzled.

Travis shifted. He looked a bit uncomfortable. "I don't really know. I guess I was hiding from my dad. It didn't work but I still did it anyways."

Aubrey went silent at that. She could see that his father was a touchy subject for him and she didn't want to dig up any unpleasant memories. From what she'd heard, his father was in prison for murder and for being involved in some big drug scheme.

"I hate him. He use to beat the hell out of me," he said quietly.

Aubrey gasped and stared at Travis in shock. He was staring straight ahead with a faraway look.

"But that's not why I hate him. I hate him because he never had a reason for actually doing it. And if he did well, he never told me. Honestly, any stupid little reason would have been good enough for me."

"No," Aubrey protested pulling his hand in hers to get his attention. "There's no good enough reason for doing something like that. Travis, what he did to you was wrong. There's no excuse."

Travis glanced up at her, surprised at her hard, defiant tone. "I know that but I'd rather he had a reason so I knew what I did to make him hate me so much," he said.

Aubrey shook her head. She didn't like the way he was thinking. "You think it's your fault?"

"No," Travis snapped irritated pulling away from her. "I don't know. Maybe. Sometimes."

Aubrey folded her arms and sat back in the couch. "Okay. Fine. What makes it your fault?"

He didn't say anything and after a while he just shrugged. "He told me once that I was weak and pathetic like my mom. She got killed in a robbery a couple months after I was born. Maybe...forget it." He shook his head. Sometimes he wondered if his father hating him had something to do with his mom.