A Quest To The Known

chapter five

Lyra

The lights only turned on after pressing the light switch three times, revealing the room was as similar as it could be to the outside of the inn. Everything matched in color, from the candles to the curtains and the bouquet of orchids on the dresser. Red complemented white and both covered the wooden bed adorned by red rose petals. Yes, bed, singular.

Lucas's eyes bore into me as we stood by the door, "I must have missed this part of the description."

"Well, no shit. This room's for a couple."

"I swear they didn't have any of this in the description."

He laid down his backpack on the floor with a roll of his eyes, "Maybe you could have guessed when they gave you only one key?"

I followed him in, throwing my bags down next to his, noticing they looked abused alongside his pristine blue Nike backpack, "I thought it would be one of those cute bedrooms that are only separated by a door," My hands touched the fragile artificial rose petals that contrasted with the soft sheets, almost repelling at the disgusting material that copied the main source of life in Blume. What an abuse. "But it's not that bad if you don't count the plastic petals. What a disgrace."

His eyes fleetingly caught mine and he drafted a smile. Lucas sat on the bed and started discarding his layers as I started exploring the room.

"Look what I found," I scooped the pamphlet that had a picture of the outside of the inn from the dresser. In bold were the words 'The Blooming Inn' and a picture of a couple holding hands. How could I have missed this? "Welcome to The Blooming Inn, the best place for couples who require time to relax. The rooms are the epitome of a love location, containing lights that function at different settings to..." ...provide the best illumination for romantic dinners and even love-making.

The words got stuck in my brain before they could reach my mouth and would never leave it, at least not when I was talking to him. His eyes never met mine as I averted my gaze and skipped to a different paragraph, "Located just on the outskirts of Blume bay with a sight to the town's most beautiful greenhouse."

"Well, what a lie. I know that for a fact because my aunt has the best greenhouse in town."

I followed Lucas to the window, confirming the sight mentioned in the advertisement. The moon illuminated kilometers upon kilometers of flowers, bringing their true beauty to sight. These must look beautiful in the sun. "I don't think a greenhouse can be more beautiful than this one."

"I'm not even surprised. It's not the first time you're wrong," I hit his shoulder with the back of my hand and he only ignored me, much like he had done for most of this trip.

"You think we could try and take a look at it before we leave tomorrow?" I pleaded, holding both of my hands together, "I promise I'll make it up to you by staying quiet for a few hours."

"For starters, I know you don't mean that so don't make promises you can't keep," He had a point, "And no. We're on a schedule, remember?" Yes, I did remember, I planned it. I refrained from saying that to him, though. Did he ever let go? Stopped thinking about everything and enjoyed the moment?

I made sure to look him directly in the eyes and touch his shoulders to maximize the impact of my request, "We could take just 15 minutes? It'd barely make a dent on our plans, we'd still be on time-"

He shrugged out of the embrace with a crease of his eyebrows, "I'm showering first," His discomfort was visible like it had been every other time I touched him. I understood his reaction. I was a stranger and my heart ached every time I noticed I had invaded his privacy but it came so naturally to me that I couldn't help it. He walked away before I could voice an apology and got into the bathroom, closing the door with vigor.