World I Never Knew

The steam from Joe’s shower fogged up the mirror and the solitary window in the large bathroom. He pulled the curtain back and wrapped one towel around his waist and used another to dry his hair and face. He ran his hand over the fog covered window to reveal the dark night. The only light came from the moon, illuminating the completely snow covered ground. Impossible as it seemed, the snow fell faster and faster with each passing second. The amount of snow on the ground must have reached a foot already.

Flicking down the light switch, Joe exited the bathroom and went to the room he’d be staying in. He closed the door and dried himself off and changed into his pajama bottoms and a white tee shirt. While he was slipping on a pair of socks his stomach rumbled in hunger. Joe remembered Angela’s invitation to take anything from the kitchen if he was hungry so he slipped back out into the hallway to go downstairs.

The light he had seen from outside was still on and he saw that the room seemed to be a living room. He examined the walls and floor boards with curiosity. They seemed charred as if damaged by a fire and he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened in this house. He crept around the first floor looking for the kitchen and found it in the back of the large house.

He turned the light on and looked at the sparkling white countertops. When he opened the refrigerator he noticed everything had a proper place and it was very organized and completely full. He found some cheese and bread and decided on a grilled cheese sandwich. While he was cooking he whistled a random tune. As he ate his curiosity remained and he looked through the cupboards finding all of them completely full of food. It seemed like enough food to feed an entire family.

“What are you doing?”

Joe jumped at the voice that startled him, almost choking on his sandwich. He slowly turned around and swallowed, letting out a sigh when he saw it was only Angela. She was dressed in over-sized pajamas that looked like they belonged to a grown man.

“Sorry. I was hungry… you said I could help myself.” He apologized, holding out his hands in front of him defensively.

“Right.” She said. “It doesn’t look like this snow is going to stop any time soon and it’s only going to get colder by the minute. Sometimes the heat doesn’t work. There are extra blankets in the linen closet I showed you. Help yourself.”

“Thanks.” He said. When she was speaking, her voice stayed monotone and she had the same bored expression on her face. He hadn’t seen any other emotion at all.

“Right well… I’m off to bed. Knock if you need anything… and remember… stay away from the third floor.”

“What’s on the third floor?” he asked out of curiosity.

“Just stay away alright?” she nearly shouted. He blinked and stared at her and she looked away.

“Alright… I’ll stay away.” He whispered. “Goodnight.”

She merely nodded her head and silently made her way upstairs. Joe was fascinated by this girl. After finishing his sandwich he tossed away his plate and shut the lights off as he made his way upstairs. He brushed his teeth in the bathroom and grabbed a few more blankets from the linen closet, just in case Angela was right. When he walked back to the bedroom he shut the door and pulled the blankets and sheets back on the bed.

He went to turn off the light when he saw his camera sticking out of his bag. He pulled it out and powered it up as he switched off the lights. Careful not to trip on his way back to the bed, Joe started reviewing his pictures from his trip to Maine. Going further into the camera’s memory he saw pictures from his older brother Kevin’s wedding. Kevin and Danielle smiled up at him from the tiny screen. Joe had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach that he wouldn’t make it home for Thanksgiving.

It made him uneasy and he frowned. He turned the camera off and pulled the blankets over his body, nestling his head in the comfortable pillow. Outside, the snow continued to fall, a blur of white. Joe’s eyes drifted closed and he slowly fell asleep.

****

After she left Joe standing in the kitchen with his half eaten sandwich, Angela made her way upstairs to her bedroom. She closed the door and climbed into her bed and stared at the door. About two minutes later she heard Joe making his way upstairs. She heard him go into the bathroom and soon come out and open another door and then finally shut the door to the guest bedroom.

She stayed like that for about another twenty minutes, making sure he’d fall asleep. She climbed back out of her bed and shut the light off before climbing back under the warm covers. Thoughts of the evening’s events replayed in her head. In all her life, she had never seen a guy look as handsome as Joe. None of her boyfriends or even guy friends from her very early teenage years could compare, even if she had no idea what they looked like now.

All she knew was that she was smitten by Joe Jonas. However, she would never be able to have a relationship with him. Why would he want someone like her? Someone so ugly and disfigured. She closed her eyes to fall asleep and the last thing she saw were Joe’s warm eyes from when he apologized to her for gasping when he saw the left side of her face. He sincerely apologized and she knew it. It was probably the first time anyone had been truthful with her in her entire life.

When she was younger a lot of people lied to her, telling her what they thought she wanted to hear just to get on her good side. They either wanted to date her or be friends with her. People bent over backwards to make her happy but they never really appreciated her. If they did… they never told her. Angela had grown up in a life of lies. A life that was fake. Her perspectives have changed… now, she’ll put it to good use. Starting with Joe.