The Wild Rose - (boyxboy) (manxboy)

CHAPTER II - House on a Hill

"Nothing makes a man so adventurous as an empty pocket."

― Victor Hugo

Chapter II

House on a Hill

Ackman was a tall, bulky, ugly fellow that kept his eyes on the road and gave Alan little attention as the truck rode along the quiet roads of Rosevelt. Alan tried to catch the guys attention once or twice, making questions about the state and such, but no luck. The man was on a mission, it seemed. With his black suit, and a set of broad hands, he looked very much like Ms Catherine's thug.

Alan had spent the last two days preparing the little he had to his travel. The contract was two years long but Catherine had said while he talked to her on the phone, that she would renew it after that, if so he wished. She was very vague, as if two years from now didn't really matter, but Alan made plans to save money just in case the job wasn't permanent. He had to concede, though. Looking at the beautiful landscapes of the place, each time they got closer to Waterwood Road, had enchanted him. He could get used to it.

The man at his side remained silent while Alan made an attempt to tune the radio. Alan glanced at him with the corner of his eyes when he choose some country but the guy's eyes remained set ahead, as if the sound didn't really reach his ears, protected by some invisible barrier. Alan set it to pop. No movement. He settled it on classic just because he thought the guy would secretly enjoy it.

Alan looked at him while some violins rocked on. Ackman cleared his throat and did not acknowledge him.

I think he likes it.

The road right then was pretty dull, Alan thought, a field of grass on one side, some cattle walking around some more grass on the other side. Sometimes trees accumulated on the distance and he took some pictures with his phone. It wasn't very fancy, probably outdated, but it took some nice pictures.

It was beginning to get cold again. Alan closed the windows and hugged his old coat to himself while the road began to get trickier, some more bumps than before. The trees begun to get more and more together as they rode along and at some point, when things began to grow dark even though the day wasn't close to be over, Alan realized they had entered the Waterwood road.

"Hey... Ackman?" The man had mumbled his name in a fast presentation before they took of Midnight Hotel. The last days at the Hotel had been nice, sleeping in a warm and soft bed instead of the usual dirty mattress in the floor.

Ackman said nothing.

"So this... manor. Is it too far?"

When no answer came, Alan thought about giving up and just slumping against the seat and sleeping. But after a few minutes, when he had almost forgotten what he asked, the big nosed man replied, "We are getting there, Alan. Just a few more minutes, now."

The soft and lyrical sound of the big man's voice startled Alan. If he was being honest the man was... ugly. As if he belonged to another time, old but not quite. He didn't have lines in his eyes yet, but that felt wrong too.

He's old.

"Oh. Did you ever went there? I mean... How is the manor like? Catherine said her brother is the owner but I never really caught his name."

"It's best if you don't know. Just know that her brother is... Was an exceptional man, and we were all sorry to hear he got... sick. I would follow him to the end of the world, you know?" Ackman looked into his eyes for the very first time and Alan was blown away by the loyalty in his eyes "What happened to him, we are all sorry for it. It was nobody's fault. That's why we take care of him, Alan."