Crumbling Down

Arrival

We pulled up the long winding driveway lined with large old trees after passing through the wrought iron gates on our way to my father's beach house. The bright sun shining through the treetops and onto my face begin to give me a warm feeling about the vacation. Glancing over at Luka I see that he too is looking out the window smiling, I admire him for a short while before returning my attention to what's ahead of the car. After rounding a bend the beach house comes into view once we've cleared the trees. Though it can't exactly be called a house since it's more of a chateau with its imposing towers and slanted slate roof tiles, there are even a few gargoyles mounted on the walls.  

Natalie's car is already parked in front of the massive steps leading to the front door and is waiting just outside the door with her tablet tapping he foot impatiently.  I reach over and tap Luka on the shoulder, he jumps a little at the unexpected touch but then he relaxes. 

Exiting the car I look around and gape at the beautifully cut topiaries, depicting large animals that flowed well with the theme of the rest of the landscape. Even I have to admit that though my father is cold-hearted, he really has an eye for beauty.  While quickly grabbing our suitcases from the trunk we touch hands lightly pulling away at first but then reaching back to grab our items. Carrying them up the grand staircase and setting them down in front of Natalie. She purses her lips before finally speaking.

"Adrien," nodding towards Luka she then continues, "here are some of the rules you two must follow: no inviting others over and you must call Simon or myself if you wish to leave the property for any reason. You will be in charge of making your meals but will not be responsible for the shopping your father has set it up so that groceries will be dropped off every week on Monday morning. You have free reign of the grounds including the beach."

"Thank you, Natalie, and would you please give my father our thanks?" 

"Of course Adrien. By the way here is your key,"  she says while handing him a rather large older-looking key. 

I slide the key into the lock and with a little coaxing, the door then swung open with a creek. I'm not going to lie, I thought that the chateau would have an older look to it on the inside just by judging outside appearance alone, though I should've now better since this place is owned by my father. The entry hall was exquisite and sometimes things like this which look have had so much thought out into them make me feel jealous since it always seems like my father couldn't care less about how I'm doing. After all, I haven't had a conversation in person with him since maybe Christmas; when I ran away.

"Simon and I will you two to explore and will be back in a few days to finalize any plans the two of you make for the next two weeks as well as to take you for your first photoshoot, Adrien."

"Of course thank you." 

We bid farewell and close the door. Once the door is finally shut I breathe a sigh of relief feeling a great weight lifting off my shoulders. turning to face Luke I say, "Want to go find the bedrooms; then go explore?"

"That sounds like a great idea though we should probably explore after we make sure we know where the kitchen and laundry room are."  

"Thanks, and yeah you're right we should defiantly do that before we do any real exploring." 

He just nods and moves towards the staircase which is the centrepiece of the room. Beginning the ascent and ditching our luggage in the entry hall, he says something that catches me slightly off guard. 

"This place seems quite sad and empty it barely has a tune. have you ever been here before?" 

"No I haven't, honestly I didn't even know this place existed before a week ago; I guess that my father has been planning this for a while."