Chapter Thirty

I make my way up to my bedroom. Ian is nowhere to be seen and I know why, he seemed embarrassed, nervous...anxious, even. Either way he doesn't seem to like confrontation, so he's hidden away somewhere in the house. Half of my mind is pre-occupied in nosing in the drawers in my new bedroom. I didn't get a chance to have a sneak peek of what is possibly inside of them.

Quickly, I walk into my room and shut the door silently behind me. I notice that I had left my bed unmade from this morning, so I walk over and neaten the covers up. Once I'm done, I turn towards the drawers on the left-hand side of the room and pull the first one open. Inside there are black and white vest tops. Hmmm... I don't know how Ian expects me to suddenly go from jumpers to vest-tops. Even having him take my hoodie awa from me is enough to send me loopy!

I sigh and open the next one down and it is filled with jeans and summer shorts. The jeans would definitely come to use but as for the shorts.... never.

When I grab onto the handle of the third one, it jams. I pull again but it doesn't budge. Something is obviously caught in the inside of it. I pull harder and harder. Nothing. I let out a breath and move onto the fourth drawer instead. In the fourth one is a few dresses which are still package up. Prom dresses? Must be. I rummage my hand inside, and I notice there are scattered earrings and broken necklaces right at the back of the drawer.

Suddenly, something papery brushes against my knuckles and I involuntarily pull away. I lower my head and look up. I can see the bottom of the drawer which I couldn't open and at the back of it a squared piece of paper is hanging out. I reach out and carefully pull it out.

When I turn it over, I can safely say that I kind of regret snooping into the drawers in the first place. On the other side is a photo. Not just a photo of someone or anyone but a photo of Ian and a woman with long brown hair. He's hugging her from behind, his face filled with happiness. Happiness that I don't recognise.

The woman who he is hugging doesn't look quite as happy. She's smiling but I can tell it's not a real smile. I drink in all her pretty feature, from her blue eyes to the beautiful pink dress she is wearing. Then I notice...

I look towards the fourth drawer which is still open and the dress which is in there is the same pink one she is wearing in the photo!

What the fuck!?

Was she...? No... she wasn't.

My eye immediately begins to travel up the bedroom walls, the bed, the wardrobe, the ceiling, the bed side lamp. This was her room...

I pocket the photo in my jean back pocket and walk towards the wardrobe. I open it up and it's fills with numerous types of clothes. Dresses, winter jumper, mostly coats and denim jackets. I look down and at the bottom are a line of shoes. All the way from high heels to converses, to sandals and slip-on ballet shoes. In the back corner I spot a black box. I reach my hand towards it and grab it. It's surprisingly really heavy, so I place straight on the flood and sit cross legged in front of it.

When I lift the lid, my breath catches in my throat. Photo after photo after photo is piled inside. I pick up the one at the top and it makes me smile. Ian is in it and an older man, a man who looks about in his fifties. They're standing in a what looks like a garden and are both wearing suits. The man has his arm round Ian's shoulder and Ian is laughing.

The next photo is of a woman and the same girl in the same pink dress. The older woman with her has dyed red hair and she is grinning widely while the girl in the pink dress is smiling and again, I can tell it's a fake smile. I put it back in the box and take out another one.

This one is of three kids on tree branch. Two girls and a boy. The two girls are wearing red school uniform, grinning with summer scorched cheeks while the boy is sitting with a ice cream to his lips. He looks older then the two girls because he has a secondary school uniform on. He is sitting next to them with a black blazer and tie on. Ice cream is rolling down the bottom of his tie as he holds a ice cream cone to his lips. No smile but his eyes are fixated on the camera.

He's got the same look in his eyes as what Ian does when he looks curious. Wait...maybe the boy is Ian.

My lips become dry and I lick them to give them moisture. I can't believe I have intruded into this box of photos, but why did Ian lie? He told me it's a guest room. It's not, it use to belong to another girl. Why didn't he tell me? Why have I been sleeping in another girl’s bed!?

