Blood & Winter

Chapter 3 : Serendipity

     

Hey there everyone... show me some love and like share and comment!! Thanks so much for reading!!!! I know it's a bit slow but I promise if you keep reading things start to happen... this is just the first draft of the first book in a series!!! So keep it in mind it's still got alot of work and editing to be done.....

  Evening came in faster than I had expected. I had nearly made it to the Texas border, but I finally gave in to the tiredness in my bones, and decided to call it a night. I was exhausted, almost weary even. I pulled into the closest town and immediately began searching for a hotel.
      But the town was really small and I had a hunch I would end up sleeping in my car. I groaned at the thought, but grateful I had a sleeping bag on the seat in the back, along with a pillow.
Just as I was about to give up and pull into the next parking lot, I saw a Bed and Breakfast. It was a beautiful, old house, and I was immediately anxious to get inside. I prayed they even had an open bed.
     Grabbing the small bag I had prepared for myself, I quickly got out, and locked up the car, almost running to the door, I was so eager to just get some sleep. I had stopped about an hour before for a small dinner, but had eaten very little.
     I groaned as the reason for my loss of appetite returned to my thoughts.
I couldn't get August out of my head. I was becoming annoyed with myself. I kept trying to convince myself that he was just someone I had waited out the storm with.
      As I thought of the weather I looked up into the sky. At least it wasn't raining anymore. In fact the sky was totally clear. I could see thousands of stars shining, and the moon hung low in the sky. It seemed enormous, and so close, as though I could almost reach up and touch it.
      I knocked on the door, and waited for someone to answer. Please oh please, let there be room. I was a bit taken back, when a girl of about twenty five at the most swung open the door.
     She was almost tiny, barely reaching my shoulders. She had a head full of large, thick, black curls that danced and bounced as she moved. Two big brown eyes, speckled with green spots, stared at me behind thick lashes, and a beautiful round face. Her skin was dark; she looked to be maybe Spanish or Italian, and she was extremely pretty. She laughed at my reaction, obviously used to it. She stepped back to let me through the door.
     "Yeah, I know. I'm young. I inherited the place from my grandma when she died a few years ago. It's a lot of work, but I love it. Come on through. You look like you have been through war." All this she said it seemed in one breath. She was bubbly and vibrant, and I liked her immediately. I followed her through the main hall and up a flight of stairs. We stopped at a small office where I signed in and paid for the night. She kept talking the whole time, telling me about the house, and how it had been in the family for a little over a hundred years, pointing out pictures, murals, and antique pieces, around the house.
     She led me up another flight of stairs, and down a wide hallway. It was absolutely beautiful. I felt as though I was walking through the civil war period. It was so old fashioned, and I loved it.
    Stopping in front of a set of double doors, she turned and smiled at me. "I know you only paid for a single bedroom, but it's off season, and I like you. So just for the hell of it take the honeymoon suite."
     She flung open the doors and stepped to the side. "By the way my name is Lucy."
      Taking my hand, she took my bag from me, and walked through the dim room and opened a door that was on the wall to the left. She walked through it, so I followed her.
     She was standing in the middle of a room that stopped me in my steps. It was gigantic. There was an oversized bed against one wall that looked like five people could comfortably sleep on  it, with leg room to spare. It had a huge canopy draped over it with a mosquito net. There was a love seat facing the window, that looked so inviting. I walked over and peeked out. It was too dark to see, so I turned around and just stared at Lucy speechlessly.
     "Are you sure? I couldn't possibly..." But Lucy cut me off with a simple shake of her head and a wave of the hand. She motioned me to follow her back through the door. I understood then that this room was a sitting room. It had two large sofas and a love seat as well. It also had an assortment of chairs and tables. The walls were full of paintings and pictures. There were fresh flowers in different crystal vases all over the room. I noticed another set of glass paned double doors.
     "Ah." Breathed in Lucy. "My favorite spot in the whole house. I love coming up here. Come on." She sprinted across the room and unlocked the doors. She switched on a light before stepping out onto a terrace. She walked across it and turned on another light switch.   
     Suddenly the garden beneath was brilliantly lit up. I stepped across the terrace and looked down at the garden in awe. There were several ponds, and so many flowers it was hard to tell where one could even walk. That's when I noticed the pathway of bridges and that it was actually a small maze. The fragrance from the flowers below drifted up to me like an elixir, making my eyes heavy with fatigue.
