Handsome and the Hideous

Chapter 16

"Where should we look today?" Cody asked as we walked down the staircase.

"I'm not sure, we seemed to cover everywhere," I answered.

Cody and I were on our way to look for more clues about what my ancestors - or dad - had done in the past. We had already searched the entire house, leaving nothing untouched, and hadn't found anything except for the boxes in the basement. Reaching downstairs, we stopped walking and thought about what to do for a moment.

"We never looked outside," Cody said. "We should check out your backyard."

"Sounds good," I said, walking towards my kitchen.

Cody followed me and my mind wandered to the events that happened the day before. My dad's actions left me feeling uneasy. He had acted so strange and a part of me was worried. Something was definitely going on, but I had no idea what it was.

But whenever I would think of the day before, I would then remember the way Cody shot Evelyn down, telling her that he liked another girl. At those words, my heart would race. My mind would fill with ideas that would lead to him liking me, which made joy fill me.

Going outside, I couldn't help but think it was too good to be true, however. I was hideous and Cody was handsome. He could get anyone he ever wanted, especially with his amazing personality, so it didn't make sense that he would choose me. I knew I was hoping for more than I could ask for, simply because I really liked Cody.

"Wow, I'm getting flashbacks," Cody joked. "It feels like it was yesterday when Jason and I broke your grandfather's statue."

I laughed lightly. "Time does fly by. Who would have thought we would now be searching for hints to figure out what my ancestors did."

"What do you think they did?" Cody asked. "Out of curiosity, I'm wondering what we should be expecting."

"I wish I knew... I have no clue."

I had no idea what my ancestors could be hiding. In fact, I didn't know my ancestors well enough to have any ideas of what we could expect. My dad never brought up his family, so I was left to be clueless.

Cody and I went out separate ways as we began to search for clues. I went to search the perimeter and Cody went to search around the centre of our backyard. The perimeter was surrounded by flowers, so I was glad to be around the flowers my mom once loved.

Looking at the flowers at my feet, wondering if there could be something hidden beneath them, my mind went back to Cody liking a girl. I couldn't help but think about it. It had been on my mind since he said it because I wanted it to be me. After everything we'd been through, I knew being friends wasn't enough for me. I wanted more.

Thinking about the way Cody had been behaving lately, I thought about the way he would constantly touch me. I then thought about all the compliments he gave me. Friends didn't do those things. Cody had to feel something.

Pausing, I wondered how I could even think that. Conflicted, my mind began to remember how hideous I was and how handsome Cody was. He could do so much better. He deserved so much better. I was being delusional.

Forcing myself to stop thinking about the girl Cody liked, I went back to searching for clues. I didn't know what to look for, but my eyes stayed glued to the soil at my feet as I wondered if something could be hidden there. Deep down I had a feeling I was searching for nothing, but I wasn't going to give up.

"Hey Charlotte!" Cody shouted. "Can you come here?"

"Sure!" I shouted back.

I turned around and jogged over to where Cody was. He stood by the one tree we had in our backyard and he was staring at the roots of the tree. I went to his side and looked down at the ground, and frowned when I saw that Cody had moved one of the roots, exposing a hole filled with rocks.