The Black Doors Chapter 4

Chapter 4

On the Rooftop

Adriel’s friends stayed for two weeks before preparations began. It seemed like he was planning a Christmas party, and it was getting close to that time of year, Destiny realized. They did everything themselves. Set up the tree, hung the lights and decorations, ordered the food. Adriel was in a great mood, and for once he was actually home each day.

Amber turned out to be a remarkably refreshing companion to have. She and Adriel saw each other as siblings really. All of them saw each other as siblings, and what was nice was the way they treated her as if she were a close friend, though not quite family, which was exactly the way Destiny wanted them to treat her.

She found herself hanging decorations with Adriel. Putting skirts over mantles, and wrapping garlands around the banisters. At night, they’d sit around the tree together and perform plays. It was with an electric jolt that Destiny would continually meet Adriel’s eyes. Whenever they were doing something, no matter what else was going on, their eyes would meet, and something would pass between them.

Adriel, however, was never forward. He treated her with respect; more respect than Destiny wanted. She kept pushing familiarity between them, like the familiarity that had been in his voice that first night on the bus. But it was no longer quite like that. Though he would be goofy with her, though he would laugh with her, there was something in-between them that Destiny liked, but also disliked. Before long, she realized what that wall was.

Friendship. They were getting to be friends.

All these things combined to help the days pass with almost carefree ease. Things became that way the moment Destiny came to the realization that there was nowhere to go. She couldn’t go anywhere more now than she could have when she was home. This was where she was. Maybe she had accepted it.

But no. Something still felt wrong. At night she’d stare up into the sky and see the moon. She’d close her eyes and see her school. She’d walk up the steps to the foreboding building, and see her classmates all standing around her. In a way, this was a welcome vacation.

It was in this way that the Christmas party eventually rolled around.

* * *

A person can sit somewhere, sometimes, in a crowded room and think so many thoughts that come pouring through your mind. Like in Adriel’s home that never felt crowded, despite the additional two that were staying there. But on this particular night, there was a party. Lots of people were there, all dressed up. Glasses of wine poured, and decorations hung.

Destiny sat in her room, looking out through the chilled glass. Downstairs, Markus was playing on the piano. She could go down there if she wanted, and watch his hands play as they stretched up and down the keys, oblivious to everything else. Where Adriel was gifted in art, Markus was gifted in music. They were geniuses, the both of them.

A knock came from Destiny’s doorway. Destiny turned away from her window to see Adriel standing there, two glasses in his hand, “I thought I’d bring you something to drink, since you don’t feel much like joining the party,” he said, “If you don’t mind.” he added, looking around her room nervously.

“No, come in,” Destiny said.

Adriel stepped through her doorway and offered her the glass, “It’s just sparkling cider,” he promised, grinning a little, and his eyes went to her window for a moment, his face lost in thought for the briefest space in time, before returning his gaze to her.

“Thank you,” She said, and she took a sip from the glass, “But shouldn’t you be down with the party? Won’t they miss you and your highly esteemed self?”

“Oh,” Adriel said, nervously sitting down at her desk, “I’m not held in that high of esteem. Just a famous artist; that’s all.”

Destiny nodded. Adriel looked nice, wearing a black and white suit and tie, his dark hair fluffed up a bit in the back, “I saw your Fragments of Broken Dreams, by the way,” she told him.

Adriel nodded, “So Dylan tells me,” he said, “You know, I would’ve taken you there if I had known you were at all interested...”

“It’s fine,” Destiny said a little stiffly, “It was beautiful, by the way.”

Adriel nodded, standing up, “I’d better go,” he said, “They’ll be expecting me, like you said.”

Adriel smiled at her faintly, and then turned around to return to the party.

Destiny sighed, and got up from the window sill. Although Adriel wasn’t always the best at saying what was on his mind, it wasn’t hard to see from the way that he had come into her room that he wanted her at his party.

She went to her friend the dresser that seemed to have just the right set of clothes for any situation, and found a wintry looking, blue dress that seemed perfect for the occasion.

The party looked just as it had sounded from her room. Lots of people, all talking at once, and Markus on the piano, alternating with others from the crowd who seemed to have a gift for the instrument as well. This was the sort of thing Adriel’s mansion seemed built for. But it seemed foreign to her idea of him, the boy who wanted so badly to be alone. You would think someone who wouldn’t even higher a cook wouldn’t have any interest in such a big party like this one.

But there he was, joking with members of the crowd, right in the thick of them. She caught his eye for a moment as she came down the winding staircase, and the look on his face made her smile. She’d spent half an hour up there in her room after putting the dress on to the best she knew how. Her hair was up, and her face was painted subtly with makeup, and as far as she could tell, she looked beautiful.

Dylan looked pleased too by the look on his friend’s face. But Adriel was quick to gain composure. Thinking back to her junior prom, Destiny thought of how Tyler had reacted when he had picked her up for the dance, and upon seeing her in all her painted and hair-styled glory. He had just smiled the same way he always smiled when he saw her.

Adriel walked over to her, and took her hand as she reached the bottom step. He led her around the room, introducing her to smiling guests, people young and old. Many of them were clearly wealthy. Destiny could tell that by the way they dressed and talked. While others clearly weren’t. Like the young upstart artists Adriel introduced her to, and other people Destiny guessed were still in the working class.

