196Cole dropped me off. He on the other hand went back for football practice while I drug myself down my stairs and plopped down on the bed.
I slept in the basement which is the greatest and possibly only thing my parents have ever given me. Mostly because my mother happened to end up a little impregnated last year and now needed my room for the baby. This is the reason why I adore my three month old little sister, only because she got me my dream room.
My parents are completely against me going near her as well because since I was a small kid I have never been that coordinated and tend to drop anything I know I'm not supposed to. Another thing I am glad about. It kind of makes me mad though that they let Cole play with Emily whenever he pleases with specific orders to not let me in five feet of her.
When I bring this up my dad just smiles and says and I quote, 'Honey I've seen him play and any boy who can catch a ball falling through the air at the speed of light (he's exaggerating here) like him is safe to me,' only a male could deem athletic talent as a worthy reason to trust someone with their baby.
My parents and Emily have an entire floor between me and them. I don't know exactly whose more grateful; me, them, or Cole when he crashes on the couch because he's too drunk to climb the tree in his yard up to his room.
The basement consists of three rooms; mine, the bathroom, and something I could only call my own living room and then some. When the house was first bought dad added the sectioned off rooms and installed the pluming for the bathroom. Since it was originally built for when we had an extra guest aka my evil grandparents who would proceed to hate everything whenever they came into the house, now whenever they come over they stay in the hotel about thirty minutes away. My father and I are both grateful.
When you first walk down you find the wide area that consists of an l-shaped couch that is originally white but has a black couch cover over it, two chairs my parents had gotten from a yard sale and my mom had fixed up like new now both having purple covers over them as well, and a TV which wasn't huge but wasn't small either. It was surrounded by a black theater wall TV cabinet, which was supposed to look sophisticated for my grandparents but didn't really stand out at all for me.
There were the two side tables that were at the end of both sides of the couch. The chair's being positioned next to each other on the outer edges of the wide coffee table in the middle.
The rest of the room had started out mostly bare. Cole tended to play around in it when his dad dragged him over or when we'd just hang out. I think he once tried to plead with me to get a trampoline that I flat out refused.
Now though I had finally brought a computer desk into the corner and a smaller couch from storage (from my mother's bachelorette days when she could keep a white couch clean and not have her three year old spill grape juice on it like I had and then pay for it to be cleaned… twice). The desk was of course black but the couch was white and very plush. It had a lamp table next to it that was great for reading. Not that I ever read next to my computer but it gave the appeal that I did.
I also had about two bookshelves that I was starting to lay out against the one wall around my room. The first was completely filled and the second had two out of the five shelves full as well (they were again, black).
There was a door to the basement as well. Mostly how Cole got in and out without my parents knowledge seeing as how again we have a floor between us and if I can't hear Emily crying at two a.m. then there was a large chance they couldn't hear what was going on between us either.
Before you think this is too easy I'll help you out okay. You see a couple years back when we were younger Cole thought it would be fun to sneak into my room with his new lizard and put it on my pillow to watch me scream. I'll tell you he got his wish… and a black eye. So years later I find myself waking up in bed just days after I had finally have everything in my room set up to see Cole sprawled out on my sheets next to me. It wasn't new to have Cole in my bed just… not recently. Our parents had put a stop to it when he'd started high school because with all honesty they didn't trust either of us (I know why they wouldn't trust him but me) too much and decided it was best.
I'd been horrified at the thought of getting in trouble so I'd shoved (kicked whatever) him out of the bed and hissed at him to go home.
The first word out of his mouth was fuck. The second I assure you was not much better and the third just happened to be no. Well there may have been a hell at the beginning of that too, I don't really remember since I try to suppress it.
Turned out the key he stole three and a half years ago was still with him. That is how this arrangement started.
All the walls in the open room, or the lounge room as me and Cole like to call it, are painted in something between a purple grey red. We were going to paint the ceiling purple as well, a lighter purple because mom refused to let me make it neon purple too, then the walls grey and the hall that you use when you walk down the stairs into it red and kind of make it fade into grey. You get the point, but instead we got into a fight. Cole had said my idea was retarded and I had lashed out and said like a moronic boy with no brain cells could possibly know what color choice was good in a room.
