Rays of light came in through the cracks of the blinds.
One of them shone right at Holly's closed eyelids. She slowly opened her
eyes to a slit. The memories of the previous night came floating back to
her. Her and Toad had spent the night talking and watching TV. She smiled
to herself, it had been so wonderful. She had never felt so happy...just
him being there. Just the thought made her feel happy all over again. After
they were done watching TV Holly had laid back on the bed and was telling
Toad about how she was nervous about living in the mansion. She told him
that she felt so different from them. She then had closed her eyes for a
moment and......she fell asleep. Holly fully opened her eyes. She sat up.
"Argg" Toad mumbled. He was laying next to her on the bed. 'This is not
good' Holly thought to herself. Toad was still asleep. She started to
panic. She looked at the door to see if it was still locked....it was. She
got off the bed and went over to the window. She used her thumb, index and
middle fingers to open the little planks of the blinds to see if anyone was
outside. Unfortunately it seemed like half the mansion was outside either
hanging out, playing some game or training. Her stomach dropped. How was
Toad supposed to sneak out? She heard a yawn. She turned around and saw
Toad sitting at the edge of the bed looking at her. "Morning" He said
calmly. Holly couldn't believe him. "Why didn't you go home last night?"
She asked him. "What?" He asked as he yawned again. "Why didn't you go home
last night?" She repeated. "Well, you just looked so alone...I just was
going to lay there for a bit, but I guess I fell asleep." Toad said in a
sleepy voice. "You guess you fell asleep?!" Holly asked him. She really was
starting to panic. Toad got up from the bed. "a....yea." Was all Toad said.
Holly sighed. Toad went over to her. "I'm sorry, Holly." He said and hugged
her. Holly wasn't paying much attention to him. Toad pulled away, stood
there and crossed his arms. He didn't say anything. Holly thought about how
she was going to get him out of the mansion. Toad started to walk around
the room. He was looking at some of the stuff Holly had on her dresser. He
glanced at Pictures she had laying on it. He picked some of them up. The
first one he was looking at was a picture of three children. One was a boy
the other were girls. The boy, who was in only a diaper, was sitting in a
sandbox with his hands buried under the sand. The two girls, who both were
in dresses, were sitting on a bench near the sandbox with wide grins on
their faces, they were looking straight at the camera. Toad guessed one of
the girls was Holly and then he flipped to the next picture. The next one
was of the same three kids, but they were older, they were probably about
13-14. They seemed to be on a ranch. This time the boy was dressed in a
plaid shirt and jeans and was leaning on a wooden fence and had a piece of
straw between his teeth. One of the girls, who also was in a plaid shirt,
was bent over in laughter. The last girl , who definitely was Holly, was
wearing the same as the other too and was making a weird face. Toad flipped
to the next one. It was a picture of a woman. It was a close-up of her. She
had brown eyes and black hair. She had on very little make-up, but she
looked beautiful. Toad stared at the picture. He looked up from the
picture and then looked at Holly. She was still in deep thought, but she
looked at him when she felt him staring at her. "Is this your mother?" He
asked her. Holly went over to him and look at the picture he was holding.
"Yes" She said. "You look like her." He said. Holly didn't say anything.
Toad flipped to the next one. It was another picture of the kids as small
children, but this time a man was in the picture too. He was about average
height, alittle overweight, and balding. He had the small boy sitting on
his shoulders. The boy was also wearing a hat that was way to big for him.
The two girls were standing at the man's sides. The man had his arms around
them. Toad looked up at Holly. "This your father?" He asked pointing to the
man in the picture. "yes" Holly said looking at the picture. "You seemed
like a happy family." Toad said. "Looks can be deserving." Holly said.
"Atleast you had a family" Toad said handing her the pictures. She took the
pictures and tossed them back on the dresser. "Yea, well..."She said. Toad
then picked up a jewelry box. "Would you stop!" Holly said as she went to
grab it from him, but her yelling surprised him and he dropped it. It hit
the ground with a loud thud and all the contents scattered all over the
floor. Holly and Toad stood there in silence listening to see if anyone
heard the thud. After a moment of pure silence Holly and Toad both started
to breathe again. Toad bent down and started to pick of some of the things.
"Holly, I'm s..." Toad started to say, but Holly covered his mouth. "Under
the bed" She whispered to him. He was about to ask why he needed to hide,
when there was a knock on the door. Toad rolled laid flat and rolled under
the bed. Holly went to the door and opened it. "Are you alright?" A
concerned Iceman asked when Holly opened the door. "Yea, I'm fine. I was
just looking through some old things when I dropped my jewelry box" She
said quickly. Iceman looked at the jewelry box on the floor. "Oh, well let
me help you pick..." He said moving over to pick up the box. Holly
immediately grabbed his arm preventing him from bending over all the way.
"No, it's ok. I got it." She said and bent over and quickly shoved the
jewelry back in. Most of it didn't make it in the box. Holly put the box
back on her dresser. She then turned back to Iceman, who had a very
confused look on his face. "um....Holly..?" He stumbled out. "Yes?" She
asked, she was out of breath. "Are...you sure your alright?" He asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. Never been better." She said very fast. Iceman didn't say
anything, he just looked at her. "Well, If you'll excuse me...I have to get
dressed." She said moving back to the door. She stood behind it, hoping
Iceman would get the hint. He walked to the door and then realized
something. "Why are you still in the clothes you were yesterday?" Iceman
asked. "I was so tired last night...I just fell asleep." She said. Iceman
looked at her again. "What?" Holly asked. "You don't have to lie to me,
Holly" Iceman said. "I don't have to..?" Holly asked confused. She shook
her head. "Bobby, I'm not lying". "If you snuck out, I understand...I mean
who hasn't. I won't tell anyone." He said looking deep into her eyes. Holly
looked away. "I didn't sneak out." She said. "Holly" Iceman got closer to
her. She stepped back. "Bobby..." Holly started to say. "I heard Jean
talking and I just thought....Alot of people go through things when they
first get here. It doesn't mean you don't belong or that there is something
wrong with you...." Iceman said sounding understanding. He continued to
ramble on, but Holly couldn't focus on what he was saying. She started to
feel a throbbing pain in her right temple. "Bobby, could you please..." She
tried to be calm. ".....could you please just go. I really need to rest.".
Bobby stopped talking and looked at her. He sighed. "Fine, Holly, but I
just want you to remember that I'm here if you need me." He said, put his
hand on her shoulder and then walked out of the room. Holly closed the door
behind him. Toad crawled out from under the bed. He laughed. "Boy did he
sound like an after school special.". He looked at Holly. She was leaning
against the door. She was starring at the ground. Toad frowned. "You ok?".
"I can't do this.." She said. "Can't do what?" He asked confused. "This!"
She said gesturing to him and then to herself. She looked at him. He
started to walk to the window. He turned back to face her. "Just tell me
why first." He said. She sighed and stood up. "Well, look at what we are
having to go through....you having to hide under a bed, me having to lie to
people who don't even completely trust me yet....It's not fair. It's not
fair to me and it's not fair to you. We should be able to have a
relationship where we don't have to hide it or lie about it." She said.
"Your right. We shouldn't have to lie or hide. It's not fair,but..." He
said moving close to her. "I think it's worth it. I care about you alot,
Holly. I can't stop thinking about you....this hiding under beds and
sneaking around is all worth it as all as I'm with you. I'm willing to risk
whatever I have to. What about you?" He asked her. Holly went over and put
her arms around him. Tears came to her eyes. He just held her. She pulled
back and looked into his eyes. "I'm willing to risk everything."
