The Realms [Watty 2017 Shortlist]

The Mansion - Part 10

It is almost an exact replica, but it's empty and decaying. I can't help turning my wide eyes in Ryan's direction. "Ryan..."

"Pretty cool, right? I don't know how old it is, but I've been coming here for years. It isn't that far from my parents' place, really. I found this on a bike ride when I was younger. I have no idea who owns it," Ryan says. His face is lit up as he speaks.

I'm amazed at the depth of the memory plantation that he genuinely believes he discovered this place years ago and seeing it doesn't trigger any other emotions in him. "The place is huge..." My brain is scrambling to figure out what this means. It exists here, in this realm, in a far less superior state, but it has to mean something.

"Yeah, it's like some kind of abandoned mansion. I used to wander around the rooms, pretending I lived here. My parents' house is nice, don't get me wrong, but it's not this," Ryan says, leaning forward to take in the entire view through the windshield.

He seems so proud of his discovery that my heart twists and fractures. "No one has ever lived here?" I ask, uncertain.

"Not as far as I know. It's weird, I haven't been here for a long time, but since I broke your fall I've had the urge to come here all the time. I just wander around the rooms, but there is one room in particular that I wanted to show you. It's not anything special, but it pulls me in every time," he says.

I open my car door reluctantly, wondering what the hell is going on. Is this his father's idea of a sick joke? Is it a sign that I can't get Ryan back? If he can wander through his old childhood home and not remember his past, what hope do I have?

Ryan comes around the car and takes my hand, giving me an excited grin. "I've been thinking about this for days now, ever since I asked you out. It feels nice..." He hesitates for a moment and then squeezes my hand before saying, "with you."

I squeeze his hand back and feel a shiver crawl along my skin like a spider. My breathing speeds up, and my heart starts to pound with fear and anticipation. It has to be a trap, and my body is preparing for flight. I stop suddenly and try to collect myself before I slip through the front door. I meet Ryan's quizzical gaze. 

"I almost died once this month, are you sure this is safe? Aren't we trespassing?" I think of Ryan's father, The Ruler of the Realms, I think of the last time I was in this house. My head feels as though someone has swung me around for hours and plopped me down. I can't seem to get my bearings.

He shrugs his shoulders. "I've been coming here for years. I think it just seems scarier because it's dark out." He reaches into his front pocket and pulls out his cell phone. The light shines ahead of us. I take one last longing look at the car, trying to calculate how quickly I can sprint back if this is a trap. He's wrong to believe this place wasn't scary in every light - day or night.

I grip his hand tighter and follow him into the abandoned mansion. We walk through the enormous entryway and then he starts up the decaying staircase. I fight my fear and my stomach does continual backflips. 

"Ryan, I don't know about these stairs. This place feels like it's a million years old," I say, wondering whether it's actually true. Which version of this mansion is real? Is this it or the one in the Third Realm?

He laughs softly and pulls me tight to his side. "Trust me," he says.

At the top of the stairs, we turn left, as I was sure we would. I know where he's leading us, but I'm not sure what we'll find. So far the place is similar, but there are small differences here and there that are throwing me. There are no sliding doors left on any of the rooms, the plaster is peeling, and there's a musty odor that suggests an age to the building that just isn't possible. Stairs are optional in the Third Realm, most people use chutes and there are a lot of stairs in this house. If his father could somehow plant the house in this realm, in a decayed, altered condition, surely there must be other connections between the two places? There has to be a loophole back.

When we enter his old bedroom he drops my hand and turns in a circle with his arms out wide. 

"There's just something about this room," he says. "I have spent hours lying on the floor in here these last few weeks. I even did my homework here last night. Lately, here or with you are the only two places I actually want to be. It just feels...right." He stops and suddenly seems embarrassed. "TMI."

I laugh and move over to take his hand again. "No, no, not, not really." 

I try to see the room without the significance of the past laid on top of it. The view out the window to the countryside is beautiful and the lights from the town create a faint glow across the fields. I look up and meet his eyes, and I see the vulnerability. I reach up and place my hand on the side of his face. I rub my thumb on his cheek. 

"I'm glad you brought me here." I don't know what it means, but I am glad that I know it exists. "Would you be mad if I asked if we could leave now?" I ask, giving him a hopeful look.

He puts his hand on top of mine on his face and looks down into my eyes. Our linked hands move down between us and then his eyes drift to our hands. 

"No, I'm not offended," Ryan says. "I just, I don't know; it felt important that you knew about this place. It means something to me, you know?" 

I can only manage a nod and then I squeeze his hand. I know he's taking a risk. He doesn't know that he knows me better than all the other girls at school. He's incredibly popular and he's never shown anyone this place. The cracks in his father's dam of manipulation are starting to show, but I'm not sure I want water gushing out of them just yet. Not that I know how to get the leak to turn into a flood anyway.

He leads me back down the stairs and outside. We get back into the car and he starts to coast down the gravel road slowly. "I have one more surprise, if that's okay," he says.

"More random, old, abandoned buildings? I had no idea you were a closet archeologist." I need to lighten the mood for both of us.

"I think archeologists look at bones and stuff, don't they?" Ryan asks, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm pretty sure there were rotting corpses somewhere in that house," I say, not really joking.

He laughs and shakes his head. "Well, there aren't any dead bodies at the next stop."

Author's Note:

What do you think about the discovery of the mansion? Where do you think they are headed next? How do you feel about Ryan and Hannah's growing relationship?