Before The Storm

Chapter 10

 After hanging out with Bruce for a bit and thanking him for John, I left the west wing for the kitchen to get a snack. Walking into the room I was sort of surprised to see John sitting at the table eating an apple.

“I see you found the kitchen okay” I laughed a little as I walked over to the pantry where I knew Bruce had hidden some junk food, “Get lost any?”

“Only once. I was looking for the bathroom and ended up in the library” He said.

“That happened to me a few times when I came here as a kid” I told him grabbing a snowball cake.

“Really?” He asked and I nodded my head as I opened the plastic that the cake was wrapped in.

“Yeah, but don't worry after a week or so you'll know where every room is in this place, except for the west wing, because that's off limits” I told him sitting across from him at the table.

“How come?” He asked as I took a bite from the marshmallow covered chocolate cake.

I quickly chew the piece cake and swallowed it. I let out a sigh and looked down at the table.

“Because Bruce locked himself up in there” I told him, “I worry about him a lot when he's alone up there. He's like an older brother to me you know”

I jumped a bit when I felt a hand on my free one. I looked up to see John looking at me with a sincere look in his eyes as he gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

“It's going to be okay, Lily. He'll leave once he's ready” John said giving me a small smile.

I smiled a little and nodded as I looked into his eyes. I jumped hearing the sound of someone's throat clearing. John removed his hand quickly and looked at the door leading out of the kitchen. I turned slightly and saw Papa there with his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at us.

“Junk food like that Lily will spoil your dinner” Papa said and I looked down at the cake in my hand.

I stood up and walked over to the trash can. I dropped the cake into the can and let out a sigh.

“Sorry Papa, but I wanted something sweet” I told him as I walked back over to the table.

“Well then I'll bake a chocolate cake for dessert” Papa said as he walked over to the stove.

“I could cook dinner” I told him.

“No, no, you cooked dinner last night” Papa said shaking his head as he began to get a cake pan and a skillet out.

“Let me help at least” I told him, and he still shook his head.

“You can show Mr. Blake around the manor while I fix dinner” Papa said as he got some flour out of a cabinet.

I let out a sigh in defeat. He had won this round, but not the next one!

“Okay you win, Papa, but I will be fixing dinner tomorrow night!” I told him and he nodded while chuckling at me.

“We'll see” He said and began to fix dinner.

I sat down at the kitchen table as John finished his cereal. Once he put the bowl and spoon into the sink we left the kitchen.

“So, have you been out to the garden yet?” I asked him as we walked down a hallway.

“There's a garden?” John asked.

I laughed and nodded my head. I grabbed John's hand and began to drag him to one of the back doors that lead to the colorful garden.

“What's a manor without a garden?” I asked him as I dragged him over to the path that went through the garden.