It ended with him saying I was acting like a bitch lately and me throwing my paintbrush filled with grey at his head. He wasn't too happy about this and returned the favor. By the time we were done we were both on better terms and eventually he apologized after I told him I wouldn't talk to him until he did and proceeded to stomp into my room and do just that for the next hour and a half.
We cleaned ourselves up and by the time my parents and Mark, his father wondered downstairs we had decided to pretend like that was what we had been planning on doing all along instead of tell them we had wasted about sixty dollars worth of paint.
My room and the bathroom are on the other side. The bathroom didn't have a door to it but instead was adjoined to my room instead.
I'd went a little over board but freedom is my weakness. You gave me too much rope and I was like a kite on a string, I'd slip through your fingers and be gone before you knew it.
I had a walk in closet that I really didn't need but managed nonetheless. I'd stuffed my black dresser in it along with my laundry basket. My father was a real suck up if you asked me. Everything he remodeled looked like he had planned to make it seem as though they were staying in some kind of suite and not the basement to our hectic house.
Pretty much I figured out a way to put almost everything but my bed and my side table in different rooms. This left me with the comfort of shoving not only my own bed from my room but the one already in the guest bedroom together and creating a sanctuary. If you haven't put it together yet I'll make it easy for you. Cole's passion is football and mine is dreaming.
The two beds were against the wall on the opposite side of the two doors leading to the closet and the bathroom. The black velvet bedspread went across them both but didn't dangle over the edges any.
They almost took up the entire wall length and left enough room for me to put the side table next to them. It was black with red outlining the stained wood drawers and the shape of the piece of furniture.
My bathroom was the brightest room in the entire basement. All the rooms in the basement were brightly lit… or would have been if I turned on the lights.
It consisted of colors like light grey, silver, and white.
It had his and her sinks leaving plenty of room in between for all my morning ritual supplies.
The bath was the most treasured irresistible thing I have ever laid eyes on. You know how they have those whirlpools? The big oval shaped bathtubs that have the usually two step access that involves walking up them in order to get into it. That is the bath I had. The shower was spacey, which is something Cole noticed two seconds after seeing it. Then taking it upon himself to enlighten me on what that entailed before I kicked him out for the night (he had been a little intoxicated at the time).
The shower right next to it and was attached, taking up the corner of the room. It had clear glass which unnerved me and made me a little paranoid even though there was no way whatsoever anyone could see because there were no windows and no one could get in because the door had a great lock that wasn't the kind you could open with a key.
I only used it if I absolutely had too. But Cole tended to end up in it every day after football practice like tradition. Demonstrating how very different we were; him being comfortable in his skin and me not admitting I even had any that is.
You may think that I'm rich or spoiled or something but that isn't really true. My grandparents on my mother's side (the evil ones) have money. My mother in turn follows in her parents footsteps and makes some decent cash in real estate. Some on the furniture showed up out of storage, some came from the fact that we'd got it at yard sales or was in here for my grandparents. Then there was the money I'd saved up over summer being an assistant for mom and dad because they were busy preparing for the baby, plus my allowance.
There was also the gift's my grandparents kept getting my mother in hopes they could pry her out of my father clutches and get her to marry Alex Murphy who was some big time lawyer and the type she was supposed to have been with in the first place. It just so happened he'd been best friends with my dad; Mark, Alex, and dad still got together often. So of course she would find the one out of the three with the most 'potential' and try to better him. It seemed my father had the bigger affect because six months later he'd talked her into eloping with him. She'd just turned eighteen and they'd taken off with my grandparent's private jet. I think that was the first and last act of rebellion my mother has ever performed.
My parents were great together. Mom kept dad on track and dad made sure she didn't always stay so stressed. They balanced each other out perfectly.
