Seventeen Secrets about Boys

Chapter Five

“My dad was in the military and at the time I was born we were stationed in Venice. We stayed there until I was about five. When we moved back into the country my mom wanted to live in Maryland, so my dad bought the Mount Airy mansion up in Upper Marlboro.”

                Carter snickered, “Isn’t that a brand of cigarettes?”

                Landon kicked him from beneath the table.

                “Ow!”

                I coughed and the attention was back on me. “Anyways, I was super close with my mom. And my mom was super protective over me. But I guess that was because I had an older sister, Adalia, who died in a bus wreck when I was one; she was eight. We were her only two kids so I guess I was just really loved.” I stifled a dry laugh.

                “When I was eight though, my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The doctors caught it before it spread anywhere super dangerous and got it all out of there, but for about two years she was so sick. After the first six months my dad left my mom because he thought she wasn’t going to make it and he couldn’t deal with the pressure. After my mom had lived a year cancer free though my dad came back and profusely apologized for being a jerk. Let’s just say he was way more than a jerk to her. So when he came back I was around… eleven. For a while there we lived in perfect peace.”

                “When I was twelve my dad got in a really bad car crash; he was hit by a drunken driver. And of course since my sister was killed in an automobile accident my mom flipped out. My dad was put in ICU and was in a coma for about two months. After he was conscious the doctors had discovered that he had an infection in his leg that they couldn’t rid himself of. He spent about six more months in the hospital with the doctors constantly operating on his right leg but in the end it was amputated.”

                Tears pricked my eyes and I took a deep breath to steady myself. I clenched my fists on the top of the table as Landon’s large hands slid over my own.

                “Shh,” he murmured, “you don’t have to say anymore.”

                There was a quiet understanding that flooded the room. One by one each boy got up and left the table until it was just Landon and I. After sitting in silence for a couple of moments Landon stood up leaving me alone with my thoughts. Going over in my mind everything that had happened the last few days, I almost didn’t notice the slight tap on my shoulder. Glancing up I saw Landon in a light jacket and was gesturing one to me. Slipping it on he waved car keys in front of me.

                “C’mon,” he whispered, leading me out to the garage.

                As we walked side by side on the way out the door, Landon slid his fingers in between mine and squeezed my hand. It made me smile a little when he did that, before my mom and I had a game where whoever squeezed each other’s hand the hardest meant that they loved them the most.

                “I hope you don’t think I’m weird or anything for just taking you out like this,” Landon smiled slightly.

                “Nope, not at all. Kind of sweet actually,” I gave his hand a little squeeze.

                As we got into his car and he began driving, I realized I didn’t know where we were going. I should have felt panic rise up in me or a sense of discomfort. But I didn’t. At that moment I felt peaceful and content.

                We rode in silence for a little while before pulling up to a large white house. It was two stories, gothic architecture, and had a wraparound porch on the first floor. The upstairs held a balcony as four giant Greek styled columns held it up.

                “What is this place?” I asked, staring at the place in awe.

                Landon took my hand as he helped me out of the car.

                “This,” he gestured to the house, “is my home away from home.”

                The inside interior was done in a chrome black and white theme- very bachelor pad like.              He led me to the living room and we sat on a huge black leather couch in front of one of the biggest televisions I had ever seen. Landon pulled me into his side and laid my head on his shoulder.

                “I’m eighteen. A legal adult. This is my house, Evelyn.” For some unknown reason, I felt butterflies flit around in my stomach and felt my heartbeat quicken. I felt an immediate trust for him.

                “Please, call me Evie.”

                Landon kissed the top of my forehead as a blush rose to my cheeks.

                “Alright then... Evie.”

Alright, so, I suck. I know. New chapter. I have GREAT ideas and hopefully I can keep up with them and actually get to writing. New chapter by the end of the week HOPEFULLY. And have I showed a picture of Landon? Yes? No? Whatever, lets just appreciate how hot he looks in that picture.