Step Brother

Room of Memories

Scarlett Johnson

  As we slowly made our way back up the walkway to the front door of the house I noticed how close Noah was at my side.

  His hand bumped into mine carelessly a few times before I entwined my fingers together behind my back.

Noah stepped in front of me and opened the door with a smile gesturing for me to enter first, I gave him a shy smile and made my way inside.

I studied the walls of the hallway that led to the staircase as I neared the first step.

Dusty picture frames hung on the light grey wall to my right containing old photos of me when I was younger.

I glanced back at Noah to see him glancing at each of them himself.

After a moment I shook my head trying to get back into focus.

There was a stack of boxes perched on the hardwood floor leaning up against the wall, it's as if my mom knew I'd come around.

Or she'd just force me to go anyway, I mean who was stopping her I was 17, I still had a little more time to be told what I could and couldn't do.

I continued up the stairs and entered my room with Noah not too far behind me.

"Here we are."

I sighed out, Noah laughed and did a once over my room.

My attention turned to my closet, I was dreading packing all of my things up.

  I grabbed a cardboard box and taped it up as best as possible and once it was suitable to hold things I began placing books inside.

      "Scarlett, what is this?"

Noah asked, I turned around to see him holding my baby book in his large hands, I lightly smiled.

I slowly approached him and he handed the scrapbook over to me, I took it gently and began to flip through the old pages.

I sure did have a lot of good memories in that house.

     "My mom made it for me when I was younger."

I told him, I looked up to see his eyes already on me, he grinned.

  I placed the book in with the others and gently sealed the top shut.

All whilst Noah went back to rummaging through the top shelf of my closet.

We continued packing in silence for a long amount of time.

     "Is the school nice?"

I questioned him randomly after taping the last box up, he took a seat on my now empty bed and stared over at me with a confused expression written across his face.

    "I mean the high school up in Pickering, is it nice?"

I asked again, his hazel eyes never left mine as he spoke.

I felt my cheeks turning warm, oh brother.

   "Ya, I'm not much of a fan of school, but Pineridge is alright."

He told me, I took a seat on a box across from him and nervously played with my hands in my lap.

      "Don't worry Scarlett, it's fall break and by the time we go to school next week we will be settled in, and we'll both be going to the same school." 

He told me, which caused me to smile up at him.

  His words honestly made all the nerves in the back of my mind seize.

    "I'm gonna hold that to you Campbell."

I told him, he chuckled and stood up from my bed.

   "How about we go get some lunch?"

He asked, I nodded and stood from the box I had been perched on and followed him quietly out of my room.

     Before closing the door I looked back and took it all in.

From the empty room that I had grown up in, all the memories I had shared with people from my past, that would all be disappearing.

     After a few more moments of taking it all in, I quickly closed the door and hurried to catch up with Noah with a smile on my face.