Hell to the No

The Emerald Lakes

The morning greets me with soothing brilliance, the sun pouring across my bed as my eyes flutter open. I take a deep breath as I screw my eyes back shut and stretch under the blankets, trying to shake the ragged edges off of my emotional well being. My stomach knots slightly when the memory of last night settles into my consciousness. Sitting up to hug my knees and rub my eyes, I look out at the brilliant summer morning. The sun plays beautifully through the trees outside the window as if it were apologizing for last night’s storm, I imagine with a small smile.

Whenever I experience emotional pain, I always remember the one sole rule that I’ve discovered through experience, the one that outshines all others with its truth: Everything gets better after the initial shock. The very first pain is always the worst, and it always gets better after that’s out of the way. I know the same is true for this situation, and I give a tired smile at the swaying leaves as I remember that. The feeling in my gut will go away soon, I just have to not worry about it and wait for time to whisk it away.

With renewed vigor, I climb out of bed to brush my hair out and give it a 5-minute fix with a straightener. Noticing silence throughout the hall while I do so, I wonder if I had either woken up much earlier than the rest of the house, or much later. I dig through my bag to throw on some clothes before wandering down the hall to investigate. Roman and Sage’s rooms are empty, so I guess I woke up a little late. Noise from the big room down the hall confirms my suspicion. Reaching the balcony, I see Sage down in the den below with one of his siblings, and a few of Roman’s little cousins. I smile as I watch him commentate on a Hotwheels race across the wooden floor, adding his positive words to the excited sound effects the kids are making. I go down to join them.

“Nice of you to rejoin the living,” he greets with a playful smile, and I cross my arms as I stand above his crouched form.

“Yeah, yeah... I slept in for the first time in a few days, bite me,” I retort as I wrinkle my nose. “What’s going on today?”

“Breakfast is being made in the adults’ cabin, I’ll be bringing these guys down there soon. It should be ready in a bit. After that, I think Roman wants to take you to the mining lakes.” I perk at the last bit, being the fan of water activities.

“That sounds awesome! Is Roman down at the lower cabin?” I ask.

“I think,” he chuckles with a shrug. I nod with a smile, thanking him before padding up the strip to slip on my flip-flops and head down to the lower cabin. I didn’t even notice how amazing the air conditioning in the cabin was until the thick wall of sticky humidity hits me when I get outside. Definitely a perfect day for swimming, it was already pretty hot out.

The smell of pancakes and waffles greets me at the door of the lower cabin, and I’m instantly bade warm good mornings by various family members in the dining room. It all smells mouth-wateringly delicious, and I happily snack on the fresh-cut fruit that’s laid out across one end of the table. The stragglers join the breakfast, some from outside, some from the upper cabin, and we all sit down at the giant table to eat together. I finally spot Roman from across the table as I load two flapjacks onto my plate.

“Mornin’, Allie,” he says with a Roman-ey smile. Eyes lazily hooded, brows cocked, mouth slid up on one side. I smirk, appreciative of his consistency of character despite last night. I give him a nod as I pour maple syrup on my breakfast, and he sits down across from me.

“How are you doing this morning?” he asks in a lower voice, and I glance up to catch the slightest of pointed looks. His eyes are steady now. I shrug with a grin as I cut into my food, giving him a smirk.

“Hungry as a bear,” I say with my mouth full. I hear him snort in front of me. He’s smirking when I glance back up.

“I see that,” he chuckles.