His Flower [DISCONTINUED]

42: Cottage P2

"Rise and shine, Flower."

I was pulled to consciousness by a gentle shake. Groaning, I rubbed my eyes and sat up.

"We're here," Antonio said from outside of the car.

I yawned and stretched my limbs before emerging from the car and standing next to him. I was about to ask how long I'd been asleep for, but I fell silent once my eyes trickled over to the homely cottage in front of us.

It was rather small and cozy, as most cottages were. Made of brown wood and surrounded by tall trees, the cottage was gleaming underneath the sun's golden rays. I looked around and quietly gasped in delight. True to Romano's words, a private beach was in direct view of the place. There was hardly anyone present–just a group of preteens in swimsuits, and a small family playing in the water.

For some reason, my hazel eyes lingered over the happy family. It consisted of a mother, a father, and a small daughter, who couldn't have been older than the age of five. I curiously watched as they giggled and splashed water at each other. Without even realizing it, a wistful smile fell onto my face. I was reminded of what could've been. The family I'd never had. Although I'd long since come to terms with the loss of my parents, sometimes, just rarely, I caught myself wondering what my life would be like if they were still here.

I looked beside me at Antonio. My eyes followed his line of sight back to the happy family. When I looked close enough, I could see the hint of sadness on his face. Even though he didn't say a word, I knew how he was feeling, because it was exactly how I was feeling too. I gently intertwined our hands. He glanced down at me, and I could see his tense features soften.

Antonio opened his mouth to say something, though I never found out what, because we suddenly heard a distant screech coming from the cottage. We exchanged wide-eyed looks before grabbing our suitcases and approaching the cottage. We were instantly met with chaos.

"Your clothes are taking up the entire closet!" someone yelped, which I immediately pinpointed to be Lily.

"That's not even the half of it!" someone shouted back. "And if we're gonna be rooming together, I need you to keep your feet off the bed." Definitely Romano.

"How am I supposed to sleep with my feet off the bed?"

"Figure it out!"

Maneuvering deeper into the cottage, I came to a stop in front of one of the bedrooms. Benny was already deeply snuggled into the plush bed. He, like me, must've been tired after the lengthy car ride. My eyes flickered across the room towards the suitcase that had been lazily thrown onto the ground. I recognized it as Tabitha's, and realized that the couple were rooming together.

Shifting over to the next room, I saw Lily and Romano already unpacking their suitcases.

"Hey! You guys picked rooms without me?" I indignantly asked my two best friends.

"You snooze you lose," Lily teased, holding a blouse to her chest.

I sighed and dreadfully turned to face Antonio, who had merely been leaning against the wall and watching me.

"I am not sharing a room with you for three days," I haughtily said.

"Guess you're sleeping outside," he drawled, walking into the third and final bedroom. Of course, they'd left us the smallest one.

"But–but–" I helplessly stammered, watching as he casually slung his suitcase onto the bed.

"Trust me, Flower, I'm not happy about this either. Did you know that you snore?" he asked, breezing past me and heading towards the kitchen.