Into the Light

138

I was about to say something else, but then a massive yawn hit me hard. Once I yawned, Sam did too. This started a chain reaction of everyone, even Ash. Sam and I started laughing, while everyone else joined in. "Maybe we should get some shut eye," Ash suggested. "I know that everyone is probably really tired. You've all worked really hard this evening. If you don't feel up to driving back to your hotel, you can always stay here. I have plenty of rooms to choose from." I glanced at Sam and raised my eyebrows, questioningly. He shrugged. "You guys okay with that?" I asked Anna and Katrina. Katrina yawned again and stretched her arms above her head. "Yep, I want to go to sleep now and not have to get up." "Me too," Anna replied, burrowing her head into my neck. "Don't wanna get in the car and have to wake up to go in the hotel." "Thanks Ash," I replied, grinning to myself. "We'll take you up on that offer." We didn't have any clothes with us, but we could always go back to the hotel in the morning to shower and change. "Great!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together once. He pushed back in his chair and motioned for us to follow him. We got up from the table and I picked up my bowl to set it in the sink. Barbie shooed me away from it. "No, you guys just go with Ash. We'll take care of this. It's no problem." Who was I to argue with the ghost of the house? I thanked her and set it back down on the table. Ash led us through a couple of joined hallways, then up two flights of stairs. "These rooms should suit you very well. If they don't, just let me know and I can find you somewhere else to stay," he said, opening the first door. Sam and Kat walked in, with Anna and I behind them. "Oh wow," Anna breathed, running her fingers along a satin covered white chair that sat in the corner. It was in front of a little reading desk that had a small lamp coming out of the wood. There were multiple books sitting on it, some brand new, some well worn with dog eared pages. I could almost see her salivating with her eagerness to check them out. I hadn't known that she was a reader. The color scheme was red and white, with everything tying in together, even the art on the walls. The walls were a pristine white that I would have been scared to even touch, because I might leave behind dirt. The bed had a red down feather comforter on it, with several very plump white pillows on it. I could've fallen onto it right then and went immediately to sleep. "Here, watch this," Ash said, with a grin. "The other room has it too, of course. They're basically the same, just different color schemes." He had a remote in his hand that I hadn't noticed before. He held it towards the the silky looking red curtains that covered the entire back wall and pressed the button. They slid apart, revealing the grounds below us and the sky outside. "Whoa," I whispered and walked over to the glass. There was a perfect view of the moon shining down onto the lake, with the dark shadows of the trees behind it. Sam, Kat, and Anna joined me at the window? It seemed too large to be called a window, but it wasn't like I hadn't been in hotels before that had windows just like this. It was the view that got me. I had never seen a view exactly like this from an elaborate hotel. "I want this room," Kat breathed, staring down at the lake. "Do you guys mind?" Sam looked at me, practically begging with his eyes. He would do anything to make Katrina happy. I shrugged and looked at Anna. "That okay with you?" I asked her. She met my gaze, then bit her lip and looked at Katrina, who was still staring out at the lake. Her eyes softened and I realized that she loved Kat, maybe just as much as she loved Holley. "Yeah, it's fine with me. I'm tired though, so let's go look at the other room. I'm also excited to see it, but more tired," she replied. I laughed and shook my head. "Thanks, you guys," Sam whispered as he followed us to the door. "No problem," I whispered back. "Goodnight Kat!" I called out, since she was still at the window. "Huh?" she said, turning around to see us leaving. "Oh, goodnight Colby! Goodnight Anna!" "See you in a few hours, brother," Sam said, then closed the door behind us. "Okay, here's your room," Ash said, unlocking the door and swinging it wide for us to enter. "Like I said, if this isn't to your taste, then just let me know." "Ash, it's a room and a bed," I replied. "I'm sure it'll be fi-" My sentence cut short as I walked inside the room. He had been right. The layout was exactly the same as the other room, but the color scheme was different. I was suddenly very happy about trading rooms. The walls were a deep midnight blue, mixed with swirls of purple, that turned black at the top. There were sparkles, like stars, glittering in various places of the paint job. The comforter was the same midnight blue, with swirls of purple, while the pillows were black. The curtains in the room were more of a light silver color, that shouldn't have worked, but somehow, it did. The writing desk was sitting closer to the window than the one in the other room, and I could see that Anna approved. She had already sat down and was thumbing through the books. Ash picked up a remote from the larger desk on the other side of the room and pressed the button. The silky curtains swung wide, revealing the same view as before. "I'm never leaving here," Anna breathed out, lifting her eyes to the moon outside. "Me either," I agreed. "Ash, we're moving in." He laughed. "You are all welcome here anytime you want. I don't get much company and I never really wanted it. You and a few of my customers...well, and my ghosts, are the only ones that ever come here. I enjoy spending time with you all." "Thanks man. We like you too," I said, shooting him a goofy grin, before I turned my eyes back to the window. I wasn't watching the view though. No, I was watching Anna.