Asleep *FINISHED!/COMPLETE*

*CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR

Jase led me through a side door, out of the kitchen and into a massive hallway. The floors were made of a dark oak that matched the front doors, and an elegant black rug with white designs ran through the center. The walls were white, with beautifully textured crown molding, and black sconces were strategically placed down the length of the hall, providing a small amount of light in the otherwise dim area.

He opened a few doors along the way, showing me a sitting room, a drawing room, and a very elegant bathroom that reminded me of one you might see in a hotel. Each room, as the hallway and living room before, kept with the apparent theme of dark, rustic wood mixed with sleek black and white. It seemed odd, but whoever had designed the house boasted an ability to mix the old with the new. The wood seemed to anchor everything down, making the atmosphere warm and homey, while the black and white color scheme gave you a sense of elegance, and it was all pulled together in an unexplainable, regal way.

When we reached the end of the hallway, Jase turned left and I followed. We were now in the back portion of the house, and there was a large glass wall mirroring the one from the front living room, showcasing the back side of the court yard. I stepped forward to get a better look at the pool, its bright blue water taunting me, reminding me again of how desperately I needed a shower. I could see the other glass wall from across the courtyard, but the house was so large I could barely make out anything in the large living room from the distance.

The architecture of the house was unique, and I admired the beauty and creativity of it. The courtyard was encased by the house, but the two additional stories were only on the back half, allowing for the top to be open in the center. This made the court yard both open and private. Sunlight streamed in from above, and though the warmth that leaked through the glass was nice, I imagined how tranquil it must be to sit inside and watch the rain pour when summer storms rolled in.

“Do you want to go for a swim?” Jase asked, jolting me out of my daydreaming. I wondered briefly how long I’d been standing there staring outside. I was never able to spend much time outside growing up, at least not to do anything fun. Most of my time outdoors was spent doing tiresome and pointless chores.

“No, I’m good,” I said as I turned to face him. He was standing there, his thumbs hooked casually in his front pockets, eyeing me with curiosity. His dark brown hair hung slightly in front of his face, and I fought the temptation to brush it out of his eyes. I blushed slightly under his gaze and took a step away from him, made nervous by his close proximity. I had always been a very confident person, but something about the way he stared at me made me self-conscious.

When I turned my back to the glass wall, I noticed two black, iron staircases on opposite ends, one leading up to the right side of the second story, and the other to the left. The white wall that separated them held dozens of photographs. I walked towards them curiously, drawn towards the large family portrait that hung in the middle.

“Is this your family?” I asked, immediately recognizing Jase, though he was a few years younger. His father looked the same as he had this morning, only much happier.

“Yes,” he said, walking over to stand next to me. “That’s my older brother, Kai, my little sister Finley, and you already met dad.” He paused for a moment and bit his lip unconsciously, almost as if he were debating whether or not to continue speaking. “And that’s my mother,” he said finally. The pain he was feeling at the mention of his mother slowly began to overtake me, his closeness making it worse.

I had felt grief like that before, and I wondered what had happened to his mother, but decided not to ask. I absently rubbed at the ache in my chest that surfaced at the thought of losing my own parents. My memories of them were vague, as I was only 5 when they had passed, but if I closed my eyes and concentrated hard enough, I could still see their faces and feel their warm embrace.

“Jase!” a little girl yelled. She leapt off the bottom stair to our left and ran toward her brother, nearly knocking him over. I recognized her as the girl from the portrait, whom Jase had named as his sister.

“Hey, Fin!” He picked her up and spun her around. “What have you been up to little missy? Staying out of trouble, I hope?”

Joy was pouring off of the girl, who appeared to be around 8 or 9, and the room seemed to visibly lighten with her presence. I was thankful for the change in the atmosphere, but I couldn’t deny the longing their interaction stirred up in me.

“I always stay out of trouble,” she answered, smiling mischievously at him.

“Uh huh, sure you do,” he laughed, setting her down in front of me. “This is my friend, Ellie.”

She noticed me then for the first time, and her face lit up. “Jase, she’s beautiful!” she said, and looked up at him.

