The Piano || 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬

|47| At least we won't get snowed in this time.

Nothing really seemed to happen after that, and it was already half past ten, Ronja would have to leave soon if she wanted to be in her hotel at one in the morning at the latest. Colby slightly tapped Sam's knee, getting him out of the Estes method. The blond looked confused for a moment as he pulled off the headphones, but quickly assessed the situation and nodded as Ronja said that she would have to go.

She had no stuff with her, apparently the trip back had been planned ahead, and no one had told Ashley a thing. Ronja got into the car with Colby after saying goodbye to Ashley and Sam, and they drove off to the town at the foot of the mountain. Sam filmed the car disappear in the darkness, leaving them behind.

"And then there were only two left," Ashley said in an ominous tone.

"You can't say shit like that while we're in a haunted hotel on the top of a mountain in the middle of the night!" Sam laughed, and she shrugged innocently.

They spent some time just talking in the lobby, until they decided to go to bed. Colby would return at two am, there was no point in staying awake that long. So, they returned to their rooms, Ashley taking the double bed and Sam choosing the one further away from the window in the boys' room.

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As Ashley woke up the next morning and checked her phone, she realized she had only slept for a little over six hours. It was seven am, and as she peered into the boys' room, Sam was still asleep, his figure only a silhouette in the darkness. Colby was there too; she hadn't even heard him arrive in the middle of the night.

She was restless, this place just had something that made her want to move, and she paced around the room for at least ten minutes until she decided to do something against the energy pulsing in her veins. So, she quickly texted both Sam and Colby, saying "I went for a walk, brb".

She changed out of her pyjama, grabbed her jacket and trainers, and then practically ran down the stairs. Whatever it was about this hotel that made her so active all the time, she enjoyed it. It was a nice change to the lethargy she had been feeling since Jerry's accident. On the way out of the lobby, she quickly went to the breakfast buffet, grabbing a croissant to eat on her walk.

The air outside was cool but not freezing like last time. Ashley took a few deep breaths and a bite of the croissant, devouring it in an instant. It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining, and she could hardly see any clouds on the sky. At least we won't get snowed in this time, she thought, quietly chuckling at her own joke.

She was the only one outside, so she ate the rest of the croissant and started running down the street to the next town. Quickly checking the time again, she decided to run for ten minutes in one direction, then turn around and come back. That should be enough to at least get to the bridge.

The weather was cooler than in the city, but she was sweating as she returned to the hotel half an hour later. Colby was sitting on the couch in the boys' room and looked up from his phone as she entered the room.

"Good morning," she said, a little out of breath.

"Morning," Colby replied. "Sam went to get breakfast."

"You slept better than last time?" she asked, walking to her suitcase and pulling out fresh clothes from it so she could change after taking a shower.

He nodded with a chuckle. "Definitely."

"Great. I'll take a quick shower, I'm really sweaty because I just went running," she explained, opening the door to her bathroom.

"Oh? Do you go running often?" Colby called out behind her.

"Usually like every morning," she replied with a content smile, then shut the door.

But as soon as she took her clothes off, she saw the red stains in her underwear and closed her eyes in annoyance. "Oh, fuck me," she sighed, reaching for her hygienic purse. But as she opened it and scanned its contents, her heart dropped. "Come on!" she hissed.

She had forgotten her period products. Fuck.

There was only one option: she would need to use toilet paper all day and buy pads and tampons when they went to the town for lunch. Or she could use toilet paper only now and go ask for one or two pads at the reception.

Or...

"Colby?" she called out.

"Yeah?" he asked, walking closer to the door.

"Would you... um, would you mind going to the reception and... uh, ask for a few pads?" She hesitated, blushing. What was she doing? "My period just started, and I forgot them at home..."

"Oh."

The silence held on for a few seconds, before Ashley said, "You don't need to, I can just use toilet paper, that's no problem-"

"No, no, I'm going to get it. Can I bring you anything else? Pain meds or something?" he interrupted her.

She was silent for a moment, not having expected this answer. "Yeah, that would be great," she then replied, sighing in relief. "Thank you so much," she quickly added.

"No problem," he said, the smile evident in his tone. He walked away, and she hopped in the shower, relieved that she wouldn't have to use toilet paper as a pad. She'd had enough of that as a teenager.

As she stepped out of the shower and opened the bathroom door a little, she quickly grabbed the pads from the floor, where Colby had put them, and shouted a quick, "Thank you!" to the other room. She could already smell the coffee Sam had brought from the breakfast buffet, so she hurried up by putting on her fresh clothes.

When she left the bathroom, she almost stepped on something else that was lying on the floor. It was a bar of chocolate. She grinned as she picked it up from the floor and put it into her bag, closing it afterwards, and exchanged a quick glance with Colby, who was smiling contently. It was a small gesture, but it made her heart flutter involuntarily. Ashley swallowed and tried to ignore the feeling. He was just being nice.

The boys were sitting on the couch in their room, and the breakfast was on the couch table in front of them. Ashley had already eaten a croissant, but she didn't hesitate as she grabbed another one and bit into it. Delicious.

"We thought we could just spend the day in the town," Sam said. "Today, our guests will be Jerry and Sadie, we'll pick them up there."

"How far is it again?" Ashley asked.

"One hour drive; if we go now, we'll have a ton of time until Jerry and Sadie arrive."

"Yeah, that's cool," she said, nodding.

Sam asked, getting up from the couch and setting his cups down. "Come on, let's go. The earlier we leave here the more time we have."

"What are we even planning on doing?" Ashley asked. "Like, does this town even have anything special?"

"I'm sure we'll find something."