He opens the door, and my breath catches in my throat. Elliot smirks.
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“ told you’d be amazed.” he says standing behind me.
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The sight before me is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. The attic is shaped like a circle and every inch of the wall is filled with shelves. There are signs above certain areas that say things like, ‘good romances’ or ‘really predictable thrillers’ or my favourite, ‘This book was so bad. You should read it.’ My eyes wander around the room and I feel like I’m five again seeing Disneyland for the first time.
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In the middle of the room sit four bean bag chairs surrounding a small rectangular coffee table with an electric kettle and an assortment of teas along with some packets of hot chocolate. One of the book cases along the wall, is filled with an array of different mugs. One of the shelves contains exactly twenty-six mugs, each one imprinted with a letter of the alphabet in some artistic way. I walk up to the book case to get a better look. I see one with Grumpy Cat on it that says, ‘I love that sound you make when you shut up’ and I burst into laughter. Elliot follows my gaze and smiles.
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“ My mom gave me that one for my fifteenth birthday. I think she was trying to tell me something…” He smiles at the thought.
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“ Does your dad live with you?” I ask, suddenly recalling not seeing his father in any of the photos placed artistically around the house.
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“ Ummm… No. I don’t really want to talk about it.” He looks away, cheeks blushing.
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“ Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know your parents were…” I trail off, silently cursing myself at getting caught in such an awkward situation.
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“ No, it’s not like that. It’s just not something I like to talk about… It’s sort of… awkward.”
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Now I’m confused. Why would this situation be awkward?
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“ oh great,” he says, sounding exasperated, “ now you’re gonna conjure up a weird-ass story about how I was sent to earth from some unknown planet by aliens, because they didn’t want me or something.”
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I laugh again, and am suddenly grateful that Elliot found me yesterday on the lawn. I honestly didn’t think I’d be laughing so much again any time soon.
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“ I didn’t think that at first but now that you mention it, your ears do look a little pointier that most peoples…” He tries to act offended, but I could spot the laughter in his eyes from a mile away.
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“ Okay, I’ll make you a deal Silvera. If you gather up the courage to tell me a secret by the end of the day, I’ll tell you about my dad. It can’t be a lame secret though, it has to be something good.”
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I think about it, and figure it’s not too bad of a deal so, I agree. At that moment, Elliot’s mother calls us down stairs for breakfast.
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“That’s a beautiful room you have up there.” I say placing the forks on the table along side the plates that Elliot sets.
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“ Oh, thank you. That’s my favourite room in the house. We use it for book club meetings every wednesday night.”
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A glint catches in Elliot’s eyes as he watches his mother talk. I’m reminded of Henry, who used to take on that same expression when dad used to read to us before bed. We’d all pile into Henry’s room, me mom and Adrian, and we’d listen while dad read until his voice went ragged, and Henry was fast asleep.
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“ I started to collect books back in high school.” Layla says, a dreamy look glazing atop her eyes.
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“ I’ve always loved to read, but seeing all of the books sitting prettily atop my small book case in my bedroom was always my favourite part. I’d finish whichever book I was reading then place it on my book shelf and just look at it for a few moments. Admiring it’s beauty. Thats why I chose this house for Elliot and me. I could see the potential of that room from the second I set eyes on it.”
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I look at her and suddenly realize that I’m smiling, but more importantly, I can’t stop. Like I try to close my mouth but it won’t listen to me. It seems to have grown a mind of it’s own with in a few moments. Eventually I just give up and let it sit there. Proudly looking down on the world from atop my face.
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“ This whole house just has such a happy vibe to it. Even from the outside.” I say.
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“ Oh, the outside is something I did when I opened up the business. I run a daycare here in the house.”
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And that’s when the smile finally makes it exit, pushed off of my face by an expression of sheer shock.
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“ Wow. Not that it’s unlikely, or anything but… The house is just so clean. All we have in my house is my eight year old brother, who’s only home for about five waking hours a day and our house is kind of a disaster…”
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Layla laughs. A happy sound that seems to scare every bit of negativity from your bones. It’s like a chorus of angels singing a Taylor Swift song.
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“ That’s actually Elliot’s doing.” She says.
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“ OCD since birth baby.” he says, speaking for the first time since the attic.
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“ Come to my house more often then, it could use some OCD cleaning.”
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We all laugh, before finally setting breakfast on the table and digging in.
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