Best of Me

Chapter Ten

Hi Hello, here's the next chapter! We're finally finishing up the first day with the family in this chapter. I hope the characters become easier to remember as time goes on. I'll update again sometime this week.

Enjoy!

Chapter Ten:

Showing Quinn the second floor was easy, it's basically a giant square of rooms. Our room is next to Asa's room and across from Christopher's; they're both sharing with their partners. The master bedroom, my parent's room, is large, with their own walk in closet and spa like bathroom-one of the many things they put into the house during renovations. Poor Christopher was left with a marginally smaller room than everyone else, though he never complained.

"What was the house like before all the renovations?" Quinn asks as we go down to the main floor where the rest of my family continues to mingle. I point out the rooms as we go by, ignoring her question.

"That's Granny Flora's room," I point to the door at the bottom of the stairs and then rounds the corner through the foyer, into the dining room, and to a hallway. "That's a bathroom slash laundry room," I point to my right, "and that" I gesture to the left, "if Aunt Hazel and Uncle Grants room."

"Theo," Quinn says, and I know she's about to ask her question again. I continue my tour.

"And through the door straight ahead is what used to be the garage," I say stopping by the door. "My parents converted it into two separate apartments, kind of. The bottom floor is where Grandpa Alaric and Grandma Priscilla live, like permanently. And the second floor is for CoCo and her family when they come to visit. It's easier to have their own space with a kid, you know?"

"Why did your parents renovate?" Quinn asks a different question, and I gesture for her to follow me to the basement.

"When my Grampy Theodore died, Granny had a hard time. My parents were worried about her, but Granny is a stubborn woman and refused their help. But her hips kept giving out and eventually after the, I think, third hip replacement, she was wheelchair bound," I explain as we descend the winding staircase to the basement. "My mom saw this coming after the second replacement wasn't looking too great, so they started to renovate."

"And you were...?

"I was in college at this point, second year maybe? It's hard to remember. The boys were still in high school though, so they helped as much as they could. Granny Flora moved in along with a live in aid for when my family wasn't around to help. My dad started renovating the garage after, the whole house really. Not too soon after it was finished Grandpa and Grandma moved in."

"Wait, so, has Christmas always been held at your parents house?" She asks as we finally make it to the basement.

"No, it used to be at Grandpa and Grandma's house in West Shire, but when the renovations were done and they had moved here, it just made more sense. My dad made enough room for the entire family," I say and point to the three doors in front of us. "Julia, Elliot, and Jasper sleep down here. They have their own bathroom and living area too, it's a sweet deal."

"Your house is fucking massive."

"I know."

"Like, legitimately massive. What the hell do they do when no one is here?" Quinn gapes at me in disbelief.

"I mean, the grandparents are always here...."

"Theo."

"I don't know, Quinn. I'm not here when no one else is, obviously. I'm sure they revel in the silence of not having to listen to the drunken shenanigans of the cousins and the bickering with between my dad and uncle." I shrug, and she continues to spin in a circle taking in the basement like it's a modern marvel. Though, I guess in a way this house is. I don't know what Quinn is used to, from what she's told me it doesn't sound like her life was even remotely similar to mine. "Are you overwhelmed?"