No Reservations: Ryan's Version (A Romantic Comedy)

Chapter 19

2016

I took a swig from my bottle of beer and stood back, admiring my creation. Considering the closest I'd ever got to constructing a pillow fort in the past was throwing a bedsheet over a swing frame as a kid, I was really quite impressed with myself. I also now mostly understood how Pinterest worked.

It was mid-afternoon the following day, and I could already hear the wind whipping itself up into a rage outside. In February in Scotland the sun would still set pretty early, but the sky was already far gloomier than usual, and it looked like the rain was starting to pelt down too.

Isn't it funny, I mused to myself as I glanced through the window, that the weather forecast is almost always accurate when it comes to predicting the awful weather, but terrible at guaranteeing a sunny day in the summer?

Did I say funny? Sorry - I meant really fucking annoying.

I heard a door slamming, footsteps walking along the corridor. It had to be Iona; I knew she'd been meeting Alice for lunch. I hoped she wasn't freaking out too much about the storm. If it sounded bad later, I'd decided, I would check on her. My eyes drifted back to the pillow fort I'd spent half the day making, wondering if I'd even have the guts to make her aware of its existence, when push came to shove.

I was so nervous.

I decided to distract myself with some work in the meantime, pulling my laptop out and settling down on my bed. But the noise outside was proving a constant distraction, and the thoughts whirling through my brain at way over the legal speed limit weren't helping either.

Then I spotted a flash of lightning, followed by the rumble of thunder several seconds later. And, less than a minute after the thunder ended, everything went black.

Fuck.

Even though I'd anticipated a power cut, it still wasn't the ideal situation. Hopefully everything would be up and running again by the next day to allow the hotel renovations to continue on schedule. In the meantime, there wasn't much I could do about it.

Apart from go through with my plan to make sure Iona was okay, of course.

I took a deep breath, and got to my feet, switching on one of the torches I'd left next to my bed just in case. I tugged a hoodie on over the white t-shirt and PJ bottoms I was already wearing, and glanced at my dimly lit reflection in the mirror, wincing at what looked back at me.

My hair was a bit of a mess, and not in a messy-on-purpose sort of way. I'd also not bothered with my contacts today as my eyes had felt dry, and I hadn't been planning on going outside anyway; I vainly wondered if I should put them in now, but then I thought "fuck it". What was that saying again? If she couldn't handle me at my worst, then she didn't deserve me at my best? I couldn't help but laugh at myself.

Right. Let's do this.

Despite the fact I was a product of an extremely lapsed Catholic family, who had only ever made the occasional token visit to mass, I still sent a quick prayer heaven-wards, just for extra insurance purposes. Please don't let me make a complete fool of myself, God. I needed all the help I could get.

Taking another deep breath, my heart pounding, I let myself quietly out into the dark corridor. The rain was lashing down now, the wind blowing a hoolie, and I was very aware of the fact that Iona and I were the only people here. Hoping she was okay, I raised my hand and knocked sharply on her door.

I couldn't hear any noise from inside. After about fifteen seconds I was about to knock again, when the door unexpectedly flew open and Iona leapt out into the corridor, brandishing an almost full wine bottle as a weapon. I jumped back in shock, nearly dropping my torch.