three: trapped
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"So, Harper, what is there to do around here?" I ask as I place my bag and coat on the floor once more. How many times will I do this? Who knows.
"Well, there's all the activities the lodge provides like competitions, crafts, movies, and other things like that." He lists off activities adding a finger for every festivity. "Or, there's a whole other section of the lodge that only certain people are allowed to go."
"Really?" My eyes widen slightly. A place at this resort I've never been too, well, besides the slopes but that's beside the point. I thought I had been basically everywhere.
"Oh yeah," he nods. "There's a lot about this place that most don't know about. The attic being my favorite."
"Why's the attic your favorite part of the resort?" I tilt my head ever so slightly in curiosity. Of all places at a wonderful resort, the attic is his favorite?
"Yeah," he stands up holding out his hand. "I'll show you why."
I look at the boy I just met skeptically. Should I trust this boy I just met? I mean, he wants to take me to the attic. He's probably luring me to the attic to murder me.
He must've noticed my skepticism as he added, "Don't worry. I'm not going to murder you, Blakley." He must be able to read minds. Can you, Harper?
Sighing, I grab my belongings with one hand and the with the other I grab Harper's hand pulling myself up from the chair.
"Fine, but I know karate," I lie. Maybe I should have taken those classes my parents offered when I was younger.
"I don't even know you for ten minutes and I already know you're a terrible liar," he replies pulling me towards the exit.
We walk into the main lobby and towards a door located near the front desk. You know, I've never noticed that door before. On the other side of the door is a long hallway with several doors.
We reach the end of the hallway where an old looking door resides. Harper lets go of my hand to unlock the door. Before he opens the door, he turns to me.
"The stairs may seem unsteady and like they may fall beneath your feet, but they are perfectly safe, I promise," he smiles at me. His oh-so-beautiful smile.
"That's reassuring," I smile back at him.
He chuckles before opening the door revealing very old looking stairs. I hesitate to follow Harper but do so. Fortunately for me, there aren't that many stairs, and I survived. For now.
When we reach the top of the stairs, we are met with yet another door, but this time it isn't locked. Harper opens the door but steps aside allowing me to enter first.
"Thank you, kind sir," I joke.
"You're welcome, m'lady," he bows in return causing me to laugh slightly.
Stepping inside I am met with a scene I was not expecting. Directly in front of me sits a window overlooking the resort, so says Harper considering the blizzard that seems to be taking place. I can make out a few trees and a part of the mountains with how much snow is falling.
Under the window sits a nice little dresser. To the right is a makeshift couch–its the most perfect little nook. Oh, how I would love to curl up with a book and read in front of that window.
I turn my head to the left to be even more surprised–bookshelves cover the walls. I'm guessing the attic is split off considering the size. It isn't large, but with every wall covered in books, it looks huge.
"Wow," I reply stepping further into the room. "This is so cool."
"It's my secret hideout," Harper walks in and extends his hands out as if to show off the place. "I spend a lot of time up here."
Before I can reply, my stomach grumbles announcing that I'm hungry. My face heats up in embarrassment. I try to hide my face but to no avail, Harper notices.
Looking down at his phone, Harper asks, "Have you eaten lunch?"
"No," I reply refusing to make eye contact. My face is probably as bright as a tomato as I seem to blush easily.
"Well, then let's go eat. I could always go for some food," he jokes before heading back down the stairs. I chuckle quietly before following him.
I'm going to be honest, for just meeting the guy, I feel pretty comfortable around him. I don't feel awkward, well, besides the unfortunate scene that had just happened–I could have gone without it. I know most people would think I'm insane for trusting a guy I just met, but in all honesty, I'd probably think the same but here I am. I don't know what it is, but there's just something about him. Something that's different.
"You coming, Blakley?" Harper's voice breaks my thoughts. I hadn't realized I stopped walking when we had reached the hallway.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry," I hurry to catch up with Harper who was at the other end of the hallway. Man, he must walk fast.
We make our way back out into the lobby and head straight for the dining area. Harper heads straight for the kitchen and I stop at the door.
"Harper?"
"Yes?" He turns around and notices me standing at the door. "You're allowed in. You do realize you are with the son of the owner?"
"Right," I remind myself as I step into the kitchen.
When I catch up to Harper once more, he's talking with one of the workers. The guy has on an all black attire–a black button up, very chef-like, shirt, black pants, black shoes, and a black chef's hat. By the looks of it he's a chef.
"Ricky, this is Blakley, my new friend," Harper points to me. Friend? Are we friends? It's been fifteen minutes at the most. "And, Blakley, this is Ricky. My favorite chef," he points to Ricky breaking my thoughts.
"Nice to meet you, Ricky," I smile at the man who looks like he's sporting the salt and pepper hair.
"Nice to meet you, too, Blakley," he smiles back at me. "What would you like to eat," he asks.
I bite my lip unsure of what I want. "Do you have soup and grilled cheese by chance?" That sounds perfect on this cold afternoon.
"Why, yes, we do," he scribbles some words on a paper which I'm assuming is my order. "Harper?"
"I'll take the same. Thanks, Ricky," Harper thanks him before heading back out to the dining area. We find a table away from the other guests who are trapped.
"So," Harper starts once we take our seats. "Who is Blakley, what's your last name again?"
"Adams."
"Adams. Who is Blakley Adams," Harper asks staring into my blue eyes with his brown ones.
"I'm me, plain and simple." I shrug. He raises his eyebrows as if to ask, that's it? "I'm a book nerd which, by the way, the bookshelves upstairs are pretty impressive. I'm clumsy which is why you will never see me on the slopes. And I'm a little bit weird, but we're all mad here, right," I smile at my use of a quote from Alice in Wonderland.
