𝐀𝐪𝐮𝐚 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 ✓

24

The first night was uneventful. Both Faye and I conked out almost immediately after our heads touched the pillows. I could tell by the way that her breathing slowed, and I wasn't awake for much longer after that.

Faye drove the whole next day and despite getting a decent night's rest, I ended up napping for a few hours during the drive as well. Faye and I listened to music and sang along for most of the drive, stopping to get food at a well-known diner before continuing on our long drive.

Every day, we drove for over twelve hours. As we neared Montreal, Faye would drive slower and take the scenic routes as long as we were making good time. Our friends expected to arrive tomorrow morning for my actual birthday but we're celebrating Lexi's as well.

I'm glad that we decided to rent a vehicle because as much as I enjoy spending all of this time with Faye, it's a lot of driving and not having a lot to do. We plan to fly back with our friends because someone, cough Maddox cough, happens to have a plane to use at his discretion.

The tension between Faye and me isn't helping, and it only seems to be getting worse the longer we're cooped up in the car together. Things got really personal and really intimate with the question game we played the other day, and I don't have a clue of how to deal with it. We've played it since with an unspoken rule.

My mind wanders and I overthink every word that I remember coming out of either of our mouths until Faye breaks my reverie by hitting my arm lightly and opening her mouth to say "we're here". I lean forward to look out of the windshield and see the proud structure of what must be one of Montreal's nicest buildings. Proud colonial architecture fuses with modern glass and steel, forming a beautiful hotel that I'd never have had the fortune of staying in if one of my best friend's hadn't been so wealthy.

Instead of having to bring any of our belongings with us, Faye tells the men by the doors our room number and hands them the keys to the rental. I feel skeptical about leaving all of our things with strangers, but this place is really nice, and I'm sure the guests are well taken care of here.

Maddox's gift to Lexi and me is to pay for the hotel for us to stay in despite my hesitation to accept. I don't enjoy it when people spend their money on me, and it's always hard to accept, coming from a single-parent household with the bare minimum. My mom is doing well now that she doesn't have to worry about Claire or me, but I always worry whether it would be better for me to ditch my dream and move home to help.

"Holy shit." Faye says and I blink, gaping at the sight of the lobby, a completely non-traditional room, looking like a breakfast area or someplace where 'high tea' would be hosted. The walls are white with crown molding and gold accents. I can't imagine what our room is going to look like with Maddox footing the bill. We aren't even required to check-in, apparently, the employees at the front desk know what we look like and an older, sophisticated-looking woman leads us into the elevator which is like a breath of modern, fresh air. I think I've accidentally stepped into eighteenth-century England.