The Way We Were (A Jeffrey Dean Morgan Story)

Chapter 40

Jeffrey had driven us around L.A. before hitting the coast again and driving us along the water. He still hadn't told me where the last place we were going was. I leaned my head against the back of the seat and looked out the window. Jeffrey still had the radio turned on and was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat.

The car slowed and Jeffrey made a right hand turn away from the water. We were heading back into a quieter side of L.A. We made our way around a couple side streets before making another right hand turn and coming to a housing complex that seemed to go up the hill into neverland. Jeffrey slowed to a stop in front of a gate.

He rolled down his window and punched a code into a small box before setting back in his seat and rolling up his window. The gate in front of us slowly opened and Jeffrey made his way through it. Winding his way up the hill we finally came to a stop at what seemed like the top but I noticed there was still a few houses above us.

Jeffrey pulled into a long driveway and made his way behind a house that seemed like it was huge and way out of my price range. Jeffrey parked his car and shut it off before getting out in a hurried fashion and making his way around to my side of the car. He opened my door and offered me a hand which I gladly took.

I was still wearing his jacket which I was grateful for because it was still a little chilly on the hill. Jeffrey shut my door and pulled me into him. He wrapped his arm around my waist and lead me away from the car. "So what are we doing here?" I asked him as I took in the sight around me. The back of the house was beautiful.

The grass was nice and green. There was a two car detached garage with a basketball hoop attached to it. There was a huge playground on the grass along with a playhouse. Jeffey directed us towards the back deck that was lit up with solar lights. It had a grill and working sink on it as well.

"Well," Jeffrey said as he pulled us towards the back door. He took his keys out of his pocket and shoved one of the keys in the lock on the back door. He let the door fall open by itself and gently pushed me through the threshold. I took in the empty house around us. Coming through the back door had landed us in the kitchen and what looked like an attached dining room.

"Wow," I breathed as I took in the space around us. Anyone would be jealous of the size of the kitchen. There would be no way I could fill all the cabinets and the giant pantry. "Nice, huh?" Jeffrey asked as he pulled me through the house into what I guessed was the living room or maybe a den.

I nodded as I took in the high ceilings and the wood floors. "Yeah, it's really nice," I said. Jeffrey pulled me towards the other side of the room where a door was. He opened it revealing a secret stairwell. I felt like a child going on a treasure hunt. I slipped off my heels so I didn't fall and made my way up the stairs with Jeffrey right behind me.

We came to a small landing that had another door on it. "It's just a closet," Jeffrey said as he turned me to keep walking up another small set of stairs. How did he know what was in there? We came to the top of the stairs where a hallway greeted us. I noticed multiple doors and assumed these were bedrooms and potential bathrooms.

Jeffrey opened the first door that was at the top of the stairs. It was a smaller bedroom that had a nice thick carpet. There wasn't a closet in it though so I assumed it was most likely used as an office of some sort. Jeffrey shut the door and lead me to the next. This one was a full size bathroom.

He shut the door and lead me to the next. This was another bedroom. It was bigger than the last and it had a closet in it. Jeffrey shut the door and directed me towards the next one. This one was clearly a laundry room with a washer and dryer hook up. It was bigger than one of the bathrooms in the house Charlie and I were staying in.