I went to the toilet that night at the fair. My mouth stretches into a soft smile. I touch the picture with the tip of my finger affectionately and place it back in the drawer.
I think Nathan feels more for me than I realised. How else do I explain this secret photo? He clearly doesn’t want me to know that he has it or it would be on display. Either that or he would have at least shown me.
So how long has he felt this way? I thought he disliked me back then.
My mind goes back to my necklace. I grab a ruler (why the hell he has a ruler upstairs I have no idea) and get back to work on loosening the necklace from the skirting board.
The corner of the plastic measuring device slips between the floor and board at the corner. I slide it along the crack until I’m a few centimetres away from my jewellery.
Click. Uh-oh. The skirting board just fell away from the wall. That’s not good.
My attention is on the small dark space and I’m sure I can see something in its depths, like a box of sorts. Using the light from my phone, I shine it into the hole, scared I’ll find any number of creatures. Instead I find a very small and clean space filled with DVD cases perfectly lined up.
What are these?
Nathan’s porn stash? I can’t help it, my curiosity won’t let me leave them behind. If it’s porn or possibly even Nathan doing naughty things, I’ll just put them back.
I’m so lucky. Caleb always said I was lucky and he was right. It feels like I was meant to find this. What are the odds that this would happen because I threw my necklace?
I run my finger over the plain black cases with labels along the narrow edge. My eyes instantly zoom on one that seems separate from all of the others. It’s the only one that’s labelled.
First Time
(Inc---Stephan)
Isn’t that Mr Weston’s name? I’m sure it is.
I pull out three of the unlabelled DVDs and the labelled one and walk back into Nathan’s room. I should have taken better note as to where everything was. He’ll most likely notice that I’ve moved things, being the perfectionist that he is.
I wish I had my own TV in my room, less chance of getting caught, but I know he won’t be back for a while. It still makes my hands shake at the thought though.
When I open the DVD the title baffles me.
I don’t hesitate to place the disk into the attached DVD player behind the TV and turn it on.
He Knew
What kind of title is that for a homemade porno? That’s assuming it is a porno.
I pop the DVD in the player and sit back on my knees. The screen is fuzzy for a few minutes with white noise. The quality isn’t great either. Huh, seems to be some kind of… oh my god. That’s here, I’d recognize that front door anywhere.
“Where is he?” A man I don’t recognize speaks from behind the camera. “Where’s my big boy today?”
Oh, it’s some kind of home video.
“Here, Grandpa, here!” I let out a startled laugh as a dark haired boy who can’t be older than six comes rushing through the archway and vanishes from sight as he no doubt hugs his grandpa. Wait… I’ve seen this boy before. The picture I found. It’s Caleb!
My heart soars.
“Look what Grandpa has, Nathan.”
Wow. It’s Nathan? Is he sure? He must be, he’s their grandfather. The resemblance is uncanny.
“Cool.” The video wobbles a lot and crackles as the boy’s grandfather shows him the camera.
Nathan is now back in view, his face only seeming to be a few inches away from the camera. Oh my god. I know those eyes and those lips and those freckles. That’s Nathan. It is Nathan! Now that I’m getting a closer look I can tell that it’s him.
“And how old you are now?” Grandpa asks as he takes the camera back from the happy little boy. So carefree, so happy. It’s odd seeing Nathan this way.
The boy smiles and the smile is so easy, it reminds me so much of Caleb. “I turned six yesterday!”
“I’m guessing you’ll be wanting a present?”
The little boy bounces on the spot, his tight white shirt and cute little blue bow tie the only thing in view as he goes up. He can jump pretty high for a kid of his age. “Pwease, pwease, pwease.” Aww, he said