“And she’s standing right there, Fin,” he chastised. “It’s rude to talk about people as if they’re not there.”

She pouted for a second then turned back to me, a bright smile on her face. “Forgive me,” she said, and did a small curtsy, her little brown curls bouncing. “My name is Finley Alexa Cross. Welcome to our home.” She stood up straight, holding her head up, clearly proud of her introduction. It was evident how important politeness was to this family. Most of the ten year olds I knew at the orphanage barely said please and thank you.

I smiled down at her, her happiness contagious. “I’m Ellie,” I said. “Pleased to meet you.” I did a small curtsy, mimicking the one she had just done, and she giggled in response.

“Are you going to marry my brother?” she said, then looked back and forth between the two of us. I couldn’t help the laugh that erupted at her giant leap and obvious lack of knowledge in the ways that marriage worked.

Before either of us could answer, another girl around our age entered the room from the same direction Finley had come.

“Finley what are you doing down here?” the girl said. “Oh hey, Jase,” she said, noticing him, and smiled. She then turned her gaze towards me, eyeing me skeptically as she approached. “And who’s this?” she said, stopping next to Finley. Her voice was even, but I hadn’t missed the condescending undertone.

“Karis, this is Ellie. Ellie, Karis.” He gestured between the two of us, and I held my hand out to her, feeling a little awkward but not wanting to be rude.

She crossed her arms, clearly unwilling to shake my hand. Apparently this girl didn’t get the politeness memo. She looked me up and down, as if evaluating me. She stood a few inches taller than me, and her black, wavy hair stood in contrast against her smooth, pale skin. I couldn’t deny she was beautiful though, with her heart shaped face and plump lips that most girls would envy. Her wide, almond shaped eyes were a hazel color similar to Jase’s, but without the tiny gold flecks I had noticed in his.

“Kar, be nice,” Jase said, rolling his eyes.

“Sorry if I don’t immediately trust strays like you do, J.” She half spat the words at me.

Did she just call me a stray? Who the hell was this girl? “Excuse me?” I said, the offense clear in my voice. I tried to stand up a little straighter to let her know she didn’t intimidate me. I’d faced worse enemies than her throughout my entire life.

For a moment, I considered that she might be Jase’s girlfriend and I instinctively took a step away from him. I didn’t want to get caught in the middle of some messed up relationship.

Jase gave her a hard glare, staring at her for a long moment, but said nothing. A minute later, the girl rolled her eyes. “Come on Fin, let’s go see what Annetta made for lunch.” She gave me a forced, fake smile and led his little sister away without another word.

“What’s her deal?” I said, when I was certain she was out of ear shot.

“Oh, don’t mind Karis. She’s not that bad, she’s just weary of the girls I bring around.” I winced inwardly at the thought of him bringing girls home often.

“She’s my cousin, but we’re the same age, and we’ve always been protective of each other. My whole family is really close.” He shrugged, as if that were explanation enough for his cousin’s rude behavior. In all honesty though, I suppose it was. I had always dreamed of having a large, close family, and as I surveyed the pictures splayed across the wall, that familiar feeling of loneliness and longing crept back up inside of me.

“Come on, I’ll show you to one of the guest rooms,” he said, interrupting my moment of self-pity. For the second time that day, he held out his hand for me to take it.

“Ok.” I crossed my arms, making it clear I wasn’t going to be holding his hand, and the smile he wore quickly faded. Point for Ellie, I thought, and smiled victoriously. Defeated, he turned towards the right set of stairs and I followed behind him.

Once at the top, I followed him down another long hallway that resembled the one on the main floor.

“This is the guest wing,” he said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world to have a ‘guest wing’ in your house. We passed several doors along the way before he stopped in front of one and opened it. “Here you go. This one’s all yours. Complete with your own personal laptop and shower.”

The layout of the room reminded me again of a hotel, not that I had ever stayed in one, but I had read about them and seen them in movies. “Thank you,” I said, dumbfounded for the hundredth time by this family’s generosity. “Are you sure it’s ok that I use the shower? And the computer? I really feel like I’m intruding,” I said and instinctively took a step back, away from the door. No one could be this nice to a complete stranger, and the warmth of the entire situation scared me. I got that familiar ache to put distance between me and this ridiculously attractive guy that loved his little sister and stood the perfect 3-4 inch height above me. Seriously, what girl wouldn’t want some distance between herself and a guy like that? I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck, annoyed by my habitual ‘flight’ reaction.

