My laugh drew their attention too, and by the time he lifted his head to look up, I had already slipped back into my room.
After that, he knew I had anthropophobia, a fear of people.
From then on, every time he came to our house, he wore a fox mask.
The strange thing was, because of that fox mask, I never shrank from seeing him.
When my brother learned that I wasn't afraid of Elliot, and that they were close in age, he asked him to spend more time with me.
Elliot didn't mind. If anything, he came around more often, always in the fox mask.
After enough time together, I was finally able to go out with him for the first time.
My brother was overjoyed and rewarded him with an expensive pair of sneakers.
Later on, even though his friends always looked down on him for dragging me along, he never once chose to leave me behind.
He even got into a fight for me, just because someone called me a name. "Freak."
He traded a single mask for the distance close enough to reach me, and in doing so he stirred that fluttering heart of mine.
But later, after his childhood friend Naomi transferred to our city, I was no longer the center of his world.
In the quiet of the night came the restlessness from the room next door.
Caleb quietly covered my ears.
"Hold on a little longer. This will never happen again."
I clutched the hem of his shirt, caught the clean scent that belonged only to him, and couldn't stop myself from wrapping my arms tight around his waist.
The next morning, I still couldn't manage to go downstairs and eat breakfast with him.
Elliot thoughtfully had a servant bring it up to my room.
My brother called to ask if I was settling in all right.
I said with a smile, "It's good here."
He didn't say much before hanging up. I think he was afraid that if he kept talking, he'd cry.
Our parents died in an accident when I was three. My brother was only thirteen then.
Still a child himself, he took on the responsibility of caring for me. He studied by day and fed me by hand at night, and at seventeen he was already learning to run the company under our grandfather.
In the middle of those dizzyingly busy days, his hopeless little sister suddenly came down with a mental illness.
Anthropophobia. Afraid even to look at the very brother who had raised her.
All these years, it must have been so hard for him.
After the meal, Caleb didn't go to the office. Instead he mysteriously told me there was somewhere he wanted to take me.
Elliot had already gone off somewhere, and the servants in the villa knew on their own to stay out of sight whenever I went out.
With a face mask and a baseball cap on, I followed Caleb into his private car.
He'd given the driver the day off, so he drove himself.
I sat in the passenger seat, more at ease than I had ever been.
Half an hour later, we finally reached our destination.
The black Maybach pulled up at a beautiful, quiet courtyard.
Elliot held my hand as we walked in, telling me about the place as we went.
"Serena, I spent five years building this estate. I had a hand in every part of the design, and the most important thing is that no one can disturb you here."
He stopped suddenly, his lovely peach-blossom eyes turning to me, his voice like something out of a fairy tale meant to enchant.
"Do you like it, Serena? This is my gift to you."
I nodded, happy. This house suited me perfectly.
Caleb saw the excitement in my eyes and at once took my hand and led me toward the second floor.
He brought me to the door of the master bedroom on the second floor and looked at me with a mysterious smile.
"Serena, close your eyes first. I have a surprise for you in a moment."
I obediently shut my eyes, nervous and hopeful at once.
I heard the faint, low creak of a wooden hinge as the door opened, and at Caleb's word, I opened my eyes.
Before me was a familiar room, familiar ornaments, a familiar little bed, everything familiar.
"How... how is this..."
I looked at Caleb, overwhelmed, and he smiled as he drew me into the room.
"I moved over the room you've lived in for more than twenty years. Will you hold it against me?"
I shook my head. "I love it."
Just then, a dog barked a few times in the courtyard.
