Bridge To Her Heart <3

Chapter 20 (Love)

The door opened with a slow and suspenseful creak as the side of Anthony’s face was revealed while the rest was shrouded in darkness. He eyed her and asked, “Cleo? What are you doing here?”

She twiddled with her fingers and tapped her pinch-toe boots nervously. “Well, you were hung-over and you didn’t come to school today. I just wanted to make sure you were alright with… you know….” Cleo didn’t know If she was supposed to mention his mom or not. 

“Know what?” Anthony asked suspiciously, squinting his eyes at her. 

She bit her lip and continued, “Your mom.”

There was a long silence before finally Anthony stepped to the side and opened the door the rest of the way. She took that as permission to enter and stepped cautiously forward. It felt weird stepping into the very place Anthony called home. It wasn’t like she expected either. The place was so comforting and…. old-fashioned. Cleo had, for some reason, never imagined Anthony’s house as warm and inviting. 

“Come on,” he murmured, walking up the groaning steps towards the top floor. Cleo fallowed close behind, taking in every picture and ornament placed around the house. She noticed a lot of black and white photos of a pale man with a mustache. “That’s my grandpa,” Anthony said suddenly, “He died in the war.”

“Oh.” Cleo didn’t know what to say. “I bet your grandma was really broken up about it.”

Anthony shrugged as they came to the top of the steps and turned left down the hall. “Ya, she was. She hasn’t really been the same since he died. I swear she thinks he’s still alive. Talks to the air as if he’s right beside her. Creeps me out sometimes.”

A door with chipped white paint and a large raven etched into the wood was at the far end of the hallway. Anthony led Cleo there and it wasn’t until then that she realized he was taking her to his room. Her heart quickened. She had imagined what Anthony’s room had looked like many of times and now she was about to see it.

He jiggled the door knob and turned. The door clicked open and the smell of incense and cigarette smoke wafted into Cleo’s nostrils. It was a peculiar yet comforting smell that reminded her of hugging Anthony and breathing him in. She stepped forward slowly and familiarized herself with the layout of the room as Anthony went to go sit on his futon bed. His walls were half-hazardly covered with drawings he sketched himself. A plain wooden desk that was in need of a gloss was pushed into a corner, covered with blank pages, cigarette packs and half finished drawings. 

The floor around it had a few crumpled pages here and there, but it wasn’t as messy. Cleo noticed two plastic draws stacked on one another full of drawing utensils and blank sketch pads. The cream colored walls were covered with as much as possible. His closet was ajar with dark clothing spilling out of it and black converses at the foot of the door. 

Everything in that room screamed Anthony. Cleo walked over to his desk and sat down at the wobbly old computer chair while Anthony lounged on his bed. “How’s the smoking thing coming along?” she asked casually, examining the packets that laid untouched on his desk. Anthony shrugged and played with the rings on his finger. 

“The incense helps a little.” Cleo noticed the stick of incense that sent a misty yet calming smell through out Anthony’s room. It rested on top of his TV that was placed on top of a dresser in the corner. She nodded and stood to examine the cork board above his desk, examining the familiar drawings. 

That’s when Cleo realized that she noticed those bright eyes. Tacked along the board were drawings of sad, soulful, bright, jubilant and dazzling eyes. Some pictures showed a whole side shot of a girl’s face and to Cleo, the girl seemed so familiar.