     Lucy must have noticed me yawning, because she started to back away from the rail. She switched off the garden lights and turned to walk back to the room. I followed her, dragging my feet.
     "I'm sorry I'm not better company" I excused myself. "I started out driving early this morning, found the man of my dreams, lost the man of my dreams, drove some more, and now all I can think of is climbing into that big bed in the other room." Lucy smiled at me and walked towards another door that was right next to the bedroom.
    "Just one more thing." I walked over and peeked through the door. I saw it was the bathroom, but I was too tired to take in the details at the moment.    
    "There's plenty of hot water, I'm sure your dying to shower. There's also plenty of food in the fridge, feel free to help yourself. Just leave the dishes in the sink.. Sleep well." Wow. Did she ever breathe? I smiled at her and said good night. I would definitely enjoy getting to know her better over breakfast, if she was there, and I hoped she would be.
     I slumped back into the bedroom, and walked over to my bag, which Lucy had placed on the bed. I sat down on it just to test it out. I sunk down onto the huge, soft mattress, and had to use all my will power to pull myself back up to go take a shower.
     I was just about to go into the bathroom when there was a knock at the door. I groaned to myself quietly as I went to open the door.
    Lucy stood there with a tray with a pot of what smelled like to be some kind of chamomile tea. She smiled at me, as I took the tray from her.
     "Thanks. Now it's going to be even harder to get in the shower. But I can definitely  use this. Thank you so much." I set the tray down on the small table that was by the door.
     "Can you wake me up around nine if I don't wake up by then?" I didn't want to waste too much time, but I had to admit that I really needed the sleep. It was almost ten, early actually, but I was tired as a dog.
     "Sure no problem. Oh, and by the way, there is a group of people who checked in about an hour or so before you. They already seem to be asleep, so I guess you will see them in the morning." She realized she was rambling again, and stopped talking. "Ok, well, good night. See you in the morning." She spun around on her heals and took off down the hall singing to herself. Good lord is she full of energy. I closed the door and went to take a shower.
     The bathroom had a door that adjoined to the bedroom as well. It too was large and extravagant. It had double sinks, as well as double toilets. The bath tub was larger than any I had ever seen. It was not a Jacuzzi, but was like one of those old fashioned ones. It had four brass lions feet keeping it up off the ground. I decided that no matter how tired I was, I was going to take a bath instead of a shower.
     I filled the tub to the brim with hot water, opting out on the bubbles because I was just too lazy right now. I stripped down, placing my clothes on the sink counter. I looked in the mirror and frowned. I had lost a lot of weight, and it didn't look good. Well this road trip will fatten me up, that's for sure.
     I dragged my heavy feet over to the bath tub and slipped into the water. I  caressed my muscles, releasing them from their battle against my body. I washed my hair quickly, and then my body, scrubbing the grime of the drive off of my skin. Then I laid my head back on the rim of the tub and closed my eyes. Within seconds he was back in my mind.
     I can't believe he just left like that. I must really be hideous looking. I wonder if it was a bet to see how long they could stand sitting with me. Maybe that's who those two...weirdoes were.
     He was so... so... I couldn't even find a word to describe him. I submerged my head underwater trying to erase the thought of him from my head. It was a worthless battle.
      I blew the air out of my lungs and opened my eyes to watch the bubbles rise to the top. Breaking the surface I climbed wearily out of the tub. I grabbed the towel and wrapped myself in it. It smelled of softener and was large, thick and fluffy. I padded over to the bed and threw on a t-shirt and boxers, in no need for the lingerie that was stuffed at the bottom of my bag, unsure of why I had even packed it.
     I climbed into the bed and pulled the thin summer blanket up to my chin. I flipped over onto my stomach and closed my eyes. I tried to plan my rest stops for the next day, trying very hard not to let my mind wander back to August, but sleep overcame me and I was out in a few minutes.
    I slept heavily through the night, waking once to drink some of the tea, which I had forgotten about and was now cold.
     Before passing right back out, a breeze blew through the window, and along with what I thought was the smell of winter. 
      I woke to Lucy gently patting my shoulder and calling my name. And the image of August floating away like smoke in the wind, as I awoke from a dream.