Page 16 of Coming Unraveled
“Well, I…” Austin flounders.
Needing to save his friend, Brooks places an arm around her shoulders and tugs her to follow him.
“Look, we’re all here at this beautiful home. Let’s go take a look and I promise I won’t get in your way.”
She yanks her body away from his hold and huffs her way towards the stairs. Brooks looks back at Austin and they share a knowing glance before they nervously stroll to enter the house.
Inside, Austin offers to wait for them to explore on their own and if she likes the house then he can walk through again with them and he can point out the best features.
Brooks loses Everleigh quickly, she glances around each room and then moves onto the next as he stands in the center of each room taking in the architectural details of the trim and built-in cabinets.
The house is everything he has imagined, he can only hope that Everleigh feels what he did when he walked onto the property, it feels like home. The more he explores the more he falls in love with the property. He can see the two of them preparing meals in the large kitchen together, relaxing on the couch after a long day, and chasing their children through the many halls. It is his fantasy, his dream, and he only sees Everleigh as his partner.
Making his way up the sweeping staircase, Brooks steps into two of the bedrooms and bathroom, Everleigh nowhere in sight. Finally, he climbs the steps leading to the third floor. At the top, he turns right and he finds her resting in a chair looking out a triangle shaped window with a view of the backyard. A small set of bookshelves rest against the far-left wall and a desk is placed on the other. Of course, she would feel at home in the office, where she can hide behind her work and lose herself in a book.
He takes in the way the setting sun gleams on her golden hair and alabaster skin, making her appear more alive than he’s seen her before.
“You look beautiful like this,” he says unintentionally, as the thought rings through his mind, but he doesn’t regret her hearing the words.
She turns to glare at him and as she is pulled from her private moment begins to stand from the cushioned chair.
“No, stay there,” he insists and she wearily sits back down. “I like seeing you like this; relaxed, like you don’t have the world on your shoulders.”
What happens next isn’t what he expects. Brooks anticipates Everleigh to argue, to fight against him, instead, he watches as a single tear slips down her cheek, following the setting sun as it settles beneath the trees, projecting the skies in a stunning kaleidoscope of oranges, pinks, and blues.
He kneels in front of her uncontrollably and raises his hand to wipe away the lone tear. He then follows her line of sight to the playground off in the corner of the fenced in yard.
“I used to dream of living here when I was a little girl. The house used to have tours and they would show what life was like on the plantation. My school would take field trips here every year until the owner’s wife passed away, then the tours stopped. I missed coming here. I’m just remembering that’s all.”
Taking her hand in his he interlaces their fingers and rubs his thumb gently across her knuckles.
“You have your chance to buy it now. To have your dream.”
“This is a family home. I couldn’t.”
Brooks feels her pain, wondering what secrets she keeps locked deep down inside, but he knows she will only divulge them when she’s ready, and right now isn’t that time.
He smirks, hoping that he is able to break through her tough exterior.
“Hey, you’re already halfway there. I can knock you up if you’d like. It would be my pleasure, actually.”
Her steel armor finally breaks and she smiles. It’s small, just the corners of her pert mouth tilting upward, but it is a smile none-the-less.
“Why are you being so nice to me? You know what people say about me, right? They call me a frigid bitch because I won’t give anyone the time of day around here. So why you? Why do you push me?”
He knew her fright is what is closing her off, bringing forth her need to fight against him. But he knew the fight is all of the passion she keeps locked tight inside her vault.
“I push you because I know you’re more than you let everyone see. You’re more than this woman who has her defenses up twenty-four seven. You’re more than this woman angry at the world. You’re more than the career you’ve worked so hard for. You’re just more, and I want to be the one to break you free.”
She stares at him unmoving, letting his words wash over and sink in.
In a whisper so soft he barely registers her voice she says, “What if I don’t want you to?”
Without giving him a chance to reply, she stands from her chair and he falls back on his heels, watching as she exits down the stairwell.
As he follows in her wake he hears her speaking with Austin at the front foyer.
“I don’t know, Austin. It’s the right size, but I think the property is too big. How would I maintain it?”
