The Inn | L.S.

chapter 1

When it had stopped pouring down eventually, they were almost at the cottage. Even though it was way past nine in the evening, the sun didn't even think of going down. It was the beginning of June. In Norway, it wouldn't get dark for almost 24 hours a day until at least mid-July.

"Thank you for driving me", Harry thanked the driver politely and handed him the money. He got his suitcase out of the trunk and tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of wet hair and a wet cardigan.

The façade of the house was old, but it had a provincial influence, far from unkempt.

The windows were just the right size and Harry could literally imagine large window sills with cushions and candles hidden behind them.

The slightly reddish sunlight that made its way through the clouds shimmered promisingly on the grey stones and the young author's heart jumped in his chest. This place was perfect.

He made his way up to the front door.

The doorbell said "The Inn" in a shitty handwriting and Harry almost had to smile. Had it perhaps been written by a child?

With trembling fingers, he pressed the doorbell and began to think of the right words to say.

It took almost thirty seconds for Harry to finally hear footsteps approaching the door. Who would greet him? Maybe the child who wrote on the doorbell?

The door opened. Harry was met by a pair of blue eyes and a happy face with a large smile on it. The man in front of him was a bit shorter than Harry, but he could see the bulging biceps through the tight tee-shirt.

"Hi! I'm Louis, how can I help you?" His voice was a bit high-pitched and incredibly raspy. Harry shivered. And definitely not from fear.

"Hello. I'm Harry. Uhm, do you have a free room? For, uhm, maybe two or three weeks?", he asked with red cheeks. He fiddled with his rings cause the eye contact made him nervous.

"Of course Harry, please come in."

He followed him inside and looked around in awe. The walls were baby blue and the reception table was made from wood. It looked so cozy.

There was a sweet scent in the air, as if someone had been cooking rice pudding.

"I only have two other guests at the moment, so it's no problem at all to fit you in. Would you like a bathtub and a shower in your room? And do you prefer looking at the lake or at the woods?"

"Uhm, a bathtub sounds good. And I really like lakes", Harry responded awkwardly.

"Amazing, you'll have room 7 then. I'll just have to change the sheets. There haven't been any guests in the last few weeks so I'll put some fresh ones on for you. Would you like a cup of tea while you wait?"

Harry nodded and gave him a small smile. He really liked his accent. Harry was so worried about the owner of the Inn, cause they could have been Norwegian and old so he wouldn't be able to talk to them. But Louis seemed to be from the North of England as well.

"Make yourself at home, on your left there is the living room and you can take a seat wherever. I'll bring your tea in a second."

"Thank you so much", Harry thanked him quietly.

He walked into the spacious living room and had to sigh. Everything looked so cosy. This house had a heart. The walls in the living room were also baby blue and on one wall there were tall bookshelves filled with thick books. The two sofas were dark red and there were two huge armchairs in front of the fireplace. Harry wanted to stay here.

He put his suitcase next to the door and took a seat on the sofa. In this house he felt so small and so well taken care of. The fabric of the sofa nestled against his legs and he pulled the cardigan even tighter around him. When he noticed how damp the thin jacket was, however, goose bumps covered him.

"There you go. It's Earl Grey with milk, I hope that's okay. I put some fresh linen on your bed and opened the windows for you. I'll show you around when you drank your tea. You must be freezing, have you been walking around in the rain?"

"Yeah, when I got off the train I had to look for a cab and got into the rain. I'm not too cold though", Harry said and sipped at his mug of Earl Grey tea. The hot liquid was really soothing and warmed him up.

"How long do you want to stay again?", Louis asked.

"I actually don't know that yet. Maybe three weeks, maybe longer. You can tell me to leave whenever though", he responded and tried to avoid Louis' gaze. The small man intimidated him and Harry thought he was so so pretty.

"You can stay as long as you want, there are hardly any guests at the moment. Most of them come here in autumn or winter. In summer it's always very quiet."

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