"Well, there goes my plan to decorate my room," Anna thought as she flopped down on her mom and Carter's bed. Her plan to blow off school and check out her room had backfired.
About a fifteen minutes later Carter poked his head into the room and asked, "Do you want anything?"
"I'm bored," Anna announced.
"I could get you a book," he replied.
"No, thank you," she responded.
"How dare I suggest that you do something useful with your time!" Carter said.
"That isn't it. I left my glasses in my locker," Anna answered.
"I haven't seen you wear glasses in years. I didn't even know you still wore glasses," he commented.
Anna rolled her eyes and pressed the back of her head into the pillow. "I'm still bored," she told him.
"What do you want to do?" he asked.
"Watch a movie?" Anna questioned.
"I'll bring the laptop in, and you can watch one movie. That is it," he told her.
"Thank you," she called as he left the room.
Anna watched a movie and then started it over again. He hadn't told she couldn't watch the same movie over and over again. She fell asleep before the battery died.
She woke up with Carter standing above the bed staring at her. "What?" she questioned.
"I have to pick your brothers and sister up. Do you want to come?" he asked.
"I would rather stay here," Anna told him.
"All right, suit yourself. I should be back in ten minutes," Carter said.
Anna waited until she heard the car pull out of the driveway before she retreated to her new attic room. There was only one small circular window which overlooked the street. The bed was placed in the center of the room against the wall with the window leaving precious little space for anything else.
She knew the attic had to be larger than just her small room, and she searched for another opening. She ran her hand across the whitewashed paneling until she felt a small crack. She pushed on it, and a small section of paneling gave way.
The light from her room was not enough to light the other space so she ran down the stairs to retrieve a light source. She was unable to find a flash light, but she did find a matchbook. She grabbed a candle off Abby's dresser and went to explore.
"This is crazy," Anna said. There was a whole other room on the other side of the wall. From the looks of things it hadn't been touched in years. There was a bed, a book shelf, and a writing desk. She was about to check out the desk when she heard Carter yelling her name. She quickly pulled the section of the wall closed, blew out the candle, and tucked the matches under her pillow.
Carter knocked on her door and pushed it open.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Just checking out my room," she replied casually.
"Well, your mother is on her way so you might want to put your sick face back on," he said before leaving her alone in her room.
A smile formed on Anna's face. She should give Carter more credit. He really did know what was going on.
Later that night, Abby was sitting in the kitchen sorting through a stack of papers.
"Can I be sick tomorrow?" Ethan asked Abby as he entered the kitchen.
"No," she replied.
"Why not?" he demanded.
"Because we need one child who doesn't have poor attendance," Abby explained.
"Why can't it be Landon?" Ethan asked.
"I'm sorry, Ethan, that is just the way it is," Abby told him. "I thought your father told me you were in bed?"
"I was, but Landon is snoring," he explained.
"He shouldn't be I gave him an antihistamine before he went to bed," Abby stated.
"Okay, he isn't, but I can't sleep," Ethan admitted.
"If you can wait five minutes, we can read together," she offered.
"I'd like that," he replied.
After putting Ethan back to bed, Abby entered her bedroom. Carter was sitting up reading a medical journal.
"I was beginning to wonder if you stood me up," he said.
"Sorry, I was putting Ethan to bed. I believe you told me they were all asleep," Abby retorted.
"Touché," Carter said tossing the paper on the floor.
Abby flopped down on the bed, Carter began massaging her neck.
"You have no idea how great that feels," she told him.
"I can only imagine," Carter teased.
Abby leaned back resting her head against Carter's chest. She wanted to savor this moment in time forever.
Note from Banana Belle
Well there was the next chapter. It was about time, but life's little curveballs keep coming my way. Hope you enjoyed. Keep reviewing because I love reading them.