Pay the Price

Chapter Thirteen: The Cottage

All of my things were packed and I waited in the living room for Tony's truck. I was getting excited thinking about what his cottage would look like. It was probably right on the lake, and it would be a huge log and stone cabin with a bunch of glass windows covering the front. The yard would spread for acres!

Finally, I heard a honk and jumped from the couch arm. "See you tomorrow, Dad!" I called up the stars.

The door slammed behind me and I skipped with my bag to the passenger side of Tony's red truck. "Hi!" I piped when he pressed the gas.

Tony smiled. "Hey Blondie, you ready?" He headed in the direction of... out of town and I turned on the radio. I flipped to my favourite channel, heavy metal.

Tony looked at me funny. "You like this stuff, too." He turned it up a few notches.

I was flipping my hair and letting it blow out the window. "Totally! My brother used to listen to it all the time and I got hooked."

The road swerved and winded as we drove farther out of town and deeper into the mountains. I couldn't believe the breath taking views, and it seemed so weird how Tony was so used to everything around us.

"How often do you come here?" I asked as we had to slow down around a sharp corner.

Tony shrugged. "I came here a lot with Stuart and Mom when I was a kid. It was usually where we came when Dad had work or my parents were fighting." He seemed like he didn't want to go on, but did. "Dad and Mom never really got along well. Whenever they fought, Stuart and I would go with Mom, that's why we were so upset when she- passed away. I couldn't bare the idea of living with Dad, since he missed so much of our childhood because of fighting and business. We still never really talk, that's why I'm never home."

I sighed in realization. Everyone thought Tony was never home because, you know, he's the bad boy, always partying and drinking, getting into trouble. It turns out, he just didn't have a good relationship with his dad.

There was a long, awkward silence, before I cranked the music louder and rolled down all of the windows. The air was flowing so fast it was almost suffocating, and I couldn't hear the roar of the motor over the next booming song.

That was basically the rest of the ride.

-

"Jenn." I hear murmured into my left ear. "Blondie, wake up."

I shook my head, rubbed my eyes, and yawned. My vision was still blurry for 'eye buggers' so I swiped them away and sat up straight.

"You coming?" Tony was holding open my door and I blushed to be caught day dreaming.

I stared ahead at the small cabin a few metres ahead. The only thing that was correct about my prediction was that it was right on the lake.

I stretched outside the truck and took my bag from the back seat. Tony led me to the front door and he unlocked it.

The inside was just as plain and cozy looking as the outside. I actually loved it. The walls were wooden and a lot of the furniture, including table clothes and curtains, were a dark green- like the pine colour of a Christmas tree.

There was a small, green- carpeted stair case and pictures hanging all the way up. "The bedrooms are up here."

I followed Tony up, and stopped at one of the pictures. Everything about it was happy- Stuart and Tony hugging each other, their mother staring down at them proudly- until I saw him. Stan was in the back, fixing his tie with a cell phone tucked between his shoulder and his ear.

"You coming?" Again, Tony got me staring, and I hurried up with my bag. "You can take this room." It was the first one on the right. There was a green bedspread and a oak dresser with a mirror.