Faith Heights

Chapter 28

We drove back towards the school for a few minutes before veering slightly to the left. The road became bumpy and dirt-ridden as the sky was clouded by dark trees. The forest between the ocean and the school was vast, but still relatively small compared to the full extent of the town's forest. Lucas drove us into the depths of the chaotic greenery, and the road grew narrower and narrower the further we went. 

Eventually, we came to a stop outside a wooden cabin, surrounded by a circle of soft gravel. It looked like something out of a storybook, with walls of stacked logs, and a perfectly slanted roof that angled off the sides, almost reaching the veranda's stilts. A window was carved into the wood just beside the pale front door, and a long stone chimney reached up into the trees.

Lucas lead me inside without a word. I didn't have time to take in the cosy layout before he was guiding me down a staircase, past ground level. There were only a few seconds of mild trepidation before the feeling turned to intrigue.

"I bought this place when I first heard of your presence here." He explained.

"What if you saw me today and I wasn't who you thought?"

"Then I would have had a nice little holiday house to wait in until you eventually showed up." He flashed me a mega-watt smile, pearly white teeth glowing against the faint light. I wondered if he knew the damage he could do with that smile.

He led me further downstairs, underground. This cabin was much larger than it looked from the outside. The stairs had a thick, polished banister of mahogany, and I ran my hand down the dusty surface as I was led into a pitch black basement. It occurred to me that I hadn't even thought to check my phone for a signal on the way to the cabin, but I was certain I wouldn't find one now. 

Lucas released my hand and disappeared into the darkness. A second later, I heard him flip a switch, and a lamp flickered amidst the heavy shadows. I gasped as I took in the startlingly spacious room around us, each wall holding a plethora of books. Spines of all colours decorated the room like faded Christmas lights, but of the room's gifts was the smell. The vanilla, woody scent of unturned pages drew me forward like a moth to a flame, although the further I walked the more I coughed.

"Sorry about the dust. No one's ventured down here for a while. But I thought you would like a place for yourself to read, or study. Simply be alone with your thoughts. I'm not going to be staying here, so I hope you don't think that visiting is accompanied by any expectations."

Lucas walked to my side and pulled a small trinket from his jacket pocket. The object glinted in the lamp's light as he turned it over in his fingers, before offering it to me. It was a copper-coloured key, with an old fashioned ring tied to the end. The kind of key that deserved its own chain of gold.

Lucas continued, "I never expected to show up here and sweep you off your feet, as much as I'd like to. I didn't think you'd just drop everything from your life and leave with me." He smiled conspiratorially. "I knew you'd never agree to that, anyway."

Lucas left back up the stairs before I could thank him, leaving me to marvel at the library. There wasn't much floor space between the shelves, but the roof was much higher than the average basement. Another black lamp stood in a far corner of the room, looming over a burgundy arm chair. Other than a small coffee table to the chair's left, the floor was spotless, aside from it needing a good sweep. I would have been content to sit and spend the next week down here, but I settled for a few minutes browsing the shelves, before half-heartedly shuffling back upstairs. 

I found Lucas by following the sound of rustling boxes. It led me to a small kitchen, with just a few appliances and a grey island bench. Lucas' head was stuck inside a cupboard as he browsed the contents, which looked immaculately stocked.