Love is Equal (Chardre)

Chapter 13

When we got to Dad's house, he made us help him take all of the things out of the boot and take the suitcases into the massive living room. In the living room, there was a wall on the left with loads of celebrities' pictures on. They were celebrities that Dad had worked with. To the right, there was a massive sofa with 2 foot stools and the sofa was L-shaped so that a part of it faced the wall on the left with the celebrities on. In front of the sofa was a massive coffee table on. Books and magazines were scattered over it but it still looked tidy. Opposite the sofa was a curved plasma TV. 

The  living room was the first room on the right. Parallel to the front door was the kitchen and the first door (and only door) on the left was a door to the basement which was also under the stairs.

The stairs started at the left of the door and curved up into a straight line. "Wow, this place is massive, Dad, how did you afford it?"

"A magical thing called money," Dad smirked.

"Obviously, but how did earn the money?" I asked.

"I had the dollars I had exchanged for pounds," Dad explained.

"Oh, my God! I've got to see upstairs." I rushed upstairs and, at the top of the stairs, was a balcony so you look over and watch people enter the house. Opposite the top of the stairs, was a study room about 3x smaller than the living room. Perpendicular to the study room was a door leading to a bedroom. At the back, in the middle, was a double bed and was framed by a built-in white wardrobe. Down the sides of the bed were 2 nightstands (one each side) which had teal lamps on. On the same wall as the door was a desk which was placed in the corner the other side of the room. 

The desk had a mac computer on with 2 draws underneath it and then a white fold up chair accompanied it.

The other 2 rooms had the same layout but just different colours. The one I first entered was teal, the second one (the middle room) was a dark purple and the last one (the room closest to the stairs) was black. 

The bathroom for the end bedroom was attached to the end. The bathroom for the middle bedroom was behind it as there was only one nightstand in there because there was a door for the bathroom the other side and the bathroom for the first bedroom was beside it. 

The only door on the left at the top of the stairs was a laundry room with multiple tumble dryers and washing machines. 

There were a lot of beds in the house as there were also about 4 bedrooms in the basement. I dragged Charlie around with me by hand to take in what my Dad had earned.

Back downstairs, Dad was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Even though I was tired from the flight, I was hyped up by everything in the house. 

In the kitchen, there was an island in the middle with a black top but the unit was white. The worktop built against the wall had cupboards with lights in the bottom so Dad had those on whilst preparing dinner. The floor was one big gray tile. 

In the dining room, there was a simple long black table with 5 black chairs each side and one each at both ends. 

In the garden, there was a massive swimming pool which had glass all around it and then there was a jacuzzi in between the swimming pool and the glass. Beside the swimming pool was another glassed building with fruit and veg in but I didn't take any interest in that. In front of the green house, though, was a trampoline then a grassed area. 

After exploring the house and the garden, Dad called Charlie and I into the kitchen for tea. "Leo, Charlie, tea's ready!"

"Okay." We rushed into the dining room and sat down straight away. Macaroni Cheese was being served and dished by Dad. "Where are the others?"

"Oh, they're all in the living room watching TV. I think it's the X Factor," Dad shrugged.

Charlie and I swiftly took our dishes and rushed to the living room, parking our bums on the sofa next to Jessica and Alex. We all ate, watched TV and talked about the auditionees. After dinner, Charlie and I went back to the kitchen. Once the X Factor finished, Dad called us all into the dining room and told us all to sit down.

"Okay so as all of you know, I haven't assigned any of you rooms yet. If I have any trouble with any of these arrangements then I will place you in the basement. Jessica and Alex, you two are in the black room so the first one. The middle room will be empty, unless you two, Leo and Charlie, decide to have that one instead as the last room will be yours. Harry and Louis, you've got a room in the basement called Orchid. Zayn and Niall, you're in Lily which is next to Orchid and Liam, you can choose where you go. Just not my room downstairs."

"Can we go to our rooms now?" I asked.

"Before you lot go, feel free to take a map off the worktop there of the house," Dad points to the worktop nearest the door. "And make sure to collect your suitcases."

Charlie and I were the last to leave the kitchen as I stopped to ask Dad a question. Charlie waited for me in the living room. "Dad, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he smiled.

"If you and Mum were to ever get married, which house would you keep?"

"We actually discussed that on Skype 3 weeks ago. If we do we both want to keep this house."

"Why were you talking about it?"

"Am I not allowed to? I know you don't like change a lot, Leo, but I want to be able to see you, Ben, Jacob, and Tilly every day."

"We can do that in Wales," I moaned. "Dad I love this house but I can't afford to move and give up all of my friends just for you. It just doesn't work like that. I don't want to start anew here."

"Why not? A fresh start is such an amazing opportunity."

"Dad, you don't know much about me, do you?"

"Obviously, I don't, if you're asking to go back to Wales already."

"I'm not asking to go back to Wales. I love this place and I love the effort you're making to include me in your life again but I just can't leave Wales. I love you, Dad, and I really appreciate what you're doing."

"You do?"

"Of course, I do, Dad. I just think that if you got rid of this place, you're giving part of yourself up. If you were to move to Wales with Mum..."

"I can give this place up, Leo. One of my friends is house hunting and this place would be their dream. I can give it to them."

I hugged Dad. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Leo."

I left the kitchen and entered the living room. Charlie and I walked upstairs, struggling as we did because of our suitcases.