Free Beautiful Beast (Enchanted Fairytales) by Cindy C Bennett

rejection of the term stung anyway.
    She jogged down the two sets of stairs, only realizing once there that she didn’t know exactly where Alex’s room was. Luckily, he waited for her on the couch in front of the big, blank TV screen. She went and sat next to him.
    “Good movie?” she whispered, as if they were in a theater and a movie was playing.
    He looked at her and smirked.
    “Do you ever watch this thing?” she asked.
    “Yeah. Whenever a new movie comes out.”
    “On DVD you mean?”
    “No.”
    She looked at him, understanding dawning. “Are you telling me you watch new release movies here? The ones that are in the theaters?”
    “Yes.”
    “How do you get them?”
    “I don’t. My father does. I don’t ask how.”
    “Huh.” Calli was surprised—and a little envious. “I hardly ever get to see new movies.”
    “Really?”
    “Costs money,” she said. “And that is something I am sorely lacking.”
    Alex didn’t say anything, just stood. “Ready to eat?”
    He held out a hand and Calli placed hers in it. He pulled her up and led her to his room.
     
    * * * * *
     
    No one ever came into Alex’s room. Not even Meredith. He changed his own sheets, scrubbed his own toilet, vacuumed his floor. This was the one place that was his alone. His father had never even been inside the door. And here he was, taking this girl who he thought might be a friend, but who also might be the enemy, in. He decided he must be insane. He’d lost his head over her beauty.
    The thought immediately intruded that her looks no longer were an issue with him. He squashed the idea immediately. Of course her looks were an issue, how could they not be? Especially when compared with his own.
    He’d had Javier deliver the meal a little early so it would be here before Calli. He led her in, standing back to watch her reaction. She moved to the center of the room and turned in a circle, her eyes roving over the walls, the desk, his bed, the tall dresser. Everything was dark: dark beige walls, dark wood furniture, navy carpeting, dark red comforter. Even the lighting was a little dimmer than it should be. It was the antithesis of her white room. Finally her eyes came back to his.
    “It’s a little dark and depressing, don’tcha think?” she asked with a smile. Alex laughed. Leave it to Calli to say it like it was.
    “I’ve honestly never thought of it that way until now when I saw you standing in here.”
    “Still,” she said, “it’s nice. I mean, everything is really good quality.” She walked over to the bed and ran a hand across the comforter. “It’s a lot nicer than anything in my house.”
    Alex cocked his head at her. “Describe your house to me.”
    “Really?”
    “Really.”
    “Okay. Prepare for boredom.” She sat on the edge of his bed, and Alex folded his arms across his chest. A funny warmth danced around inside his chest at her sitting there, something he thought he remembered from before , but couldn’t put a name to. “I’d tell you to sit down,” she continued, “but it’s a pretty short story.
    “Two bedrooms—mine and my dad’s. They are both about the size of my bathroom here. We share one tiny bathroom, which is really gross because my dad is a pig most of the time.” Alex choked on his laugh. “And,” she said, “the kitchen and living room are one room about the size of your bedroom here. Everything is old, shabby, and falling apart. But I have to say, it’s clean. I hate living in filth, which is what my dad would have us do if it were up to him.”
    Alex now felt the need to sit, so he walked over to the sprawling desk and pulled the chair around to face her. “So it must be kind of . . . different here, huh?”
    “If by different you mean completely foreign and surreal, then yeah. It’s hard to imagine a house this size just for two people.”
    Alex looked around at his room. He’d known people lived differently, of course. But he supposed that living here all this time,