"Hm," Harper replies still staring. "Is that all?" He asks.
"For now," I reply with a closed lip smile. "You are forgetting that we just met," I add.
"That's fair." He nods his head slightly.
"So, who is Harper White," I return his question.
Harper sits there quietly as if he's trying to figure out who he is or what he wants to say. "Well, if you couldn't tell by my book collection, I love reading. My parents don't know that, though. They want me to be just like my older brother, Jake, who is very sporty. He's the golden child you could say." He mumbles looking the opposite direction.
"I understand that," I reply getting his attention. "My older brother Sam is going to school right now. He'll be heading off to medical school in two years. My parents always talk about how successful he's going to be, and I," I pause holding back the tears. My parents want me to be perfect just like Sam, but I'm not like him. Not one bit, but they don't recognize that. "I don't want to be a doctor. I want to be a writer, but they don't see it my way. They can't see me succeeding in life unless I enter into the medical field," I trail off. Don't get my wrong, I love my parents, but they ask too much of me. Expect something that I can't give.
Once the food comes out, the mood lightens and we don't get as personal as we did before. We talk about the most random things from how ugly or cute we were as a child to how hot chocolate should really be made. I can't say I've laughed like I did at that lunch in a very long time. That laughter was true and genuine.
"That was so good," I sit back in my chair. I think I may have over ate, but the food was just too good not to eat.
"Agreed," Harper mirrors my actions. "Ricky's the best," he adds and I nod in agreement whether he can see me or not.
The familiar sound of my phone ringing causes me to jump in my seat. I grab my phone from my bag and quickly answer it realizing it's my mother.
"Mom?" I ask pulling the phone to my ear.
"Hey, darling," sadness seeps through her voice.
"What's wrong?" I sit up and place my elbows on the table. Harper sits up raising an eyebrow.
"The snow isn't supposed to lighten up until tomorrow. I called the lobby and they said that any guests in the lodge must stay." My face falters.
"So, I won't be coming back to the cabin tonight," I question. What about our tradition? It's my favorite tradition and I don't want to miss it.
"Yes, darling. You'll have to stay there, but as soon as we can, your father and I will be coming for you, okay?"
I sigh before replying. "Okay," I sit back in my chair running one hand through my hair.
"I love you. I'll see you as soon as I can."
"Love you, too," I reply hanging up. I rub my hands over my face in frustration. "Well, Harper, looks like we get to hang out longer," I look up to the boy in front of me. His lips twitch as if he was going to smile.
"I guess it's your lucky day," his lips form a smile.
"Cocky much?" I laugh shaking my head.
"No," he chuckles. "I mean you get to explore my attic library."
Instantly my face lights up in excitement. "Yes," I do a little happy dance in my seat resulting in a hearty laugh from the boy across from me. "Come on, let's go," I excitedly stand up and grab my stuff.
He stands up while chuckling at me. We make our way back to the hallway and the old staircase. This time I wasn't reluctant to walk up the old stairs that creak every time you step on them.
We spend the next few hours in the attic. I was amazed at his collection. He had classics like To Kill A Mockingbird to novels like Harry Potter. I've never been so impressed with a book collection.
As dinner time rolls around, Harper brings me to another section of the lodge I had no idea existed. When we enter through a door, we walk into a living room setting. A kitchen sits on the other side of the living room separated by a half wall.
"Where are we," I question Harper.
"This is my humble abode," he replies walking further into the house. "Mom?" He calls into the quietness of the house.
"Coming," the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs reaches my ears. Shortly after we are greeted by a woman with blonde hair. There's no resemblance to Harper except for the brown eyes. "Who's this," she steps forward into the living room.
"I'm Blakley," I smile at the beautiful woman. She's short but thin. Her blonde hair is pinned into a bun at the back of her head.
"She's kind of trapped here due to the snow storm," he adds walking into the kitchen. "Can she stay here for the night," he asks.
"Of course, dear," she walks up to me. "I'm Kyla. There's a guest bedroom upstairs that you can use."
"Thank you," I smile at the kind woman.
"Harper, I'm going to start dinner. Show Blakley to the guest room, please," she calls Harper in the kitchen.
"Yes, ma'am," Harper replies before joining me in the living room once more.
"Oh, Blakley, do you like pasta," Mrs. White asks me.
"Yes, ma'am."
Harper leads me up a staircase and to a room that looks like it's barely used. The room is painted a light grey with minimum decorations hanging on the walls. The bed sits in the middle of the room with a white comforter and colorful pillows.
"Thanks, Harper. I appreciate the kindness," I smile at the boy.
"It really is no problem," he replies. "There's an unused toothbrush in the drawer under the sink. Towels are hanging up and shampoo is in the shower. If you need me or my mom, we'll be downstairs."
Once left alone, I place my bag and coat on the bed. I make my way into the attached bathroom and stare at my reflection in the mirror. My hair is messy from the long day and my makeup is smudged under my eyes.
After I clean off my makeup and pull my hair into a ponytail, I make my way down the stairs. The smell of cooking pasta greets me. I inhale the delicious scent as I enter the living room where Harper is watching elf. A small smile forms on my lips as Buddy travels to New York.
"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," Mrs. White calls from the kitchen. I plop down on the couch next to Harper and watch as Buddy arrives in New York.
That's how my night went. We ate pasta while watching elf on the couch. Mr. White had joined us halfway through the movie. Harper is his mini-me. Harper inherited his hair color and his body build from his father. After the movie ended, we all went our separate ways.
Now I find myself curled up under the covers in the White's guest room. I find myself spending the night away from my family on our vacation.
Well, you could say that today didn't go as planned.
author's note
Pictured: the view from the attic when you first enter.
Christmas Countdown: 5 days.
Hope you're enjoying the story! (:
.j