I put the box back in the wardrobe and keep the other photo from the drawer on my back pocket. Before I walk out of the bedroom, I quickly close the fourth drawer.

I make my way down the stairs and jump the last, causing a loud thump on the hallway floor. I know Iran isn't in his bedroom because it's only nine o'clock. He doesn't go to bed until midnight.

"Ian!" I shout into the dining room. No answer.

"Ian!? Where are you!?" I yell.

"In here!" I hear him faintly.

"Where's 'here'?" I mock in a loud voice.

"I'm in my study!"

OK, mister. You're really in for it.

I make my way back down the hallway and cut through the front room. The large brown door to his study is slightly open by a crack. I walk over and push it open with a hard shove. The back of the door slams against the wall and I come face to face with a busy looking Ian.

He looks up in shock, "What are you trying to do? Break the door!?"

"Why did you lie to me!?" I ignore him and keep on a full-on angry glare on my face. He looks up at me, confused, his eyebrows pressed together. How can he not know? Surely, he knows what I'm talking about!

"I'm sorry?" He says in a hoarse voice. I groan and pull the photo out of my back pocket, slamming it on his desk in front of him. He stares down at it for a moment, saying nothing.

"Why did you lie to me!"

"Where did you get this from?" He asks in a surprisingly calm voice. How can he be calm?

"Does it matter where I got it from? Why didn't you tell me!?"

He stands up, taking the photo in his hand and holding it up to my level. "As a matter of fact, it does matter. So, tell me where you got it from and explain what you are yelling at me about." He growls in a stern voice, his jaw clenched and his face raw with anger.

"I got it from my bedroom! You know, the one you said was a guest room? Yes, that's the fucker! Well, it turns out that I found that photo and a few other things like a pink dress which tells me the 'guest room' was actually her room!" I jab my finger against the photo, pointing directly at the woman.

Ian's expression suddenly falls, and he is staring at me as of he has just seen ghost. "You were looking in her drawers?"

"Yes, I was looking in her fucking drawers! What do you expect? You're a liar!" I yell, punching his chest hard. He grabs my fists and holds them at my sides.

"Will you shut up!? I lied because you didn't need to know. What do you care? It's not important, so just leave it!" He whispers loudly in a harsh tone, setting my gut on my fire. anger boils up within me and I just want to punch him straight in the face.

"What do you mean leave it!? You lied! You thought it was OK for me to just sleep in your girlfriends’ bed!? What the fuck is wrong with you!? I have a right to know! How could-"

"She wasn't my girlfriend, Alice." He cuts me off.

"She's not?"

He shakes his head and smiles thoughtfully. "She was my sister."

"Was?"

He nods and looks down at the photo in his hands. "She died of cancer."

What the...! "Cancer!? Oh my god, Ian. I'm so sorry."

"It's OK."

"If you don't mind me asking, but...what cancer?"

"Brain tumour."

"Oh my god. Why didn't you tell me!?" I exclaim, holding my hand to my mouth.

He sighs and sets the photo on his desk. "I didn't tell you because...I didn't want to."

"But didn't you once think that maybe I needed to know, Ian?"

"You don't. You chose to go snooping into her stuff so don't back lash me." He points his finger at me, and I gasp.

"First of all, I was not snooping! Second of all I'm the one who is sleeping on a dead girl's bed so of course I should know! Third of fucking all, I am not back lashing you!"

"And fourth of all?" He grins mischievously.

"Stop it, Ian! We need to talk about this!"

"Do we? What is there to talk about then? We've established I lied, and my sister died of cancer. What more talking is there to be done?" He whispers, and I suddenly feel his hand traveling up my leg. I smack it away and glare up at him. "You upset me because you lied."

"Loads of men lie, Alice."

I lower my head, looking down at my feet. "You could have said sorry."

