Beauty, Roses and Attitude (The First Book of The Reversed Roles Series)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After we’ve finished our meal, he leads me down several streets to a destination that he kept quiet about. We made small talk and as we walked and the stares didn’t lessen, in fact, it’s as if everyone stopped what they were doing and then just looked at us. I try not to be fazed by it but it’s kind of hard not to be when literally, it looks like almost everyone in town is outside today.

“That’s where I fell and broke my ankle.” He points towards a spot in front of a book store. I shake my head, uncrossing my arms. “Where you in a hurry?” I ask. “No, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” I burst out laughing at his misfortune and clumsy persona.

“Who does that?” I splutter unattractively. “I do.” He mumbles and a light tint of pink covers his cheeks.

“Anyway-“He coughs, driving the conversation away from his past misfortunes “-here we are.”

I look away from him and my gaze falls to a small quaint house. It’s definitely small enough to fit inside the mansion I live in and I couldn’t possibly imagine someone having to live in such a small place.

However, the odd decorations, the random but in place splatters of paint that decorated the side of the house, the mailbox that messily says “Huttmane family”, the different flowers that coloured the garden and the smile on Adam’s lips tells me that it’s enough to be his home.

“It’s wonderful.” I say.

“Thanks.” He shrugs, opening the wooden and worn out fence in front of us.

There’s such a huge contrast with his house and mine. An example would be our fences. While his stands a small five feet, mine stands proud over 10 feet tall, not letting anyone in and out…unless you’re Adam.

“Make yourself at home.” He mumbles slipping his key in the doorknob, jingling it for a bit before opening it. It creaks for a second but I don’t take notice of it when I see what’s inside.

The walls are painted and hang with memories of Adam and Fiona and another man who looks like Adam. His father probably. There’s a desk near the front door and it’s also filled with memories such as medallions, school certificates and even a goofy picture of a small Adam. I unknowingly smile, walking down the short hallway while looking around. Fiona did such a great job with explaining and describing everything to me because just as I expected, the kitchen is to my right and the small living room with only a couch, a small coffee table and a television in it are to my left. Everywhere I look, there’s a story. It’s another thing contrasting between our two houses.

 While his holds stories, mine is completely bear of tales. Every little mess of mine is cleaned or immediately fixed the next day, leaving the house completely spotless and no memories traced. I’ve got no photos or medallions to display even in my room. I’ve got a fully furnished house but it seems as if it’s completely bare now that I’m here at Adam’s.

“Belle.” He pokes me and I jolt away from my trance. He’s standing in front of me with a questioning look. “Um, I was just wondering which movie you want to watch.” He holds up a box filled with smaller containers. “A movie?”

“Yes, Belle. We’re watching a movie.” He sits me down on the sofa before plopping himself beside me, handing me the box filled with smaller containers. I lift one up and inspect the slim, rectangle object. “What’s this?” I ask.

“Holy shit, you weren’t kidding when you said you’ve never watched a movie.” He mumbles to himself. “Open it.” He says.

I look at the box again, flipping it and looking at it at the bottom and at the top. I decide to pry it open from the top and when it wouldn’t budge, I look at Adam helplessly. However, he’s too busy laughing to the point that there are tears coming down his cheeks.