I went up the next few stairs to close the distance between us. “Neither am I Jonathon. I’ve never been in love. But now I’ve met you! My soul mate! This kind of story only exists in fairytales! But it’s real Jonathon! It’s real! And I’m scared too. Not of loving you but of losing you! So, scared you have no idea. Your age is the last thing on my mind,” I said tears starting to fall. He put his arms around me and pulled me to his hard ice cold chest.
“You’re not going to lose me. Where would I go? I love you. I’m yours forever and I’ll never stop loving you. Never!” He said. I felt comforted by his words.
I followed Jonathon up the rest of the narrow spiral staircase his hand lightly holding mine.
He opened the ancient door. It creaked slightly.
Jonathon turned and looked at me. He grinned sheepishly then opened the door the whole way and walked inside, signaling me to follow.
“This is my room,” He said shyly with a wave of his arm.
The ancient floor was splattered with droplets of paint, dried long ago in smears. It gave the room even more character.
The walls were all a dark rich blue. The wall that the bed was against was covered in ancient brick.
The bed was simple. The headboard done in a golden fabric that looked beautiful against the dark blue walls. The bedspread was a rich deep red color with hints of orange, gold, and blue woven throughout. An ancient looking chaise sat in a corner by a fireplace. The chaise was done in a rich purple and was so plush that if you sat on it I was sure you would disappear and never be found again.
Blank canvas’ littered the room.
An ancient looking trunk resided at the foot of the bed. A mahogany wardrobe and dresser stood between two large windows, that overlooked the back yard. A desk was on the other side of fireplace from the chaise. The painting that was hung above the fireplace was beautiful. Jonathon must have painted it. It carried his signature strokes. Old wooden beams crossed the ceiling adding to the old simplicity of the house.
Studying the painting closer I could see that it was of Jonathon’s family. Patrick, Baron, Katherine, Diana, Joseph, and Jonathon himself. Amelia, Danny, and Mason must not have joined the family yet when Jonathon painted this particular painting.
Katherine was beautiful. She had long flowing wavy blond hair. It matched Diana’s almost exactly, except Diana’s was somewhat darker. Katherine’s smile was sweet and shy; it reminded me of the way Jonathon smiles a lot of the time. Baron was tall especially for the time period he was born in. He had a goofy smile and his eyes twinkled with humor. He reminded me of Seph. He had dark curly hair, with a tint of red, which fell messily across his forehead, just the way Jonathon’s hair falls. Baron and Patrick looked a lot alike only I could tell Baron was more of a jokester where as Patrick was more serious. Patrick’s hair was a darker brown than Baron’s and his smile was more studious.
“I wish I could’ve met them,” I whispered.
“Me too. They would’ve loved you. Well, they would’ve loved anyone I loved even if she had bug eyes and buck teeth. But they would have really liked you. Especially my dad, you would’ve humored him with all his dumb jokes. Gosh, I miss them so much.”
“I’m sure you do miss them.” I said putting my hand on his arm to comfort him.
It seemed like we always came back to the subject of our parents. We were both so pained by the loss.
“I keep hoping one day I’ll be able to bring them back. But, I know that’s impossible as much as I want it to be true.”
“It’s okay to hope,” I said.
“Yes, but what’s the point in hoping when you’re hoping for the impossible?” He asked.
“I don’t know.” I said shaking my head.
His question caught me off guard. It seemed to relate to me significantly. I kept hoping my dad would change his mind about my mom and me, decide he didn’t want Kelly and wanted us back. I was hoping for the impossible as well.
I’d never have my old dad back and this new dad I didn’t want. He destroyed my mom. How many times had I hoped to have her go back to normal? And now she’s a vampire. She’ll never be normal again. Both my parents are gone. Not in Jonathon’s sense off his parents being gone but in another sense of the word. Physically they’re here but mentally and emotionally they’re gone. I’m just hoping for the impossible. But I still can’t bring myself to stop hoping.
I ran my hand across the trunk still deep in thought. I tried to break into reality.
“So, where do you want to paint me?” I asked hesitantly. I was so nervous. I was no model.
“Outside I think.”
“Okay, that sounds great.” I could use the fresh air.
Jonathon grabbed a paint brush set and a paint palette off the top of the dresser. He walked over to the wall that had a bunch of blank canvas’ leaning against it. He contemplated for a moment and chose several large canvases.
“Should I carry something?” I asked. He flashed me a brilliant smile.
“No, that’s okay, I’ve got it,” Jonathon said. I smiled. He could always make me smile.