"You live here?!" I exclaimed as Nicholas parked his car. It couldn't be described as a house. . .it was too big. There were iron gates at the entrance of the driveway, which seemed to go on for miles, and the whole house was made of brick. It was gorgeous.
Nicholas laughed. "No. My dad and my sister live here. I live in Toronto.""But you. . . I. . . wow." From the time I had met Nicholas, he had always seemed unlike any other guy. I mean, yeah, his personality stood out, but even his traits- always holding the door open for me, always waiting until I was safely inside before driving off, they were all foreign to me. I had never had any of my other boyfriends treat me that way. Now I understood. He was raised rich. Not just rich. Filthy rich. Suddenly I felt nervous. . . I hadn't brought anything fancy to wear. Would I look okay to them? Would I act properly? Would they approve of me? Nicholas had our bags slung over one shoulder, and slipped his hand in mine. I felt my grip tightening on his.
He looked over at me and smiled. "They're going to love you."
I tried to smile back, but my stomach was knotted. This didn't feel like my best idea yet.
Nicholas let go of me, pulled a key out of his pocket, and opened the door. I took a deep breath and we stepped in.
The entryway was huge as well. High ceilings and two winding staircases. There was tile when you first got in, then thick blue carpeting. He took my coat, dropped our bags, and led me into another room.
Although it was obvious that everything in there was expensive, the family room didn't look much different than any other family room. An older man sat facing the TV, with a motorized wheelchair beside his chair. The man looked tall, strong. He was dressed in khakis and a dress shirt, and he smiled when he saw Nicholas there. Without any trouble, he got up and came towards us. He hugged Nicholas, although it looked awkward for both of them. I was confused- if the wheelchair wasn't for him, why was it there?
ThenI noticed, sitting with the back of her head to me, there was another girl in the room. She has stayed so quiet and still that I hadn't noticed her before.
Nicholas's voice broke into my thought. "Paige, this is my dad, Peter Davis, dad, this is my girlfriend, Paige Michalchuk." Nicholas's dad extended his hand, and I shook it. I felt him studying me, although I didn't know if it was just because he was seeing me for the first time, or because he was trying to figure out of he approved of me or not. Before either of us could say anything, Nicholas was knelt down in front of the couch where the quiet woman was sitting.
"How's my favourite girl?" he asked her, his face lighting up."Nicky!" she squealed, and in a not-so-smooth move, she put her arms around his neck. Her fingers and wrists looked bony."I have someone I want you to meet. Do you want to go in your chair first?" I didn't see or hear any response, but in one swift move, he picked her up and took her over to the wheelchair I had seen before."Paige, I want you to meet my sister, Jessica."She still sat completely straight, studying me intensely. Her face seemed almost squished, and her actions seemed rigid. I was taken aback, but I still managed to regain my composure enough to kneel down beside her and offer my hand. "It's nice to meet you Jessica." She looked at me, then back at Nicholas. He smiled, and nodded slightly. Slowly, she stuck out her hand.
"Jess," she managed.
When Nicholas and I were alone again, I mustered up enough courage to ask him.
"What's wrong with her?"
Nicholas stopped and turned to me. "It's complicated. The easiest way to explain it is that just before she turned one, she stopped developing mentally. So her body grew, but her mind never matured. That's why she can't really walk, that's why she can't talk properly.
"How old is she?"
"Nineteen."
"Can I. . . can I still talk to her?"
"Of course you can. Actually, when they were younger, my sisters spent hours doing her hair. She's still a girl, she still enjoys that stuff." He stopped in front of a door. "I assume you want your own room?" I nodded. I still wasn't sure how I felt about spending the night with him. He seemed indifferent to my response, and opened the door.
"My room's across the hall if you need anything," he told me, turning on a light and setting my bag down.
The room couldn't be described as a room. It was a suite. There was a family room with a sofa, loveseat, recliner and big-screen TV. There was a washroom attached to both the family room and the bedroom, and the bedroom featured a king sized bed, another big-screen TV, sliding doors leading out to a patio, and a gorgeous fireplace.
Again, my only response was wow.
"Do you need anything?" Nicholas asked, joining me in the bedroom part.
"Nope. I'm fine." I turned around, slid my arms around his neck, then kissed him. When I pulled away, he was grinning.
"What was that for?" he asked.
I smiled. "Nothing. Just wait until you do something."
He laughed. "I like the sound of that." He kissed me again.
"I'll let you get settled in," he finally said, pulling back. His voice was soft, and although he sounded like he was leaving, he made no motion to go. We watched each other for a minute, before he started out of the room.
Once he was gone, I closed the door, took a deep breath, sat down at the foot of my bed, and pulled out my cell phone. My fingers shook as I dialled the number, and I felt my heart start beating faster when it began to ring.
"Hello?" I hadn't told Dylan that I was going. The past couple of days, things had been strained. We ate separately, and he seemed to be staying later at school. I locked myself in my room whenever I got home, and he didn't bother me.
"Hello?" he asked again.
I took another deep breath. "Dylan, it's me." There was a long silence on his end. "Hi," he finally said cautiously.
Then there was a silence on my part. "I'm not going to be home tonight."
"Okay. . . where are you going to be?" He sounded annoyed.
"Actually, I'm not going to be home all weekend. I'm with Nicholas."
"Where are you, Paige?"
"At his family's house."
A pause. Then, "Paige, what the hell are you thinking?! Going off somewhere with-"
"I have to go," I whispered, hanging up the phone. I set it down calmly beside me, before realizing that I could of just lost the only family that I had left.
Later that afternoon, Nicholas and I were curled up on one of the sofas in the first family room I had seen, watching a movie when I heard the door open, bags drop, then a voice loudly call, "where is everyone?" Nicholas quickly got up, and headed out to the hall. I got up and followed him out.
"Bigfoot!" the girl said to Nicholas."Small head!" he replied. The two of them laughed, then hugged each other tightly."How've you been?" she asked him once they let go."Good," he replied. "Serena, I want you to meet my girlfriend Paige. Paige, this is my sister Serena."She turned to me and smiled warmly. Genuinely. I could see resemblances in the two of them- her hair was streaked red, but the main colour was the same as Nicholas's. Their eyes were identical, to his. Probably the first thing someone would notice. She was quite a bit smaller than him- probably my height, and a bit bigger build than me. Skinny though. She was dressed in jeans and a McGill sweatshirt, and had perfect skin.
Then strangest thing happened when we all went to sit down in the living room to talk. Her boyfriend (who Nicholas already knew) joined us, and they all started joking around. But instead of feeling like I was the odd man out, I gently leaned against Nicholas, and I felt more at home than I had anywhere in a very long time.