Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
After ten more minutes, the bus that was taking us to England’s Lake District came to a slow stop. I’d sat at the back of the bus so was the last to depart. But as I stepped off the bus’s steps, the sight of the lake before me made me still. It was huge, as far as the eye could see, mist hovering over its surface like a fallen dark cloud. It was like something from an old-fashioned Gothic movie. Boats bobbed in the distance, dressed in the gray fog. Small islands looked haunted with their spindly trees and camouflaged birds calling from within the mist. Mountains surrounded the lake like stark castle walls, and tourists milled about in small rows of shops on the other side of the lake, wrapped in warm winter coats, hats, gloves, and scarves.
I hadn’t held out much hope for this trip. But this … this was something to see. No big stores, no high-rises, no heavy traffic. Just the sound of the lake and the whistling frigid wind whipping around the trees.
“Welcome to Windermere!” Mia said as the driver collected all our luggage from the bus’s compartment, placing it on the pavement where we stood. Standing behind us was a large hostel-type building, made of the same gray brick everything else seemed to be made from in this place. Outside, the hostel had benches and a fire pit with logs surrounding it. It was dark and eerie. And it was completely on its own.
I imagined that was why it had been chosen.
“This is home for the next couple of weeks,” Leo said and gestured for us all to grab our bags and follow him up the path to the front entrance. Wooden rowing boats were docked on the stony shore that surrounded the house, and makeshift wooden swings hung from the branches of the surrounding trees.
As we followed Mia and Leo into the house, we were led into a hallway, then to a large room that was furnished with couches and a TV. “We have sole use of this hostel for the duration of our stay,” Mia explained. Leo began handing us each a key. “The boys will be sharing a dorm room, and so will the girls,” Mia continued. I took a deep, exasperated breath. I was sharing with Dylan and Travis. The last thing I wanted to do was share a room with other people. I wasn’t unused to it; in hockey we roomed with others all the time.
But that was then. That was before. Now, I needed solitude.
“We’ll each be in the supervisor rooms next to your dorms.” Leo pointed to the stairs. “In case you need us for anything. How about you get settled, and then we’ll meet back here in about an hour to discuss what will happen on this leg of the trip.” Leo smiled. “I know jet lag must be kicking in, but believe me, from experience, it’s best to push through as long as you can to help switch to this time zone.”
I rarely slept anymore anyway. I didn’t think my body knew what time zone it even lived in.
Lili led the way to the stairs. The girls started up to the top floor, when Dylan grabbed Savannah’s luggage and began climbing to the top.
“Oh, you don’t need to do that,” she said, her southern accent trickling over me again. It sounded like she was singing.
“No problem,” Dylan said and dropped it off outside her room.
Travis nudged me as we reached our room. He wagged his eyebrows in suggestion, then tipped his head toward Dylan and Savannah. I stepped away from him. But I got what he was insinuating. And I tried. I really friggin’ tried to not let it bother me, but no matter how much I fought to repel the thought of them together, the twist in my gut told me I’d been unsuccessful.
Ignoring the boulder that was forming in my chest, I followed Travis into the room. There were two sets of bunk beds. I took in the size of them, and then the size of me, and just accepted that I’d be getting no sleep even if I could manage it.
I threw my rucksack on the bottom bunk of one of the beds against the far side of the wall. No way was I even attempting to get on a top bunk. The walls of the room were a generic cream, the bed sheets a rusty red color. Travis followed me, throwing his bag on the top bunk above mine. I gritted my teeth. I was hoping he would have bunked with Dylan. I’d never known a person so oblivious to someone not wanting to speak to him.
Just as I thought of Dylan, he walked in. He looked at me on the bottom bunk and Travis up on the top and walked to the spare bunk. “Just like the Four Seasons, huh?” he said, cracking a joke. I just lay back on the bed, ignoring them. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but as predicted, my feet hung over the edge. I was agitated and tired and just wanted to stay here and not deal with whatever Mia and Leo had in store for us.