I'm not saying my grandparents hated my guts either, they loved me, but they were just fairly cold people who thought convenience came before dramatics of the heart, there words not mine.
I kicked off my converse causing one of the candles on my dresser in the walk in to crash to the floor. For a moment I contemplated picking it up and putting it back but… too lazy, so instead I proceeded to get up and remove the hoodie I had on and rummage through my closet for a nice t-shirt or wife beater (I hated that title with a passion).
I found my t-shirt that read, Choose one: a) I don't know b) I don't care, and slipped it over my head. Then found a pair of boxer shorts, because I loved boxer shorts with a passion. I slept in them even, and switched my dark blue jeans with them.
I stuffed my dirty clothes in my hamper and walked bare foot back into my room to plop down on the bed. I snuggled under the covers and basked in the glow of my haven. I think I thanked the gods for it at least three times a day.
Even though I liked most things to be out of my room I managed to be okay with my stereo since I couldn't part with it. It sat on the floor on the opposite side of my side table considering there was a little extra room on each end of the bed.
I yawned and buried my head with the blanket. The last thing I remembered was the fact that I hadn't turned the lights on again.
"Lex?" I heard someone say in a chirpy voice.
I rolled away from them and remained trapped in the arms of a very hot Johnny Depp.
"Lexi!" The voice persisted, snatching my shoulder and shaking me vigorously.
"No." I groaned. "Leave me alone."
I heard the sigh.
"Fine sleep, whatever." Cole grumbled as he climbed in beside me and fell back on the mattress. "I'm exhausted anyway."
"Shower?" I asked.
"Already took it, you were out like a light."
"Good." I said before trying to fall back to sleep.
After about ten minutes of failing miserably I dragged myself out of the comfort of my soft sheets and landed on the couch still mumbling under my breath. The lights were now on and my eyes screamed for some shade.
"You said you had…" Someone trailed off and I looked up in time to see Ryan standing there with a Pepsi in his hand.
I think I growled.
"Cole!" I shouted.
"Hmm?" He said coming out of my room and sitting down beside me.
"No." I said sternly.
"No what?" He asked confused.
"Him." I pointed, scooting farther behind him in order to keep out of view.
"Oh, Ryan look away before she melts or something." He commented grabbing for the remote.
"You said you had Mountain Dew?" He concluded still looking me over in a very uncomfortable way.
"It's in the vegetable drawer at the bottom." Cole returned.
"Oh… cool." Ryan said.
"Bu bye now." I retorted, glaring at him.
"Okay point taken, I'll be going upstairs and pretending I didn't see you." He turned slowly around and began the walk back up.
"Oh and Ryan?"
"What?" I just looked at him. "What." He said again.
Cole laid back into the couch and looked up for a moment. He sighed again, rolled his eyes and got up to retrieve my Pepsi.
"She wants the pop." He stated before turning around and sitting again.
He slid it down in front of me and raised an eyebrow. I could see the question he was thinking, Are you sure you're not crazy, it asked.
"Shut up!" I told him before getting up and stomping off to my bedroom.
By the time Ryan returned I was consumed in a large hoodie and still slightly holding a grudge.
I opened my can of Pepsi and put it back on the table.
"Here," He threw the bag of sour cream and onion chips into the middle of the table, "Thought I'd be nice." He said.
Cole shrugged and I shot him a look of death.
"What is your problem anyway?" He finally stated. "You're being a little dramatic."
"Did I invite you into my house?" I asked.
"Well… no but-" I cut him off.
"But I can kick you out of it so shut it!" I demanded.
"I guess." He relented. "Sorry."
"Whatever."
"So…" Cole cut in before I could no doubt lash out at Ryan for no reason once again. "What do you guys want to watch?"
I smiled maliciously and nodded towards the sappy Pride and Prejudice DVD I had with Keira Knightly in it.
"That." I turned towards Cole who rolled his eyes and reached out to grab it.
"Fine if I fall asleep again it's not my fault."
I nudged him with my shoulder.
"You didn't fall asleep last time." I said truthfully.