The whole place seemed to sparkle with the dancing crowd. They lightened everything up. They gave the illusion of grandeur this place so often seemed to be longing for, but never to have.

When at last Destiny could take no more introductions, she escaped to the Garden where fewer guests were gathered, and walked through the concealing hedges where they vanished all together.

Late into the night, the party finally ended, and the guests all went home. Adriel looked tired as he waved them goodbye, and fell back into one of the sofas, “Some party,” he said.

Dylan had taken out a violin, and was playing softly on it. Destiny sat on the sofa opposite Adriel, watching him with furtive eyes, longing to be closer to him, “Well, it’s over now,” Dylan said, setting his violin down. He went into the kitchen, and reappeared holding a glass of eggnog, “And everyone had a good time.”

Amber came over and sat next to Destiny, looking bored, “Yes, that was fun,” she said, “But it was too much like the one last year.”

Adriel shrugged, “It’s tradition,” he said, and his eyes drifted restlessly around the room.

Destiny stood up, and did a sort of curtsy, for want of knowing what better to do, “Thank you,” she said, “For inviting me to the party. It was nice.”

Adriel looked at her, “This is your house too,” he stammered for a second, and then composed himself, “You don’t need to thank anyone.”

“But I’m a guest here, so I do need to thank you,” Destiny said.

Adriel looked hurt, though what she could have said to hurt him she didn’t know. Maybe that had just become his reflex when talking to her by now. She had said a lot of hurtful things to him, “You’re welcome,” he told her.

With that, Destiny left the room, went back to her own room, and changed into her night gown. She stood there, feeling anxious all over, and not knowing what to do next. Flinging her window open, she climbed out over the window sill and up onto the roof.                

The roof was one of the few places of the mansion she hadn’t yet seen, and she was surprised how perfectly one space seemed to be for sitting on. It was a level space, made of granite that wouldn’t slide out from under you or break, and it rested cozily between two ledges of the roof.

At night, the ocean looked perfect. Nearby lights shone off its surface, and it glittered. The only thing that could have made the scene any more perfect was if it were warmer, and she wasn’t longing for her winter coat, “I like it up here too,” Adriel’s voice said from behind her, and he came over to her, draping his coat around her, and sat beside her, “But you know, there are easier ways to get up here than scaling the building.”

“I didn’t scale the building,” Destiny said defensively. Adriel chuckled. Destiny ignored him, “It’s amazing how clear the stars are here, for a city.”

“Yeah, it is, isn’t it?” Adriel agreed, looking upwards, “You know, whenever I see something beautiful, I always want to capture it. Like a sunset or the sky at night, or even something more subtle, like light shining through trees. But I never really can. Even if I try to paint it, or draw on what it was like to see it, or feel it, I can never capture it. Time just flies by, and moments like that slip through my fingers.”

  Destiny shrugged, not knowing what to say, “Well maybe instead of trying to capture everything, you should just enjoy stuff...you know, while it’s happening.”

“That’s probably true,” Adriel said, “But that doesn’t change the fact that your favorite moments, when everything seems so perfect, so beautiful,  just fade, and are committed to memory, which never lasts all that long. At least not perfectly.”

“Have you had many of those moments, Adriel?” Destiny asked.

“A few,” Adriel said, “They were hard to come by for the longest time, but I think I might be getting the hang of seeing them again.”

Destiny nodded, “I know what you mean. I feel the same way.”

Adriel looked at her then, for the first time in too long, he really looked at her. It was true what Destiny had said. She was getting better at seeing moments like that. With her breath rising in vapor in front of her, and Adriel’s jacket pulled around her, she knew that this was one of those moments, “It’s starting to snow,” Adriel breathed.

Little white flakes were making their way down from the sky. Destiny gasped when she saw them, “I’ve never seen the snow before,” she whispered.

She could feel Adriel’s eyes fixed on her, “It is beautiful, I think,” he said, “Very beautiful.”

Destiny stood up, and turned in slow circles while still staring up at the sky, “All we need is Dylan up here playing his violin,” she said, “and I could be dancing in the snow for Christmas.”

When she met Adriel’s eyes again, he looked besides himself. His expression made her feel suddenly uncomfortable, “Well I should probably get back inside before I freeze to death,” she said, “Thank you for your coat.”

Adriel took the coat from her when she handed it to him, “You are welcome,” he told her, “Oh, and please, come with me. There’s a secret staircase this way, and I don’t want you falling over the side of the building.”

Destiny nodded her consent, and took his hand as he led her off the platform, and into a small window that stood out of the roof of the house. The window led to a very narrow set of stairs and down into a dark room. With a switch, Adriel activated the lights, and Destiny saw that they were standing in the middle of a library of sorts, with mahogany shelves and books stacked for yards in each direction.

“This way,” Adriel said, beckoning to her. Destiny followed

“Are all these books yours?” she asked him.

Adriel nodded, “This is my library,” he said. Next, he led her into a conjoining room where the lights were already on. Destiny realized with a jolt of embarrassment that this was his bedroom, though she knew she shouldn’t be embarrassed. He’d been in her room before. Then they were out into the hallway.

“There you go,” Adriel said with a smile, “Goodnight, Destiny. It was amazing seeing you tonight.”

Destiny could feel how wide her eyes were as she stared up at him, but she couldn’t help it, and her heart was racing nervously, “Goodnight,” she said, hesitating.  Adriel turned away.

Then the door closed, and she was alone.