Buer

CHAPTER 16 - GRAVE

The cleaners left by evening. By the time they were done the building looked like something out of a fairytale from the inside too. Everything was made of wood with no sight of plastic. The whole interior was in themes of maroon, dark green and gold. “I don’t think anyone this exits.” 

“It is private property ange. No one even knows the way.” August was standing at the window, gazing at the vast expanse of the forest in front of her. Feeling the cold wind caress her face and hair. She was still in the white dress from earlier. It just felt soft and comfortable. 

“Dinner’s ready.” August could smell the aroma of different meat and sauces. Deciding she had no role to play in the kitchen, she decided to explore the place. Buer had however warned her not to wander off in his house. A few of the rooms were locked and a few were just dusty. Still the place was simply beautiful. 

Buer had set up the huge dining table fit for a dozen people. It had a maroon tablecloth and metal cutlery and which was golden in color. “Don’t tell me this is gold.”

Buer looked at her from setting up the table. “It is not.” 

“Did you just lie?” 

“You just told me to.” 

“August, do me a favour. Don’t think a lot about this place. It’s just brick and wood.” And gold. She wanted to say but refrained from saying anything. He had cooked a turkey, a full turkey. Along with a jus, a salad and apple pie for desert. “You should have been a chef!” Though he would killing people with all the butter and sugar. Not saving any lives. “They wouldn’t let me work without a shirt.” He teased her with a wink. All she could do was let a thin smile. August wasn’t in control of her hormones after looking at him shirtless. No woman would ever be. 

“Very funny. Can we have dinner? The food looks yummy.” 

Buer smiles slyly but obliges. He had lit one candle in between in front of each plate and thr chandelier above the table was also lit. All real fire. Lack of electricity points was one of the major flaws of this beautiful place. 

“Should we say grace?” 

When Buer looked at her like she had lost her mind, she responded. “The setting looks so british that I,”August was seriously lost for words. “Never mind. Let’s just have the food.”  

It took them an insane amount of time to get that Turkey finished. She almost felt like Joey except for the fact that she wasn’t able to complete even half of that. Maybe a quarter. 

Once they were done with the dinner and dishes, both of them together set up two bedrooms. She had requested Buer to sleep in the adjacent room to hers. It was not as huge as her master bedroom, but it would do. She wanted him nearby in case of any emergencies. 

“I can sleep on the floor ange.” 

“Are you crazy, it’s too cold.” Victoria was windy but this place was downright cold. Not snowing cold but the temperature was below five for sure. She hadn’t carried any clothes for this weather and was wearing Buer’s sweatshirt over her dress. This place had no internal heater and there was no way August was letting him sleep on the floor. 

“I can handle it.”

“Just go sleep on the bed next door.” 

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August shouldn’t have let him go. He could have slept on the floor. The first one hour she had no issues. She got up after that due to the cold and then because of the bad nightmares. After effects of a horror movie marathon night. 

Tossing and turning for almost an hour, she decided that enough was enough. She tiptoed outside her room with her phone’s flash. Another drawback of this place was there was very limited electric connection. There was one light for outside, one for the hallway and one for the washrooms. The main rooms didn’t have any electric connection. Thankfully the bedroom door beside hers was open. The bad part was that the room was empty. Buer was not in his room. He was somewhere inside the house and she was left all alone on this floor. Also the room was freezing because the i***t left all the windows open. And there were three. The room was freezing cold. 

“Buer. Where are you?” Shouting was the only logical thing she could think of doing. Praying that there was no one else on this property. “Buer.”

Before August could shout a third time, he was in the hallway. “Ange?” 

“In your room.” 

What August was surely not prepared for was the sight in front of her. There was Buer in tiny cotton boxers with disheveled hair looking absolutely perfect. It was like her heart had stopped. She could make out his outline because of the candle that he was carrying. She was still staring as he proceeded to switch on the which she didn’t know existed. 

“You’re so hot.” August couldn’t help but speak. 

The next thing she heard was a moan with his arms tight around her waist. “Tu ne devrais pas tenter un homme comme ça”  (You shouldn’t tempt a man like this.) 

Despite the cold and his lack of clothes, Buer was sizzling hot. He stood pressed to her. Just hugging. The sparks she felt at the start were coursing through every vein. He was like a need, like a drug. 

“What are you Buer?” Before he could make up some excuse, she continued. “What I feel is not normal. It is not normal for an older man to be so concerned about a much younger girl. It is not normal for me to feel the sparks that I do now. What we have is not normal. What you are is also not normal.” 

“We can talk tomorrow bear man. Right now I need to sleep.” 

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When there was too much light, that’s when August opened her eyes. She was entangled in sheets while a warm body pressed behind her. “Good morning.” She felt a low hum of greeting on her neck. 

“I’m still sleepy.” 

“I’ll wake you up in some time ange.” 

The next time she woke up, it was almost nine. By the time she bathed and got dressed up it was almost ten. 

Buer was in the kitchen again frying something which August hoped was bacon. “When are we leaving back today?” Tomorrow was a monday and she had some important deadlines to meet. “I thought that we were going to talk.”

“Oh we can. That is if you are ready.” With that she proceeded to have breakfast. Letting him think on it. 

After the usual delicious breakfast, the two of them proceeded to take a walk around the property. The property was quite secluded inside the forest. The only barrier between the wild animals and the house was an electric laced wall all around the property that would kill anyone who dared to get close. Just near the house, there was a small lake. Just the size of a normal public swimming pool. The weather was still windy. Causing her short hair to go on her face. 

“I brought this property when I first came to Canada. It was quite back then. Just a few years old. No roads, no electricity. The walls were still there though. It was built by a Frenchman for his dear ailing wife.”

August did the mental calculations in her head. Her beat skipped but she dare not stop Buer now. 

“The Frenchman buried his wife below that tree.” He pointed out a tree not far away from the lake. “I buried him next to her.”

He walked to the tree and she followed him. Behind the tree, covered with shrubs was a gravestone. More like just a stone with few numbers written shabbily. August cleared off the mud and the vines.

Gaston Lyle

15-08-1780

Anne Lyle

28-06-1780

“I build this gravestone with my own hands.” Buer’s voice had changed. It was deep, husky, animalistic. “I dug the grave and buried him.”

August was scared to look back. It was clear that he was not human. But it was also the same man who has been taking care of her for weeks now. 

“Turn around ange. Look at me.”

She did as commanded.