Authors: Patria L. Dunn (Patria Dunn-Rowe)
Beauty (29 page)
Roman must have been listening too because I heard his door creak open almost immediately, a silent pause, and then the unmistakable whine of the floorboards as he tipped from his room into mine. I smiled to myself as his eyes fell on my cot first, his face alarmed until he spotted the twins tangled together in a mass under my pillow and sheet. The baby didn’t wake this time when I moved him, laying him on the cot before rising to a stand.
“I didn’t see you over there,” Roman commented, his gaze moving back to the twins.
“They were sleep, I didn’t want to move them,” I explained, motioning to my cot.
“So…tonight…”
“Was…”
“Crazy…?”
“Unexpected…?” I offered at the same time he did, shaking my head at the events of the last two hours.
“Something’s not right,” Roman shook his head too, his silky brown locks dancing across his dark brown eyes as he looked at me again.
“I was thinking the same thing, but what? How am I supposed to take care of the kids? How am I supposed to go to school? There is no food…” I whispered now, the frustration of it all causing tears to gather at the corner of my eyes. “I just want out,” I breathed, my shoulders sagging now as Roman reached for me.
It wasn’t the first time that he consoled me, but it was usually an awkward pat on the back, or a tug on my hair. I couldn’t stop the tears when he pulled me to him gently, his hand cradling my head against his chest as if I were a baby myself. His heart seemed to be thumping a million miles a minute, but he didn’t seem scared. His solid frame more than held my drooping one, rocking me from side to side for a minute before he pecked the top of my head awkwardly with a kiss.
“You shouldn’t have said that tonight you know?” he asked, a smile tugging at his lips as I shot a look of disbelief up at him.
I saw in his eyes that he was only kidding, and was actually proud of me for finally standing up to them.
“I just wish it had been me… Sooner than this…” he added, his head ducking now so that his hair hid his eyes from my view.
I wanted, as I’d wanted so many times before, to push it out of his face so that I could fully see his features, but I didn’t move. I knew that his brow had probably knitted together, his expression etched into that boyish scowl of his. His lips, I could plainly see, pressed together over straight even teeth in disappointment.
“You stood up for me; you stayed…” I whispered, releasing the hold I had on his waist as he took a step back.
“You didn’t think I would let him hurt you did you?” Roman asked, his eyes showing the hurt he felt as he took in my words.
He immediately thought that I’d doubted him, when that had never been the case.
“No… I know we don’t talk much, but…” I blushed now, my words halting as I scrambled for something that was less sappy than I love you.
“You knew…”
“Yeah…I knew you wouldn’t,” I agreed, wiping a stray tear from my cheek.
“So what do we do now?” Roman asked, breaking the moment that had swelled into unfamiliar territory between us.
I shrugged in response, following him as he stepped back out into the hallway.
“We could always search their room,” he suggested, a mischievous smile touching his lips as he started towards the door at the end.
“Have you ever been in there? They would know! We can’t!” I protested, grabbing his arm as he turned the knob, a soft click sounding from within. “It’s probably booby trapped or something…”
“Alana…really? They aren’t that smart,” Roman shook his head, digging in his pockets now. “I need something…sharp…”
I didn’t want to go in their room. They had warned us before leaving, and I wasn’t taking that warning lightly. I couldn’t help but look behind me towards the kitchen, almost expecting them to walk back through the door at any moment. The thought of Jo Pernickle flossing around with my Louis Vuitton luggage was enough to change my mind.
“Will this work?” I asked, tapping the safety pin that was holding my ripped belt loop in place on my jeans.
“Perfect!” he whispered, smiling as I unhooked and handed him the pin.
I wanted to ask if he had even done this before…broken into someone’s room or house, but instead I pressed my lips tightly together, holding back the protest that threatened to spill free as the lock clicked again. The knob turned smoothly this time, and I shook my head as Roman gave me a look over his shoulder before pushing the door all the way open. Since moving here, I’d only caught a glimpse of the Pernickle’s bedroom, and it was always the same: stained brown carpeting, the edge of a king size bed, and an old mirror that hung just above it. I didn’t realize that my eyes were shut until I heard Roman’s voice call to me.
“You coming…?”
I jumped forward, my eyes going to my own bedroom door, before taking a step into the Pernickle’s bedroom. If Shelly were to wake up now, she would surely spill the beans that we’d broken in. The thought was lost as I surveyed my surroundings, my nose turning upward as my gaze met Roman’s. It was a mess, just like the rest of the house. Dirty clothes, trash, and dishes covered every available surface, including the top of the small television they had sitting on a dresser against the wall. My skin crawled at the thought of touching anything in here, judging from the foul odor that something had to be growing in the carpet.
“Where in the world do we start?” I wondered out loud, tip toeing around an overturned plate of molding food that was stuck to the floor.
“These all look like bills, letters, and…check stubs,” Roman offered, pulling a stack of papers from a cardboard box that sat on the nightstand.
“I’ll start there…why don’t you keep looking…?” I suggested, holding out my hand for the cleanest thing in the room.
“Look for anything dated close to today’s date…A ticket, a hotel reservation…anything…”
“Well be careful; we don’t want them to know we’ve been snooping,” I warned, just as Roman tripped over a picture frame that was lying in the middle of the floor.
“Is it…?”
“It’s not broken,” he sighed, picking up the wooden frame and turning it over. “Home Sweet Home,” he read from the top of the apple drawing, holding it up so that I could see.
“More like home, NOT so sweet home,” I commented, shaking my head as he placed it carefully back where it had been on the floor.
“Just keep looking, there’s bound to be something somewhere in here… We just have to find it.”
END SAMPLE
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