Handsome and the Hideous

Chapter 4

It was strange how a few weeks ago, I had the mansion to myself. I was isolated and away from everyone, but now I was in the kitchen with Rosalie and Cody. We were all sitting at the dining table, ready to eat dinner. I felt anxious, but I tried to keep myself distracted as I began placing Chinese noodles on Cody's plate.

"Thank you," Cody said as I went to put noodles on Rosalie's plate.

I didn't say anything to that. Rosalie's eyes were on me and they were full of hope that something would bloom between Cody and I, but I simply shook my head. Cody and I barely knew each other. Even though we lived under the same roof, we barely talked to each other. Nothing would ever happen between us and I didn't mind that.

Soon I placed noodles on my own plate and sat down at the glass table. It was a small square table and Cody, Rosalie, and I all sat at different sides of the table. Rosalie was next to me and Cody was in front of me, and I began to feel self-conscious. That was a feeling I always felt around Cody.

Digging into my food, I ate quietly. None of us spoke and I didn't mind that. Glancing at Cody, I was thankful he was introverted like me. Both of us kept to ourselves and it made my life much easier.

"Cody, do you remember me?" Rosalie asked, bringing our attention to her.

"Of course," Cody said, smiling immediately. "How could I forget the woman who pointed a knife at me."

Rosalie laughed at Cody's words and I smiled. Looking down, I felt warm at the sight of Rosalie's genuine laugh. She seemed to love Cody, even though they barely spoke.

"Would you like an apology?" Rosalie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That would be nice," Cody said, raising an eyebrow back.

"An apology belongs to someone who deserves it. Young man, you don't after breaking into someone's house just to play soccer."

Cody laughed and I became surprised by the noise. His laugh was pure and genuine, a sound that seemed to boil up from deep inside him. My eyes softened as I stared at Cody who was now grinning at Rosalie.

"Touché," Cody said. "Jason and I are idiots. I'll own up to that."

Rosalie smiled and shook her head. We all continued to eat and I noticed that Rosalie couldn't stop smiling. Cody also looked really happy and something in me softened. I had a lot of bad experiences with people in the past, but when I saw Rosalie and Cody I couldn't help but wonder if people could be genuinely kind. There was something so innocent about the two of them, but then I shook my head and told myself that I barely knew them. Once you really got to know someone, their true colours appeared.

*****

I sat up and gasped. Panting, I put a hand over my heart and felt it pound against my chest. I closed my eye briefly then, trying to calm down. I just had a nightmare and I felt like I would throw up from it.

In my dream I had been surrounded by a crowd of people. They were all pointing at me, laughing because I was hideous. I was so ugly that some of them were shielding their eyes as they pointed at me and screamed. I had woken up then, feeling like I was suffocating as they closed in on me.

Sighing, I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep after that dream. Deciding to grab a glass of water, I dragged myself out of bed and went downstairs. My heart was still racing and I felt sick, but I told myself to suck it up. I had spent my entire life ugly and I knew I was supposed to be used to it.

Reaching downstairs, I was surprised to see that the kitchen light was on. Frowning, I wondered if I had accidentally left it on when I had gone upstairs earlier. I usually wasn't that carless, so I was confused.

But when I reached the kitchen, I became surprised when I saw Cody there. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, holding his own glass of water. When I stepped into the kitchen, his eyes flew to me and he looked just as surprised as I felt. We stared at each other for a moment, and then I looked away when I realized what I was doing.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, embarrassed I had stared at him. "Is something wrong?

"Oh, nothing," Cody said. "I... I just couldn't sleep."

My eyes moved back to Cody and I saw that he was scratching the back of his neck. Cody had a bad habit of doing that when he was uncomfortable, which made my eyes soften.

"How do you like living here?" I asked softly. "I know it's a drastic change."

"It's fine," he said. "To be honest, I miss home."

"I'm sorry."

Cody's eyes softened and I felt bad. I never understood why my dad forced Cody to live at the mansion. He could have done the same work at home or at least have the option of returning home at the end of the day, but my dad had been insistent on Cody living at the mansion. It was strange, but I knew better than to question my dad's actions.

"It's not your fault," Cody said gently. "I was the idiot who broke the statue."

"Your friend broke it," I said. "He deserves to be here instead of you."

Cody shrugged and I blushed. I had spoken what I always thought and I felt embarrassed, knowing I shouldn't call people out. I didn't know anything about Jason, so it was wrong for me to think he was a bad person for letting Cody take the blame.

"Do you ever get lonely?" Cody asked.

"No," I said honestly. "I like being alone. I guess I'm weird like that."

"Everyone is different." Cody shrugged. "If you don't mind me asking though, why did your dad send you to live at a mansion alone?"

"I'm not sure, but I guess it's because I'm his eldest daughter. I guess he thought I was old enough to live on my own."

"But you're only twenty." Cody frowned. "You're still young."

I didn't say anything to that, knowing Cody was right. I was twenty and still in school. Although I was responsible and mature for my age, it was strange for my dad to send me off to live in a mansion. It was something I did wonder sometimes, but I usually pushed the idea away because I genuinely enjoyed living on my own.

"I don't know," I said, realizing Cody was still waiting for an answer. "I never really asked my dad why he sent me here."

"Really?" Cody said, surprised. "Don't you want to know?"

I didn't say anything to that as I thought about it. The truth was, I did want to know. Although I kept pushing the idea away, deep inside I wondered why my dad would sent me away from him. But because I wasn't fond of talking to my dad, I knew I couldn't ask him.

"No," I lied. "Not really."

Cody nodded, seeming to understand without any explanation. I felt relieved by that and went to my fridge to pour myself a glass of water. Neither Cody and I spoke to each other after my last words. I then returned upstairs and Cody stayed downstairs.

But, despite trying to push away my wonder, it appeared as I laid in bed. Staring up at the ceiling of my room, I wondered why my dad sent me away. I wondered why he thought it was okay to send his twenty year old daughter to live on her own. It didn't make sense and I knew I should be more curious, but my fear of my dad forced me to not think about it. Knowing my dad, he didn't like it when people tried to find reasons behind his actions.