Here's the 20th chapter. SO EXCITING! And now all the unspoken questions about that room will be answered.

Chapter 20: Painted

I took a deep breath gripping the handle. I let it go and I ripped off the sign. This was my room now…. I guess. I took a second deep breath and opened the door.

I was greeted with the smell of dust and something that my brain registered as paint and primer. The room was a good sized room. It had a window with red curtains behind white ones. It had a double door closet with old police 'caution' tape on it. It also had a corner with some furniture that looked it was for a child. There was a table with crayon drawings on it, a chair that had one of the old Disney princesses on it; it's back was shaped like a shell and had some half faded bubble stickers on the seat, there was big giant pink teddy bear that went up to my waist and on the wall above these children furniture was a creative drawing spelling out Carmen.

I took two steps into the room and looked around more. There was a bed that only looked big enough for one and a bedside table with a lamp and a book on it. But the most impressive part of the room was the paintings all over the walls. There were paintings of princesses and princes, there was an entire portion of the wall dedicated to the sea but there was different flowers everywhere. I recognized some of them as a sketchy version of the flowers on the flower planet.

Something caught my eye; it was a poster of an old show called My Little Pony. But it wasn't the poster that caught my attention, behind the poster there must be a drawing because there was something that looked like the bottom of blonde hair. I was curious. I removed the poster and gasped.

On the wall was a painting. The painting was of a woman, a woman that looked like me. She had long curly blonde hair, a flawless face with golden freckles scattered across her face but the painting triggered something inside me. For what felt like the millionth time today I felt tears well up in my eyes and overflow falling down my cheeks.

I just stood there staring at her until I was interrupted, "Beautiful isn't she?"

I jumped and turned to find Brandon standing next to me, I hadn't even noticed him. But I didn't answer his question.

"She's the reason you look the way you do. You defiantly got your beauty from your mother."

I gasped, "My mother?"

He nodded, "We met in High School. It was kind of like a typical High School story. Outcast meets jock, jock needs outcast's help, she consents and they fall in love and create a scandal that the whole school talked about till graduation."

"So." I said my voice full of emotion, "She was an outcast?"

He nodded again, "She was an art nerd; spend all her time in the art studio. Even had a few pieces in the schools art show."

"What happened to her?" I had to know.

He bit his lip. "You were about four when…. she left." He took a breath, "A week later I got some divorce papers in the mail with her signature on it."

"Why'd she leave?"

He took a step forward, closer to the painting, "My guess is she did or saw something that would have put you in danger. So to protect us she left."

"Really?" I said, my voice going up an octave.

"That's only a guess. Cause for about two weeks fallowing her disappearance there was a black sedan sitting on the curb outside our house. I didn't let you go outside but I tried to show whoever it was that Bri wasn't coming back."

"Bri?" Was that?

"Yep. That was her nick name, her real name was Britney. She was wonderful." He reached up and touched her face, "I still love her, I miss her."

I nodded, "I want to find her. I have some questions." I wasn't sure what they were but I'd figure it out.

"I bet you do. But I don't know where she is. She may be dead."

I shook my head, to vigorously that my head hurt. "No. She's alive." I knew that. I could feel a light in my heart when I looked at the painting, she was alive. "I can feel it."

He turned and pulled me into a hug, "Alright. We can look for her if you want. But first let's get back to your place and get some things settled first."

I nodded, that's fair. Brandon let me go, "Hurry, I'll load the stuff in the truck and we'll wait for you downstairs." I nodded again.

I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my hoodie and took four pictures of the painting. Then I turned and took pictures of the walls, all of them. Finally I turned to the closet. What was in there? Why would I put caution tape across it? I crossed to it and removed the tape. I took a deep breath and opened the doors.

That's not what I expected. I thought. The back of the closet was plastered with pictures. Pictures of me as a baby, pictures of Brandon and me but most importantly; pictures of me and Britney. There was pictures ranging from what looked like the day I was born to a picture of me looking out of the front window downstairs.

Tears gathered at the edge of my eyes as I took a picture and then gently pulled the pictures off and set them neatly into the suitcase. Then I noticed boxes, I opened them. In them there was a number of things. There was a box of woman's clothes, there was a box of stuffed animals that I vaguely recognized, and another was full with a plastic tea set and some things that looked like they'd be for dress up. And then in the final two boxes that I opened was a bunch of DVD's from before the invasion. They seemed to be mostly Disney movies but there was a couple that didn't have the Disney castle logo.

I put a few of the clothes on top of the pictures; I put a few stuffed animals in as well and then closed the closet. If we somehow got power to the caves then I'd come back for the movies, It'll be my little surprise.

I took one more look around and realized I never looked at the bed or the bedside table. I put the suitcase on the bed and picked up the book. It was called 'Breaking Dawn by: Stephanie Myers' I shrugged and put it back down and opened the drawer's.

I felt myself blush; it was full of small red squares that said 'Condom' on it. I looked around me, totally self conscious, and then emptied the drawer's contents into the suit case. I took comfort knowing that most of those would be given to the other girls in the caves, but most of them would probably go to Mel and Jared.

I opened a cubby in the bottom and I read some of the titles of books inside. There was the entire series of Harry Potter, there was a couple of books that were by Jane Austin, three more books by Stephanie Myers and then about four or five notebooks. I didn't really have time to read all the notebooks but I took them and put them in the suitcase and then brought the Harry Potter and the Jane Austin books.

I took one more look around, and stopped at my mother's painting before I closed the door and walked back to my room.

The closet was basically empty and the ottoman was lying open and empty on the floor. I walked over to my dresser and grabbed my brush and some jewelry. And then left after I said a very sad goodbye to my bed.

I didn't even get halfway down the stairs before Ian ran up to carry the suitcase for me.

"Are you alright?" he asked carrying the suitcase with ease.

I nodded, "Yea I think so. I'm just kinda sad to be leaving. It's nice to live in a house with a bed, a shower and Cheeto's."

Ian chucked, "Yea. The bed was great and so much better than our mattresses." I blushed, "The shower was pretty great too."

I nodded blushing more, "But I'm kinda happy that I'm leaving." I looked at him, "Because I get to come home to you and my other family."

I smiled down at me, "And there you'll stay." He said wrapping an arm around me, kissing the top of my head.

Yeah! Now I know this one was short. But I have a REAL treat for you next Chapter. I mean it this time, next chapter will be from a unique point of view one I haven't done yet. And I'm so excited for this one. Leave me a review and fallow for more.

And just a small update. I have carpal tunnel and its been getting worse since I'm typing and writing so much. To much of a good thing. Anyway so I'm wearing braces on my wrists which makes it really hard to write. But I will continue to write and post.