Handsome and the Hideous

Chapter 14

Cody was really into the mystery. Eagerly, he stood in front of me, waiting for me to agree to go searching with him. The sight made me smile and I shook my head, thinking of how pure he was. Although the thought of his laugh was always at the back of my mind, I knew I could never hate him.

"Sure, let's keep searching," I said, getting up. "Where should we look?"

"The basement," Cody said. "We only looked inside the closet, so we should look at the boxes outside the room too."

"Sounds good."

Cody walked out of my room and I followed him. We jogged all the way to the basement and immediately went to the boxes that were placed in the corner of the room. Going to them, my heart began to race as I wondered what I would find. I hadn't expected to find the bills the other day, so I was ready for anything to be thrown my way.

The boxes seemed to contain my dad's belongings. One box contained my dad's old clothes, which I pushed away because his old clothes reminded me of my mom. The next box contained my dad's old tools and I stared at them, remembering how my dad tried to learn how to fix things to impress my mom. The boxes brought back nostalgia, but it was a painful.

Gulping, I went to the next box and saw that it was full of pictures. Curious to see what kinds of pictures they were, I began to look through them. The pictures were old, they were taken when my sisters were kids, and I then realized that all the pictures were of my sisters and my dad. I dug through the photos, wondering if a picture of me would appear, but that never happened. As I reached the bottom, I froze when I realized there were no pictures of me when I was a child.

Pausing, I felt my heart drop as I realized I never had photos taken of me. I never realized it, but my dad had never taken a photo of me. My throat began to constrict as shame washed over me.

"Hey, did you find something?" Cody asked, walking to my side.

I shook my head, unable to speak. Cody grew concerned at that and tried to look into my eyes, but I looked away. I didn't want him to know I was upset.

"What's wrong?" Cody asked gently.

I didn't reply, but I noticed Cody had moved closer to me. He peered into the box, his eyes wandering across the many photos, and then he began to frown. He glanced at me and I kept my eyes averted, but I knew Cody knew why I was sad by the way his eyes held sympathy.

"I'm sorry," Cody said, putting his hands on my arms, moving me so that I was facing him.

"It's fine," I mumbled, moving my eyes to the floor.

I expected Cody to drop the subject. I expected Cody to go back to looking for clues. But, he surprised me by pulling me closer.

"You don't have to lie to me," Cody said.

I looked up at Cody, surprised by his words. He was staring down at me, his eyes sad, and I stared up at him, feeling the weight of my shame weigh down on me. I knew I had no control over the way I looked, but there was something shameful about being hideous. Something, that made me want to hide away from the world.

"Come here," Cody said, opening up his arms wide.

I hesitated for a second, caught off guard, but then moved into Cody's arms. He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly, and I closed my eyes momentarily. In his arms, I felt secure. I almost felt normal as I hugged the boy I liked without having to worry about anything.

*****

My heart felt warm as I sat at the dining table with Rosalie and Cody. I kept replaying my moment with Cody in my mind, savouring every moment of it. Getting a hug from Cody was the last thing I ever expected, but I was thankful for it. So thankful, I barely remembered the fact that my dad had never taken a picture of me.

"Did you two find anything?" Rosalie asked, digging into her slice of lasagna.

"We found some papers yesterday," Cody answered. "They consisted of pictures of men, their personal information, and a price. We're pretty sure they belong to Charlotte's dad, but... we don't know their purpose."

Rosalie frowned. "That's strange. What would Charlotte's dad want with random men?"

"I have no idea," I said, thinking the same as Rosalie.

We went quiet for a moment as we thought about what we found. I tried not to put too much thought into it, thinking it was probably something that had to do with my dad's business, but I would couldn't help but find it strange anyways. The fact that my dad had it stored in a locked room made me question what was going on more.

"Cody, how do you like living here?" Rosalie asked.

"I enjoy it," Cody said, smiling. "I didn't think I would, but I'm enjoying my stay here."

I couldn't help but smile at Cody's words. Rosalie smiled, too.

"What do you think about me?" Rosalie asked. "I want to know."

"I think you're a really sweet woman," Cody answered. "You're very caring and kind, and you're funny too. I feel safe around you and I'm grateful I met you."

Rosalie smiled widely, looking emotional. Cody smiled back, his eyes gentle, and my heart softened. Whenever Rosalie, Cody and I ate dinner together, I felt happy. They were all so sweet and they never judged me. They treated me as their equals, and even as someone they cared about, which was all I ever wanted.

"What do you think about Charlotte?" Rosalie asked.

My cheeks flushed, knowing why she asked that. I tried not to react, but Cody spoke immediately.

"I think Charlotte's one of the kindest people I've ever met," Cody said. "She's fun to hang out with, brilliant, and interesting. I enjoy living here because of her."

His words made my heart melt. I hadn't expected such kind words and I stared at Cody, stunned for a moment. He gave me a warm smile and I immediately smiled back, thankful for him. Somehow, under rare circumstances, we had met and I had never thought he would mean anything to me. But now, Cody was my friend and someone I cared about. He was someone I never wanted to lose and I wanted to tell him that, but the words stayed lodged in my throat.

"Are you okay?" Cody asked Rosalie.

I looked at Rosalie and became surprised when I saw that she was tearing up. My eyes softened at the sight.

"Yes, sorry," Rosalie said, sniffling. "You're just such a kind boy and Charlotte, you are one of the kindest people I've met. You two are wonderful and..."

Rosalie didn't finish her sentence. She looked down at her food and didn't say anything, and neither of us pushed her to say more. Rosalie seemed upset and neither of us wanted to bother her.

We all began to eat again in a comfortable silence. My heart was pounding with joy and smiling to myself, I felt happy. After many years of feeling lonely because of the way I looked, I finally felt like I belonged. That was all I ever wanted.