"Yes but you're not supposed to ever mention that to anyone remember? Ever."
"It slipped."
"Sure it did."
"Huh?" Ryan seemed to have just realized what was taking place in front of him and his form stiffened into something of horror. "I'm not watching a chick flick."
"Let it go Morgan you're out numbered." I told him.
"But…" He looked at Cole. "You can't be serious?"
"She's right, you have no say, deal with it." Cole told him as he pulled the disc out of the case and put it into the TV. "Besides, you know you like it." He smirked over at Ryan before pressing play.
Ryan glared for a moment but stopped trying to win.
Cole gestured towards the lights and Ryan groaned as he got up off the couch and turned it off. Coming back he turned the lamp next to him off as well and practically fell back onto the cushions.
"Whatever." He grumbled under his breath.
Halfway through the movie I was probably as bored as the guys. It seems like I can't take a movie more than once.
Cole was semi watching and semi falling asleep, his head falling on top of mine which was resting on his shoulder.
Every time it would fall down he'd lift it up quickly and then it would droop once more. Finally he really did fall asleep and I slipped out and turned on the dimmer light in the far corner before turning the movie off and glancing at Ryan who seemed to find some kind of interest in watching every movement I made.
"What!" I finally snapped through gritted teeth in a loud whisper.
He just raised an eyebrow questionably and kept on starting.
I glared back.
'So…" He started. "There's really nothing going on between you two?"
"No there isn't."
He seemed to be amused.
"But that's not the way you want it." He concluded.
"What?" I'd lost the whisper to my voice and now was almost shouting.
"Don't lie."
"I'm not." I said as calm and quietly as I could. "It's the truth."
"Then kiss me."
"What!" How many times was that word going to leave my mouth?
"You heard me. Prove it, kiss me."
I looked at him for a moment and watched as his blue eyes shinned with something more than mischief.
"You're serious?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"No." I stated and before he could throw this in my face I got out my point. "Despite what you assume, not every girl thinks that making out with you is just something to do for fun." I leaned into his face until it was inches away from my own. "You couldn't even begin to know the first step to having what it takes to be with me." I told him coldly. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as Coles green eyes shifted up to my brown ones and he smirked humorously at me.
Ryan's hand suddenly found its way to my chin as he tipped my eyes back to his own.
"You'll see." He told me hollowly. "One day someone will get under your skin and there will be nothing you can do to stop it."
I shoved his hand away from me and turned towards my room.
"Take him home Cole."
Cole was yawning and stretching on the couch.
"Now she's pissed Morgan, thanks a lot." He sighed.
"Not like it matters to me."
"You're not going to be the one crashing here tonight." Cole commented as he grabbed his keys off the table and stood up. "Let's go before I have to kick your ass." He said jokingly.
"Like you could."
"Oh it wouldn't be that hard." He winked at me as he made his way to the door. "See you in a while Lex."
I stuck my tongue out at him and walked into my room.
By the time Cole returned my mind barely registered as he crawled into my bed and landed with his side plush against mine. It felt so familiar that I almost sighed with content.
"What was up with you tonight Lex?" He asked quietly. "It's just Ryan."
"It's just Ryan." I mimicked in a very immature way I'm sure. "I just don't… I don't…" I turned away from him, my back touching his side. "I… he… makes me uncomfortable." I mumble, but I can tell he heard me.
He's silent for a moment before he finally says something.
""I understand but…" He reaches out and his arm slides its way under my waist and twists my body around to curve against his side without a second thought. "You're just a really strange girl, babe." He said softly.
"I guess." I whispered. My heart beat speeding up like it did every night he ended up in my bed and in the safety of my reach. It didn't used to do that…
"Lex?" He questioned.
"Yeah?" I looked up at him through the dark.
"You never seem to mind being near me." He mentions casually.
I tuck my head between the fold of his arm and chest.
"You're different." I tell him.
There's silence for a long while after that and I almost miss it when he gently asks why. I pretend to be asleep.