Game of Patience

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The room was bare. All the posters and photographs from her walls were packed away leaving only markings in their place. The clothes she wanted to keep were in her suitcases. She had kept a fair amount and donated a few objects that would go to a better home. She had been meaning to sort out her things for a while, she guessed this was one way to do it.
She had woken up and true to his word, Roger slept downstairs and was fixing breakfast the moment he heard her walking down the stairs. They ate together and spoke about the future. Roger was optimistic about her future and her living with George.

After breakfast they worked on grabbing all of her belongings from downstairs and anything she wanted to take with her. She selected a few family photos, some of her mum's stuff and some of her dad's. She made sure to take the jacket her dad was going to give her one day. It was a beautiful faux leather jacket that he had gotten when he was around her age. She loved it and she had fond memories of her trying it on when she was little. She took off her hoodie, shoved it inside her backpack and slipped on the jacket. It was cold and heavy.

They moved upstairs and worked for the rest of the morning, sorting the remainder of her belongings. She left the posters for last. The bareness of the walls scared her, it was a reminder that she was leaving, that everything had changed.

She hugged Roger and thanked him for his help. He squeezed her gently and she relaxed into his arms.

Why didn't her parent's pick Roger to take care of her? He knew her better than most, and he knew her so much better than George who she had never even seen before.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too, but you can visit. Whenever you want. I'll have the guest room set up."

The doorbell rang and the pair looked at each other.

"I'll get it. I'll take some of your cases down. I'll let you say goodbye."

He walked out leaving her alone with her thoughts. She had long outgrown the childish decorations of her room, but there was something homely about it. She had grown up in this room. It was hers. A fresh start was both comforting and terrifying.

"Are you ready to go?"

She turned around to see a tall grey haired man smiling in the doorway. He was slim and still looked to be strong. His voice was soothing and calm. She looked at the old leather jacket that he wore, it had marks where patches had once been sewn and it was discoloured. He leaned on the doorframe, an air of confidence around him.

"I mean take all the time you need. I've taken the whole day off. I thought maybe we should get to know each other today. We can eat out, anything you want. I'm George Phillips, but most people call me by my last name."

"I'm ready."

Phillips nodded and grabbed the cases closest to him and started to walk out of the room and out of the house.

Brooke took one last look at her childhood bedroom and walked out quickly. If she looked back she wasn't sure if she would leave. Memories of her parents filled that room.

Roger was at the bottom of the stairs waiting. He took her cases off her and walked them to the car.

"If they don't fit in the boot, just stick them on the back seat."

Roger closed the boot down and placed the last case on the back seat. He turned to Brooke and held out his arms. She wrapped her arms around his wide stomach and rested her head on his chest. She was going to miss him.

"Ring me if you need anything. Give George a chance, it's a new situation for both of you okay. Promise me you'll try to settle in. Go to school then college, make some friends. Start fresh."

"I promise."

He kissed her check and stepped back. He watched as she climbed into the passenger seat and did up her seat belt. She waved as the car drove off, leaving everything she had ever known behind.