“Yes, Ellie, I’m sure.” He rolled his eyes at my attempt to leave. “You sure do scare easily don’t you?” He said it humorously, but I saw the question in his eyes. “You ready to tell me what it is that you’re running from?”

“Nope. You said no more questions, remember?” I walked into the room and sat my backpack on the bed. “I give you my name, you stop asking questions. That was the deal.” I looked at him confidently, and I could see him fighting the urge to continue questioning me, but he didn’t argue. Another point for Ellie.

“Alright, alright.” He raised his hands in mock surrender. “Well, I guess I’ll give you some privacy then. Feel free to use any of the toiletries in the bathroom. Also, I think some of Karis’s clothes might still be in the closet from the last time she stayed in here. She has her own room here, but sometimes she gets bored and switches it up. She’s weird like that.” He turned to leave, but paused in the doorway. “Ellie,” he said, and turned to face me.

“Yeah?” I asked skeptically. The worry was rolling off of him again, and he looked like he wanted to say something important.

“Just,” he paused, choosing his next words carefully, “Know that I’m here for you, ok?” His body took up the larger portion of the doorway, and he leaned his head against the frame, his arms crossed, showcasing his toned muscles.

His intimidating stature contradicting his sincerity, and something in his eyes pleaded with me to believe him. Without thinking, I responded, “I know.”

He smiled that perfect, victorious smile before he left, shutting the door behind him. It was then that I realized he had just scored another point.

≈

I checked to see if the door to the bedroom locked, and sighed with relief when I realized it did. Thankful for the privacy, I made my way into the bathroom, eager for a shower and some clean clothes. All the toiletries in the shower and on the bathroom counter were in miniature containers and plastic wrapping, each one displaying a logo with a sword, and the words “Crossland Hotels” arched above it. No wonder I had been getting the hotel vibe. His family owned a hotel chain. Of course they did. Well, that explains them having two doors, at least. I rolled my eyes, thinking that no one should have that much money, and allowed myself to take a very long, very hot shower.

Once out of the shower, I nabbed some clean clothes from the closet. The soft, clean cotton felt so good on my skin that I didn’t even care if they had come from his snobby cousin or not. I went back to the bathroom to run a brush through my hair and smiled at my reflection. The deep purple color of the V-neck shirt complimented my tan skin and green eyes, and although the jeans were a little long for me, they fit well. It felt nice to not look homeless.

I decided to let my hair air dry into its natural wavy state, and made my way over to the small desk in the corner. I had only ever used a computer a few times in my life, but I had read several books on them, and the basics were simple enough. I turned it on, my nerves growing with anticipation. Once I opened the internet browser, it was almost hard not to shake as I typed in the name:

Callan O’Dellan

I hit search, my stomach twisting into knots. I didn’t think it was a very common name, but who knew if I would even find anything? How much information could someone hope to find on someone they hadn’t seen in 10 years? What if he didn’t even want to be found? What if he was dead?

All the possibilities raced through my head, and I felt sick at the thought of finding only a link to his death certificate; or worse, at the thought of finding nothing.

I scanned through the first few results, thinking there was no way these articles were talking about my Callan. They read:

Callan O’Dellan elected as Texas State Representative: District 54. 2014.

Callan O’Dellan elected as Texas State Senator: District 54. 2018.

It was the third result that, though, that really caught my attention.

Callan O’Dellan running for U.S. Senator – Texas. 2022.

I clicked on the third link and my jaw dropped when I saw the pictures that accompanied the article. It was him. My heart pounded. It was him. He was alive, and he was apparently very successful. I felt dizzy and confused over this new information. This is what he had been doing for the last 10 years? Why hadn’t he come back for me as he had promised the night he left?

I decided there was only one way to get the answers that I wanted, and I knew I had no choice. I was leaving tonight to find Callan. I was leaving tonight to find my brother.