All We Are

Twenty One

*****

"All we do is hide away, all we do is hide away. All we do is chase the day, all we do is, all we do is chase the day. All we do is lie and wait, all we do is, all we do is lie and wait, all we do is feel the fade. All we do is, all we do is feel the fade. I've been upside down, I don't wanna be the right way round. Can't find paradise on the ground."- All We Do, by Oh Wonder

*****

Rose

"Rose, can I ask you something?" Blake said absentmindedly.

We were lying on his bed in his room. The dinner had been quite a success. Mrs. Adams was an excellent cook, and Mr. Adams was the grill master, if you will. They both continued asking me with questions, regarding my family mostly. Blake stopped them if he thought I was getting uncomfortable, or if the subject was close to touching on Ryan.

They also thought I was far too thin, and asked that I come to dinner every night, and they now seemed to want me to come for Christmas even if my parents were home. I just laughed it off, but I was very touched that they wanted me back. They told me more about their home in Cannon Beach. Apparently Mr. Adams had inherited it, and now he shared it with the rest of his family. It sounded gorgeous, based on their descriptions.

A house right on the shore, near the woods, and near the small downtown area. Apparently there were hiking trails, bike paths, restaurants, small shops and boutiques, and rivers for canoeing. The weather in March, during spring break would be too cold for swimming in the ocean, but the house did have a hot tub and a sauna, which I'm very sure would be taken full advantage of, especially if everyone came along.

"Sure." I replied, looking around Blake's room.

It was very plain, not super clean, but I suspected that Dorothy made him tidy things up a bit. The walls were gray, there were books, video games, CDs, clothes, and random papers and pens scattered and stacked around the room. He had a bed in the middle of his room, and a chair in the corner, along with a closet.

"What are your plans for the future?" Blake asked.

"Blake, your grandparents asked me that already." I turned over in his bed to face him.

"I know that, but I just want to hear it again, I want to know why you want to do the things you say, go where you say you want to go, be what you say you want to be." He said softly.

I smiled at him. "Well, what do you want to know first?"

It was Blake's turn to roll over and face me. "How about why you want to go into business?"

I pursed my lips trying to remember where I got the idea. "I think I realized that when I was fourteen maybe. Up until that point I really had no idea what I wanted to be. I decided very early on that I didn't want to be a doctor of any kind. I remember thinking that I wanted to be someone who made a lot of money."

Blake laughed. "There's more to life than just money."

"I know that now, I was a kid when I thought money was all that mattered. I mean I still want to make a steady living, but I want to be happy doing it. Anyway, I never knew what I wanted to be, but people were starting to ask all the time. So I started looking around to see what adults around me did for a living.

"My dad's a businessman, and my mother was a stay-at-home mom, but now she's in business too, but I think the real person that got me interested was Damon Knightley." I told Blake.

"James's dad?" Blake said sounding surprised.

"Yep." I nodded. "He told me one day, notice the things that make you happy, material things, and character traits. I noticed what I liked in my classes, I always loved essay writing and math. Then I realized that I really like to be in charge." I blushed with the last words.