Free Meet Me at Taylor Park by Jason W. Chan Page B

to do there?”
    Brandon gave her a mysterious smile, but did not reply. He merely took her hand. As they stomped through the wintry landscape, the flurries started up again.
    *
    When they arrived at Brandon’s house, Katie was surprised to see how large it was. The house was a Victorian-style three-story building.
    Katie shook snowflakes off her coat before stepping inside. “Wow, your house is so big.”
    Brandon took off his jacket and closed the door. “Yeah, big, dark and empty.”
    He turned on the light, and the chandelier lit up the hall.
    He held out his hand and she took it.
    “Come on,” he said. “There’s no one home.”
    “What are we going to do?” She looked at him uncertainly.
    “Let’s go to my room and hang out.”
    He saw that she was hesitant, so he said, “Don’t worry. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
    Pacified, she followed him up the stairs, footsteps echoing in the grand hall.
    They got to his room and he opened the door. She peered inside. It was a typical guy’s room with a desk and a computer in the middle, and an unmade bed in the corner.
    He led her into his room, and they collapsed onto the bed. The covers were soft and silky against her skin.
    She turned to look at him. The room was dark, except for the honey streetlight streaming in from outside. She could barely make out his face.
    For a while, they simply lay there in the silence. Outside, they could hear the snow flurries pelting against the window, and the howl of the wind.
    Katie put her hand on Brandon’s face, stroking his cheeks. “Brandon, I feel like I don’t know a lot about you. Tell me a secret.”
    “I can’t think of anything.”
    “Come on. There must be something.”
    He let out a breath. “I don’t want to say.”
    “Why not?”
    He looked at her with a vulnerable expression. “Because, then, you’d know my secret.”
    “And what’s so bad about that? Then, I’ll feel closer to you.”
    Brandon nodded. “There is something. Aren’t you wondering why no one’s home on Christmas Eve?”
    “Why?”
    “Because my parents are jerks. They’re both investment bankers and too damn busy chasing money to be with me.” His tone turned completely serious.
    He turned to look at her, and she withdrew her fingers from his face. His green eyes were wide. He sucked in his lips. He looked like he was about to cry.
    Katie squeezed his hand. “I’m sure they just want to make enough money to keep you comfortable.”
    “Have you seen the size of my house? I don’t need more money. I need my parents.”
    Then, he really did cry. Katie thought he was laughing at first, but when she saw tears on his face, she knew it was for real.
    At first, she was unsure of what to do, but then instincts took over as she held him close. He tried to say something, but it was incomprehensible. Katie thought he had said,
    “It’s hard being alone.”
    She continued to hold onto him. After a while, he looked at her. His eyes were bloodshot, but the tears were gone. They had disappeared as quickly as they had come.  
    “I’ve never told someone that before,” he whispered.
    Katie said nothing, but she felt privileged. It was the kind of story reserved only for intimate others.
    The snow had stopped outside. They could barely hear the roaring wind now.
    He reached for a tissue on his desk, and dabbed his face. “I don’t normally cry.
    Especially in front of girls.”
    She patted his chest. “It’s OK. It’s really OK.”
    To her, it really was. It made her feel closer to him. And it made him seem more human, somehow. She used to think that he was strong all the time. He was the one who held her when her samples were rejected. He was the one who took her to Taylor Park to make her feel better. He was the one who showed her the trampoline to make her forget about the contest. Now, she was happy she had the chance to be the one to comfort him.
    Brandon got off her shoulders and lay back down beside