Page 14 of Perfect

I decided to push the thought from my mind, water under the bridge and all that.

Anna was still chelping on. She was a lovely woman, very warm and welcoming and I started to relax again; the lump in my throat was officially gone.

As we climbed the stairs, my eyes were drawn to the various paintings which lined the walls. They were mostly of landscapes, possibly places in Yorkshire and quite old-fashioned but they suited the house.

I followed Anna down the long landing and she pointed out my dad and Rachel’s room and also where she slept. We took a few corners along the way which highlighted just how big the house actually was. I could hear the low beat of music coming from one of the other corridors and it instantly pricked up my ears. I sure hoped mine and Connor’s rooms were a respectable distance apart. Yes, he was attractive but I didn’t want him too much in my face. We were also classed as a family now and I needed to keep reminding myself of that fact. I wasn’t here to win over a boy, I wanted to build on my relationship with my father and I was certain Connor would mess with that if he could.

In spite of the weird crush that I appeared to be experiencing, I needed to keep Connor Barratt at arms-length, for my own sanity if nothing else.

“Well, here we go. I hope it’s OK for you. I washed and pressed the bedding myself,” Anna beamed, stopping outside what would be my bedroom for the next few months.

“Thanks, Anna. I’m sure it’s lovely,” I replied, following her gesture for me to go ahead. I started to drag my suitcase inside. Connor had left it by the door whichwas a relief; the thought of him in my room infecting it with all that testosterone did funny things to my insides.

It was smaller than my bedroom at home, but it was perfect. Decorated mainly in white and pastel colours and the bed was a double which was an added plus. My bed back home was only a single.

There was a white wooden dressing table with a large mirror and a tall wardrobe, not that I’d brought that much with me, anything for an excuse for some online shopping.

I scooted around with my eyes wide; the carpet was thick and luxurious under my sandaled feet and I smiled my approval at Anna before trotting over to peek out of the window. The view overlooked the main yard where I’d come in. Not a garden view, but still not bad. You could still see rolling hills in the distance. We reallywerein the middle of nowhere.

Anna still lingered in the doorway, beaming at me. Blatantly happy I was pleased. To be honest, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The place could have been a dungeon and I’d have made sure I appeared grateful. My manners were always impeccable. Well, with normal people anyway. I decided to file my unusually rude behaviour with Connor in the ‘extraneous circumstances’ section of my conscience.

“Well, I’ll leave you to shower and then see you downstairs later. I’m sure Mike will knock on when he’s back. We had a bit of an emergency in field four and we don’t know when Rachel will be back—her mum’s been poorly.”

I nodded my understanding and thanked her again and she left, taking the smell of cooking with her.

I clicked the door firmly closed and turned my back against it, the wood was hard against my sticky back. A cocktail of emotions still bubbled within me. I was here at last and was determined to make the summer work. Any grudge-bearing for Dad leaving my mum was over. There was no point dredging up the past. I now had the opportunity to make up for not having been in touch during my exams, and to be honest, I didn’t really feel that guilty, dad could have made the effort too.

I pushed the thought out of my mind and hefted my case onto the bed to unpack. As I placed a handful of toiletries on the dressing table, I realised that I hadn’tbeen told where the bathroom was. I rescanned the room, noticing a door at the opposite side of the bed and slowly moved to open it. It was a bathroom. The fact that it was en-suite kicked my excitement up a notch, as the thought of sharing with a smelly boy was not something I would have welcomed. Even one I would jump at the chance to see naked in the shower it appeared. I rolled my eyes at my automatic sex starved thoughts.

The bathroom was cute and small with a white toilet, a sink and a shower but it was perfect and immaculately clean.

As I started to peel the clothes from my body, I had a promising feeling that I was going to like it here. Well, most of it, if only I could arrange a truce with my tetchy stepbrother. There was norealreason for us to dislike each other after all. Maybe I was partly to blame? I canned my moment of self-reflection and padded barefoot to the shower. I would need to play it by ear.

As I stepped under the spray, I made the decision that I’d attempt to clean the slate and get on Connor’s good side. He had to have a good side after all. Didn’t everyone?

*****

I sat at the dressing table, finishing off blow drying my hair whilst a million thoughts swam around my head. I felt thoroughly refreshed after showering and had put on clean underwear and a pale blue sundress with spaghetti straps. It was A-Line and fell below my knees. It was also slightly creased from being stuffed in my case but if my dad, Anna, and Connor were the only ones around, I’d still be more pristine than them.

I wanted to look extra pretty for my father and so applied a minimal amount of makeup and a squirt of perfume. After struggling with a couple of different styles, I left my long hair loose and it fell past my shoulders in soft, shiny waves.

Eyeing my appearance in the mirror I smiled. Yes, my looks had caused me problems in the past, but would I really have it any other way? Those that were not so lucky had their own problems. Teenagers were cruel and would find fault no matter what. It is probably human nature to think that beauty and perfection is everything?

My mind rolled back to Connor’s comments about boys behaving like dicks around me. A picture of Samantha Jones’s spiteful face passed fleetingly through my thoughts. I retrieved my phone and re-read a couple more texts about last night’s party.

I was so glad I hadn’t ventured down the serious boyfriend’s path yet. Getting the right grades for Uni had been my focus during my first year of exams. Sure, there had been a brief thing with Andrew and I’d kissed a couple of other guys, but that was it. That other thing could wait. High school boys were immature anyway.

I fluffed my hair and applied lipstick, almost smudging it as I heard a bang on the door.

“Come in.”

The door swung wide and Dad rattled into the room like a tornado. I set the lipstick on the dressing table and shot to my feet to greet him, a smile lighting my face. He was so pleased to see me; I was instantly alive with happiness. He met me halfway and swung me into his arms. It felt amazing and he smelled of hard work and cut grass and was dressed in dusty work overalls.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to collect you, sweetie. Everything OK? How’d you like your room? Did Connor get you on time?”

I laughed, “How many questions was that? Slow down.”

He set me back on my feet and peered down at me through his mop of sandy hair. His face was full of affection and it tugged at my heartstrings. I felt wanted.

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