When The Storm Hits

Chapter 9: Pretty Boy

Landon and I sat in his car in front of the school in complete silence. His hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly, and his eyes were set straight forward. I watched his muscles tighten as he clenched his jaw. Landon had a seriously attractive side profile. I shook my head, as if I could shake the thoughts physically out of my brain. 

"Are you going to get out?" Landon asked me. 

"I...." My voice choked up. "I have nowhere to go."

"What do you mean you have nowhere to go?" He questioned.

"Neither of my parents want me Landon!" I screamed, burying my face in my lap.

"Well that's fucked up." He sighed. "Maybe you can come stay with me. Well we wouldn't be in the same house but...I could talk to my dad." 

"Really?" I was shocked at his generosity.

"Yeah I mean, I can talk to my dad about you staying in our guest house." Landon said like he was lost in thought. 

The handsome boy with curly blond hair, started the car again and pulled out of the school parking lot. I was silently grateful for even the chance of some place to stay. Landon's father, Doctor Johnathan Marks was the towns only physician. He was a tall man with straight hair the same color as Landon's, but his mother was no where to be found. Both father and son lived lavishly in a quiet house. 

Landon seemed to live quite far from the school, deep within the rural area of the outskirts of town. We had passed countless farms, and fields growing with plants almost ready for harvesting. The cold wind of fall was beginning to turn the green plants an ugly shade of brown-yellow. There were pastures filled with cows, some with horses. All the animals grazed lazily, munching on grass and dried out corn. 

Eventually we began to turn down a hidden driveway, up a hill which lead to a huge gate. The black painted metal had started to rust, enduring many seasons. Landon parked the car and left it running while he ran up to the gate and heaved it open. Once the creaky gate had swung wide enough for the car to get through Landon climbed back into the car. He drove forward only far enough to be clear of the gate when it closed. Once again, he got out and left the car running. 

The driveway had twisted and turned many times, amazing me that we had not found the house yet. That was, until a massive building began to loom up on the horizon. I felt my jaw go slack as my mouth fell open in awe. There seemed to be Rococo properties in the architecture. There were large windows, statues, and extreme detailing of the stone that the house was made of. 

"Yeah, so this is where I live." Landon said cringing slightly, like he was embarrassed of his home. 

"Its beautiful," I breathed. I poured over the house with my eyes furiously, trying to take all of it in. 

"Come on Lilly, you can gawk at the house later. I gotta talk to my dad, and it would be rude of me to leave you sitting in the car." He opened the door after shutting off the car, and began to walk towards the house. I took a deep breath and got out. I wiped my sweaty hands on my dress from last night. The door opened before we could walk up the stairs and Dr. Marks came out.

"Landon, my boy, good to see you're home. Ah-" He paused upon seeing me. "Who might you be?"

"I'm Lillian Denmark," I said extending a hand to him.

"Nice to meet you Lillian," Dr. Marks smiled down at me.

"Dad, can I speak with you in private for a moment?" Landon asked his father.

"Of course. Would you like to come in Lillian?" His dad asked me.

"Sure, I mean, yes please." I shook my head at myself. I crept up into the house, still shocked at how beautiful it was. There was all sorts of artwork all over the house, stuff that ranged from modern, to pop art, to Renaissance styled paintings. I was blown away at house everything worked so well together, even though there was a major time gap in the art. There was a large spiral staircase in the center of the house, with black marble steps. "You have an amazing home Dr. Marks." 

"Please, call me Johnathan." He said after thanking me. "Now if you would excuse my son and I."

I nodded and sat myself down on one of the black couches. I hope that I didn't smell too bad, or that I didn't look like I had been awake all night. The two men came back shortly, their private talk not lasting very long. Landon smiled at me, and winked. 

"Landon says you need a place to stay Lillian?" Johnathan asked me.

"Yes sir, my mother kicked me out. And my father has a new family and won't let me stay with him. I am really sorry to impede on you." I shrugged. "It would only be for a little while, until I save up enough money to get a car and my own place." 

"You can stay here as long as you wish. Although I would rather you stay in the main house, instead of in the guest house. There is a murderer on the loose you know." Johnathan smiled grimly at me. "At least you'll have Landon and I to protect you if anything bad were to happen."

"Thank you Dr. Marks, I mean Johnathan. I am so grateful," I shook his hand furiously. 

"You are welcome dear, Landon would you like to show her the room?" Johnathan spoke to his son.

"Follow me, while you are in the bath I'll bring your bags in." Landon said to me. I nodded my head and once again followed behind him. We walked up the staircase to a long hallway on the second floor. Surprisingly there were only three doors in the whole upstairs. There was a bathroom, Landon's room, and my room that was across the hall. 

Landon opened the door to the bathroom and flicked on the lights. It was massive, filled with a bathtub the size of a small pool, a glass paneled shower, a wide closet, two sinks, a toilet, and everything went with a black, grey, and gold color scheme. Landon started to dig around in the closet. Finally he produced a hefty bottle of rose bubble bath, and shampoo and conditioner. I smiled at the soap, glad that they were a comforting scent. 

"How did you know that I would want rose?" I asked him.

"Well whenever I pass you in the halls at school, you always seem to smell like roses." He smiled sheepishly at me.

"I didn't even know that you knew who I was until last week." I felt bad for being so mean to him.

"I try not to flaunt my feelings, I'm afraid of what people would think of me. I'm actually quite a softy." He laughed. 

"Don't worry, I wont tell anyone Pretty Boy." I said laughing with him. He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. I stared at him, rooted in my spot.

"I'm sorry," He said frowning.

"No its ok...but you should probably leave. Its not because I don't like you...its because I like you too much. And if you stay in this bathroom any longer I'm not sure what might happen." I blurted out.

A cocky smile spread across his face, "Are you sure you want me to leave?" 

"No...I'm not sure. But I smell, I'm hungry, and I really just want to relax in this bath." I said sighing.

"Fine, you get in the bath. I'll be back with food, and your clothes."