I think this is one of the moments in life in which you reconsider if being ashamed is still something you can feel.
“Oh, Liam.” he grins in a mischievous way. “ Should I tell you the rules of the hotel or call the cops on you for public indecency? I mean, the halls are for all the people that have rooms in here. You should cover yourself before getting out of your room.” how does he have such fast replies when I am here red as a tomato.
“What's going on? Cat got your tongue?” Did our personalities switch? I am the one with the sarcastic attitude, not him.
“Shut up. Do whatever you want.” He laughs at my face. His eyes looking warm at me.
“You didn't change one bit, did you?” What? “Why are you here holding that dirty rag?” Dirty? I look down and see a big red stain on the cloth I fastly caught.
“I needed a towel and there weren't any in my room.”
“Right, there are towels in the bathroom cabinets.” I'm definitely going to take pills for concentration purposes. “Or? You could have called reception and asked them to bring some to your room.”
“Thank you for the information.” I awkwardly walk backwards to my room, holding to the two pieces of cloth as if my life depended on it. He is amused by my reaction, but sooner or later, I will have my revenge. And yes, I know this situation was my fault. I go inside the room and close the door.
So, there should be a bunch of towels in the bathroom drawers right?
To my stupidity, there are.
I pick one and start to get dried. Looking at the mirror and fuming with anger. I guess Karla is right about me forgetting and getting sidetracked for a lot of things. I shouldn't put too much attention to it but that is how I am. I overthink all the time.
I hear the door opening and Karla saying “Get out of the bathroom. Brought you something.”
I wrap one of the towels around my waist and get out. Karla is talking with someone on the phone. I suppose it must be about something in the restaurant. She is giving instructions, I sit down on my bed waiting for her to finish.
When she ends the call, she spins around and looks at me with nostalgia in her eyes. “Aww, looking at you like that reminds me of when you were smaller. Waiting for me till I finished whatever I was doing. I brought you two cinnamon rolls and lemonade. Eat the rolls before they get cold.” She says. “I am going to take a fast shower and then I'll go to the restaurant. It seems something happened and they need my help with it.”
“Is it bad?”
“Not really, but if it isn't done correctly. It might end up being a problem in the future.”
“Ok.” I say before she closes the door.
Well, this isn't as cool as I thought it would. I will have to do something in the afternoon.
I start to get myself ready for the rest of the day I would say. I will wear a pair of baggy beige pants and a sky blue t-shirt with white shoes. It is already a hot day after all.
Karla gets out of the bathroom, gets some clothes and disappears again. It is… don't mind me. She gets out ten minutes later and says.
“Liam, see you later, ok? Before I forget. Call Sophia and explain everything.” Karla says before leaving. I nod to that.
There must be something to do in this place, right? I dry my hair and fix it before going out. Sometimes I want to cut it off.
Leaving the room makes me think about what happened about an hour ago. I am kind of unlucky in those kinds of moments.
Anyways, I should go and see if there is something fun to do here. Maybe I should check the paintings in the reception again. Now that I recall, there was something off with one of them. I go through the hall, directly to the elevator.
When I get to the reception I don't see the same girl that received us before. Anyways…
“Sorry, but could you please tell me…” I am interrupted by someone I know too well by now.
“Mara, could you…”
“Could you stop following me?” I blatantly say. He looks surprised by my remark.
“Sorry, but working here does not mean I am following you.” he says in a calm tone, however I see a flick of a grin before he looks at “Mara”.
Another memory to my brain to overthink with shame.
“Lucas, what do you need?” Mara asks him with a smile that says everything I need to know.
“Did you check the staff's schedule for tomorrow?” He says in a charming voice. Idiot.
“I did, everything is ready for your…”
“Can someone please tell me what activities you have here?” I interrupt. At this rate, my teeth are gonna fall from the sweetness those two talk to each other.
“Don't you see…”
“Don't worry Mara, he is a friend. Come with me. I will show you around.” I don’t like her.
“Says who.”
“You angel, always in a fiery stance.” His eyes are the brightest with his remarks.
“Don't call me angel.” I answered blatantly.
“Right, you are a demon. I will be careful from now on. You would set me on fire on the first opportunity.” I roll my eyes at that. I am not that bad, am I?
“So, do you work here?” From what I heard and the experience earlier I certainly think so.
“Well, yes. My parents own the place.” What? When? How?
“It is not that I work every single day since the place opened. I am just helping my dad, he is the one that handles mostly everything.” I have some questions but I will keep them for now.
“I am impressed. So, what can one do here?”
“Well, you could go to the gallery, I certainly know you will like the paintings that came with this place. I bet you saw the ones in the lobby.”
“I did. There was a painting I thought was hiding…”
“Which one.” That was not a question but an order.
“I guess I can show you.” I go straight to the painting. Should I have kept myself quiet?
“This one.” He snatches it from the wall, leaving an empty space and a lonely nail.
“Come with me.” I follow him until we reach the last floor of the hotel. We go through the hall, reaching the end of it, where a door awaits.
He opens the door and makes me go in.
“Did you bring me here to kill me?” This is a dark room, I cannot see a single thing apart from the shadows.
“Kill you? Don't say that.” He stammers in a serious tone.
“I was just kidding.” He strides by my side and goes straight in the room. I don't know what he is doing until he drags the curtains from one window in the center of this place. There is just a veil that filters the sun now.
“What are you doing?” I say, my eyes adjusting to the bright light.
“I am… doing an investigation.”
Sometimes, I wonder why people lie to my face. I literally can see through their expressions that they are hiding something. Anyways, I guess he will have his reasons.
“Ok.” Now that my eyes have adjusted to the light, I can clearly see this place. There are weird objects everywhere. For example, a rock with a crystal on it, a toy that has seen better days from the state I have seen and… what is in that box?
“What is this?” Lucas raises his head and looks at the thing I am signaling.
“A letter.”
“Are you kidding me? Why do you have a letter in a crystal box?”
“It is old, the ambience could ruin it. And it is in bad shape already.”
“Well, that explains things. Anyways, why did you bring me here? You could have taken the painting and come alone.”
“I could, but you are the one that says something is off. I have checked everything so far and everything seems fine.”
“Let me see.” I do not know how he hasn’t realized that borders from these kinds of paintings aren’t round. “There, It seems like a part of it is hiding. Can you open it?”
“Hold on.” He takes a box from a corner in a desk that faces the window. “Let's be careful, It is an old illustration of the winter woods.” I look at him with wonder.
“The winter woods, no one should have gone there. It is haunted.” He starts laughing like a maniac but why? I can swear that everyone in town says that place is dangerous. The stories they tell.
“That is new. Just help me with this.” He opens the lid of the box and takes a screwdriver’s kit. He starts to remove the back of the frame until it naturally pops.
“Wasn’t I right?” I triumphantly say.
“What is this?”
I get a closer look and see something that leaves me with the blood cold.
“The red tree.”
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