He takes my chin into his hand and looks straight into my eyes. "If I said sorry, that would also be a lie. Because I'm not sorry."

"You can be so cold sometimes."

"So, can you, but right now I reckon we're both feeling pretty warm. Don't you?" He says huskily and runs both his hands up my thighs. "Don't." I say softly and try to pry his hands off my things, but they don't budge.

He leans into me and moulds his lips with mine. Oohh....

I gasp and kiss back almost immediately. Our tongue twine together and we both fight for dominance. Of course, he wins, and I let him take the lead, exploring my mouth and sucking my bottom lip. I breathe into his mouth and wrap my arms around his neck. His hands become fixed around my waist, trapping my body against his.

I tangle my fingers in his brown locks as his lips travel to the side of my neck, nibbling a biting. I bite my lip to stop myself from moaning. The more he nibbles onto my neck, the more my legs begin to quiver. My stomach is going summer saults every time his lips latch onto my skin.

Then, without warning he pulls away and the sudden loss of contact makes my stomach-ache and my skin have chills.

"W-why did you stop?" I breathe heavily.

"It's a little bit past your bedtime." He says in heavy breaths. "School night."

"School night? Really Ian?"

"Yes." He says firmly with a serious face. I roll my eyes and run my hand through my hair. "Well, what if I don't want to?"

"I'll just carry you up the stairs and look you in your room." He shrugs.

"You mean your sister's room." I correct and straight away he becomes easily annoyed. "Bed, Alice."

"No thank you, Ian. Thank for the offer though."

Then, the look on his face made me want to lock myself in the bedroom, let alone him local me in there.

"Or not..." I say and he gives me a daring glare.

"Are you going to come quietly?" He asks with a cheeky grin. He literally looks like an animal waiting to pounce his pray.

"Of course not." I say grinning back at him and run towards the front room, leading to the stairs. He lunges for me and I scream out. "Aargh! Get the fuck away from me you perve!"

He laughs loudly, his hand reaching out to grab hold of me, but I instantly jump away. "Says the girl who comes onto her English teacher." He shoots back and I'm gob smacked.

"You snarky bastard!!" I screech and he only laughs louder. I turn and bolt up the stairs. The sound of his feet thumping against the stairs from behind me becomes louder with each step.

I just about make it to the bedroom door, but he sticks his foot between the door frame and the door preventing me from shutting it. "Now, now Alice. Don't I get a goodnight kiss?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" He pouts.

"Because you'll just turn it into a full make out session. So, no." I say professionally and try to remove his foot from the door.

"I won't. Promise. Just one peck. Please?" He tilts his head to the side, smiling a genuine smile.

I sigh in defeat and open the door, "Fine. Just one!" With that, he ducks his head down to my level and kisses me softly on the lips. He lingers there for a moment, his mouth taking in my bottom lip. He quickly pulls away and smiles.

"Goodnight Alice."

"Night." I say half dazed and shut the door. His footsteps become faint as he walks down the landing hall towards the stairs. After that, it's silence. He's obviously returned to his study.

As I turn towards my bed, (his sister's bed) my mind remembers writing the poems we wrote in class today. Shit. I really hope he hasn't read it. He didn't happen to mention it to me at all so maybe he forgot. I hope he did because I don't think I can deal with the embarrassment right now. Talking to him about my problems is enough without me having to spill all my feelings out. However, there's a similarity between us that I am not quite keen on and I think he has noticed it as well.

We're both very closed off. He's going on about how I should unravel my problems and talk about them, but he is just a closed off as I am. Too be honest, in my heart of hearts I get the idea that maybe he is somewhat a hypercritic to most issue and situations. Just like how I tried to talk to him about his sister and he completely refused to talk to me properly about it. He just continuously puts it down to sex.

The more time I spend with Ian, the more I begin to realize that maybe he's quite a sexually frustrated person.

Then again...who isn't?