Against All Odds Ch. 19 by Chancem77
Explore Chapter 19 of 'Against All Odds,' a captivating gay erotic sex story that pushes boundaries and ignites passion. Discover thrilling encounters, deep emotions, and unforgettable moments that ensure an enticing read. Dive into the adventure now!<br/> As Noah opened the door to the third floor nursery, a wave of nostalgia washed over him. He knew that he had been in the room before, had been born born there actually, though he obviously wouldn’t remember that far back, the room none the less held some kind of familiarity for him. Though covered in dust and decorated in cob webs, he could imagine what it might have looked like once upon a time. Love and care had been put in the preparation of the room from the chosen color palette to the crib, still standing, near a large window overlooking the garden below. With a hint of surprise, Noah realized that the nursery was located directly above the Rose Room.
“It all seems like something out of a dream.” Noah remarked as he walked slowly through the room, taking it all in. Shelves of toys and aged stuffed animals lined the walls. An old rocking chair sat next to the crib and a hobby horse across the room from it. The floor was carpeted in a soft, beige shag, and the walls were a light blue with painted clouds lining the border.
“It is.” Riley agreed, feeling a sense of sentimentality all his own. Of course, the room held a different meaning for him. Before it had been turned into Noah’s nursery, it had been the room that his father, Eric, had used while staying at the mansion to look after El. Riley tried to imagine his father, standing there, maybe in the same spot that Riley now stood. He tried to imagine what the room looked like then. There would have been a bed. Maybe where the crib now sat. Maybe a night stand as well. Eric’s clothes would have been stored in a dresser or in the wardrobe that sat against the wall. Maybe he had his favorite books on the shelves where the toys now sat.
Riley walked across the room to the tapestry hanging on the wall, concealing the door to El’s room, and gently pushed it aside. Probably something his father had done a hundred times. Noah watched him and his heart leapt into his throat when he saw the door that had been revealed. Riley didn’t need to tell him what door it was or whose room it led to. That room, it was Eleanor Reaney’s room, his mother’s room. Noah hesitated a moment, stealing his nerves before stepping forward and gripping the door knob in his hand. He turned the knob and the door creaked open. A whoosh of stale air blew past him and he inhaled deeply. The room had the smell of roses and the sweet scent of ladies perfume.
Riley stepped to the side and allowed Noah to enter the room first, then followed behind him. Noah looked around but could barely see anything. He tried the light switch but it didn’t work.
“I’m pretty sure the bulbs are burned out.” Riley told him. He stepped around Noah, over to the bed and lit the candle on the night stand, then walked around the room lighting more candles that he had set about earlier. Noah turned to him and smirked.
“I take it you come up here a lot?”
Riley shrugged. “I ‘m sorry. I know you told me not to, but I feel closer to her here.”
“I can understand that.” The room, now bathed in the soft glow of the candle light opened up to him, revealing a bit of who Eleanor Reaney had been in life. All around him, the beauty of the room stood frozen in time as though time had simply stopped once you crossed the threshold. The first thing that Noah noticed upon entering the room was the bed. A gorgeous queen sized four poster bed with a burgundy duvet, and lace curtains. The floor was hardwood but covered in a large area rug with red and black floral patterns throughout. Night stands stood at each corner of the bed, candles flickering on both, and across the room, a chest of drawers with a marble top.
A jewelry box sat atop the dresser, the lid opened revealing a sparse amount of jewelry. Mostly earrings but also a few necklaces. They were beautiful pieces though Noah doubted they were anything more than costume jewelry, given El’s past addiction, she’d probably sold off anything of real value long ago to buy drugs. It didn’t matter though they were still exquisite in their own right and only someone with a trained eye could have seen the difference.
Noah continued his inspection of the room finding out more about the woman who had given him life as he took in everything around him. On top of the fire place mantle he found a portable CD player and a stack of CD’s. It wasn’t an expensive player by any means. It was a relic of a by-gone era but given El’s financial situation, Noah imagined it was all she could afford. Stephen would have probably bought her an MP3 player or anything more modern had she asked and he may very well had but had taken it back once she passed, Noah didn’t know for sure. Regardless, it was interesting to see what types of music his mother had been interested in.
As he looked through the CD’s he found that El had a diverse taste in music. There were albums from some more modern artists from the time but quite a few from the 1990’s as well as some older bands dating back to the 1970’s. Apparently she was into rock music more than anything else and had a fair collection such as Aerosmith, Nirvana, Metallica, Guns and Roses, and poison. She also had Pink Floyd and Queen. Noah smiled to himself as he looked over each CD. He liked most of the bands that she had apparently liked, especially Queen, which was one of his favorite bands.
The more he looked around the room, the closer he felt to El and that closeness came with a mixture of sorrow and regret. He would have liked to have known her, grown up with her, and been a son to her. More than that though, he wanted to have known the truth about her long before now. So many years lost that he could have mourned her and kept her memory alive instead of allowing it to rot away in an abandoned part of the mansion. Lilian had taken that away from him. Not only taken his real mother from him, but her memory as well. Noah could forgive Lilian for a lot of the things she had done but not that. That, he would never forgive her for.
“Noah.” Noah turned and saw Riley standing next to the bed. He lifted the pillow and revealed the diary he had hidden there. Noah saw the cleverness of his hiding place. Indeed, Lilian never would have looked for the book there. She might have suspected that he’d hidden it in El’s room but never would have gone there looking for it. To Noah’s knowledge, Lilian had not set foot on the third floor in years. Maybe since El’s death. He never understood it before, her fear of the third floor but now it suddenly made sense to him. She may not have believed in ghosts or feared El’s vengeance before being attacked in the Rose Room but she did fear the third floor. She feared facing the truth she’d tried so hard to keep hidden and she feared facing her own sins.
Riley sat down on the bed and Noah sat next to him, neither of them saying anything for the longest time. Noah looked down at the book, still closed, in Riley’s hands and felt a knot form in his throat. He had dismissed the diary until now, never really paying it much mind. Eleanor Reaney had been a story he’d heard from his mother a time or two and some of the older staff had mentioned her but that’s all she had been, a story, a brief mention in passing. Now, he was looking at the last connection he had to her, the only connection. Her own words, penned by her hand, in a diary left for future generations to find. Maybe she had intended for Noah to find it all along. Who knows. The one thing he did know was, if not for Riley, none of this would have ever come to light.