It All Started with a Lie

Chapter 10.1

"Absolutely not, the only thing Richard will have me in for more than what we did, is the news that she'll have to clean the bathroom."

He sighed, knowing that I was right.  "Fine, then what do you suggest."

"I'll snoop around in your room."

His eyes grew twice their size and I swear his mouth was catching flies. I shrugged. "I like to snoop through peoples things. Especially if the doors open," which his most certainly was, the only time I'd ever seen it open, "Richard will believe it."

"You are not snooping through my room."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh come on! I won't actually, I just need her to think I am." Oh, I was totally snooping.

Our eyes drew to the door as Richard shouted my name, having made it to her bedroom, where I was nowhere to be found. The sound of her voice drew the panic to the front of our minds. He pushed me, gently, to the door. "Fine! But be quick!"

I had to withhold my squeal at the opportunity of digging through his room. I loved to poke around peoples things, you learned so much about a person from it. I liked to think it was what helped Richard and I grow so close. The first time she let me come over, I touched everything in sight, opening random boxes, picking out things I needed to borrow in the future. Her bookshelves were decorated in an abundance of fancy trinkets and nic-nacks, so much for me to look at, along with a damn little black box that she refused to let me open. I was so desperate to know what's inside it, but she said it was a secret that she would only tell me once the box was empty, and I had to respect that. So as many times as I'd been alone in her room and that box had tempted me with mystery, I just had to restrain myself. But I've certainly guessed everything I can possibly think of: money, drugs, love letters, human teeth, a weird shrine to my brother. All a no. I need to know what's in that box.

When we thought the coast was clear, I slipped out of the bathroom and ran to the only room in this house I'd never stepped foot in, or hardly seen for that matter. The door was almost always closed, no matter the time of day. But today it wasn't, it was open, just a crack, but enough for me to sneak in without a sound. I knew I only had a few minutes before Richard would find me, so I had to hurry. His room looked nothing like I'd imagined, for either version of him I'd built in my head. For her sweet, innocent brother I'd thought his room would be simple, practically empty since he spent most of his time out of his room and with his family. And for the man who shamelessly fucked me on the frat house patio, for starters, I imagined his room would be a tiny dorm in the frat house, littered with trash, maybe some random girls underwear. But it was nothing like that. His bed was a queen, bigger than Richard and Sonny's, and on it sat three blankets, a ragged stuffed penguin belonging to my brother that was currently in custody of Richard, and a cat toy. Great, the cat likes him too. Sprawled across the floor were several sheets of material and a sketch signed by Sonny. A stack of books littered the nightstand and the desk, but beside them sat hand wrap, a pair of headphones, and a set of keys. I took a look at his closet next, and with every movement of his clothing I induced, a wave of cedar washed over me mixing with the citrusy, bergamot scent of the rest of the house. Half of the items in his closet were tagged with a Sonny original label, the other half were t-shirts and sweats. I guess that explained why he dressed so well. My perusal of the room was stopped just as I made it to the family picture on the wall, the three of them when they were kids. Richard stood in the doorway, calling my name. I acted startled, giving her a wide eyed look. "Richard!"

She smiled her infectious smile and the similarity between hers and his was so eerily creepy I thought I might be sick. I will never look at her smile the same. Just another thing he ruined. "What are you doing in here?" In her left hand rested a copy of the book she'd spent the last week telling me she wanted.