He pulled away from me, smiling, knowing that he was going to get more enjoyment out of this than I was. If anything, I was going to sit there in silence with my arms folded like a tantruming toddler. "I better get something out of this." I said, raising an eyebrow. He pulled a face, I playfully punched him in the arm, tucking mine underneath his as we walked from my room together.
I was at least content by the fact that he wasn't instantly rude to my mother, like he had the tendency to do to others. In a sense, I was proud of him, in another sense, I knew that there was something wrong. Dismissing it, knowing that the thought would eat away at my conscience, we went downstairs.
I could already hear the dulcet tone of my brother-in-law, as he made a remark to her about something stupid.
"Good evening." My mother said, a smile spread across her face. We stood in the doorway a little longer, as I stared at my sister who was sitting alone on a vacant couch. She tutted, joining her insufferable husband on the other couch. We sat down in unison, a wave of discomfort washing over me as Rebecca's husband decided to speak to Thaddeus.
"So, Thaddeus, tell us about yourself." He said, an ugly expression on his ugly face. He rolled my eyes, folding my arms, tucking my legs under my body. I could hear the smart-arse cogs turn inside his head, he looked into his lap at his hands, a smile spread across his face.
"I-uh, I own the Westward Hotel in town- we're pretty good at what we do, we have a lot of visitors every day. I collect vinyl records, I like antique jewellery, long walks on the beach-" He said sarcastically, I slapped his leg discreetly, raising an eyebrow to remind him to behave.
"The Westward's the fancy one, right? The one with all of the parties, right?" He asked with a sly smile, cocking his head to the side. Thaddeus' face remained straight, as he nodded, his hand secretly curling around mine. His head slowly turned to face the tv, the Netflix logo displayed on the screen. I was beginning to regret agreeing to sit with them even more, as I knew that everybody would interrogate Thaddeus to the point where I knew that he'd get mad.
"So, Thaddeus, how long have you owned your hotel?" My mother asked in the middle of the movie we had been forced to watch. Rebecca had long since fallen asleep, and her husband looked uncomfortable sandwiched between my mother and his wife. He had been staring at Thaddeus for almost an hour, making the poor boy twitch.
"My grandfather built the place in 1901. My father took over in the sixties, I was born in the nineties, and I took over four years ago." He said in a cold voice- now was our cue to leave. I could feel how tense his body was, and I could sense how uncomfortable he was getting.
"So it's a family heirloom? That's great. Maybe you could pass it onto your children." My mother suggesting- she had always hinted to me that she would get a child out of me in some way or another, even if I didn't want any. I snickered, resting my head on his shoulder, hoping that somebody would announce that they were going to bed. Thaddeus nodded, in response to my mother's invasive question, rubbing his eyes with his hands. I pouted, he yawned, looking down at me, smiling sleepily.
There was a cry from upstairs, Rebecca sat up, rolling her eyes. She looked over at me, insisting that I attended to her own child. I sighed, standing up, holding out my arms to hoist Thaddeus up. He shuffled after me like a lost puppy, as my family's eyes burned holes into the backs of our heads. He grumbled to himself as we scaled the stairs again, whining as we got to the top. "Go wait in my room while I put my niece back to bed." I sighed, as her crying got louder and louder. He nodded with another yawn, staggering along the corridor.
Going in the opposite direction towards the screaming, I placed the hand on the wood of the door, pushing it open. The room was bathed in a pink light, stars stuck to the ceiling. Her hair covered her little face, I frowned, walking over to her. She wrapped her small arms around my neck, I enveloped her in a hug. I rocked her gently from side to side, before moving her sopping wet hair out of her face. "Uncle Jacob, I had a nightmare." She said with heavy breaths, sniffling like crazy.
"I'm sorry little one. You're safe now, okay?" I said, looking her in the eye, she nodded, wiping her nose. I held her in a hug again for a little while longer, noticing that Thaddeus had appeared in the doorway. My niece hadn't seemed to notice him, as I tucked her back into bed. He was smiling brightly, although his expression was saturated with sleepiness. "Lie down, close your eyes, and think about happy things. That helps me when I have bad dreams." I said, handing her a stuffed bear which she held close to her little body.
"You have bad dreams too?" She asked, her poor little voice croaking.
"Of course." I said with a smile, stroking her head. She nodded, closing her eyes, holding her little bear even closer to her body. I smiled, kissing her tiny forehead, standing up.
I was happy that I didn't have to check every crevice for monsters, like I usually had to. I closed her door, turning to face Thaddeus. He pressed his lips against mine, his hands traveling down to my waist. I pulled away, taking him by the hand to my room. There was no way that I was going to allow my mother to catch us doing anything remotely affectionate. He turned to me as the door closed, holding me against to, "You're so cute, let me tell you that for the millionth time." He said, his lips making their way to my neck, sending shivers across my body.
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Song Of The Chapter- She Said by Sundara Karma
A.N
My God I am absolutely exhausted, remind me never to ever work weekends ever again... I'm getting ready to post a new story- a short one- and I actually love it, and the script version <3
Don't forget to comment and vote because it really helps me out <3
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Teen FictionJacob Hill is a quiet young man. He's caught up in his own world, as he battles to figure out who he is. In a last ditch attempt to get a glimpse of the people he admired as a child, he goes to work at The Westward Hotel- a place well-known for its...
