Before December

Chapter 3

After throwing together the quickest sandwich possible, I escaped back upstairs. The less chance I had of bumping into anyone else, the better. Once I'd eaten, I investigated the door next to the wardrobe. I was really hoping for an en-suite bathroom, but no such luck. It was basically a storage cupboard with bedsheets and towels. Seeing the towels, I decided to find the bathroom and take a shower. I knew I could really do with one. I probably stank of alcohol, coffee and stale vomit. Opening my suitcase, I searched for some clean clothes and my toiletries, then, with a deep breath, I headed out into the hallway.

The upstairs corridor seemed to contain an unreasonable number of doors. The first revealed an empty bedroom, the second another linen cupboard, and the next two appeared to be guest rooms. By the time I crossed to the opposite side of the hallway, I'd become far too confident about opening doors without knocking. Which was how I ended up flinging open the next one, only to find the boy from the kitchen lying on his bed, topless, with headphones on and looking at something on his phone.

"Oh, sorry, I was, er, looking for the bathroom," I told him, showing him the towel in my hands as proof.

He smiled, got up from his bed and walked towards me. I couldn't help but notice he wasn't wearing a shirt, which made maintaining eye contact considerably harder than it should have been. Heat crept into my face as he got up and walked towards me. He continued walking towards me, which made me take another step back, then another, until I was back out in the corridor, then he simply closed the door in my face. What? No directions? No the bathroom's two doors down? Nothing? Thanks for the help. A little angry, I continued my hunt for the bathroom and tried the next door. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized I'd found it. Now I just needed to remember which door it was, so I don't run into anyone else half-naked on their bed.

After I showered, feeling refreshed, I wrapped the towel around my head and put on my dressing gown. My clothes were laid on my bed ready for me to put on when I got back to my room. Grabbing all my toiletries, I opened the door and walked quietly back to my room. Closing the door behind me, I felt like I could breathe again. It wasn't that I felt comfortable being here in this house, far from it. For now, this room was the only place in the entire house that felt remotely mine. After blow-drying my hair and putting on my clothes, I checked my phone for any messages. Nothing. I'd been hoping Penny—or anyone, really—might have texted. Since everything happened, though, my friends had become strangely quiet. I didn't know whether they didn't know what to say or whether my grief simply made them uncomfortable.

I considered calling Uncle Will. It was still only late afternoon back home, so he'd probably answer. My thumb hovered over his name before I locked the screen again. I didn't know what I'd say, but I wasn't ready to leave this room yet though, so I started finding places for my belongings. When I was just about done, there was a knock at the door. I went over to open it and saw Celeste standing there.

"Hello, dear. How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks Celeste," I smiled.

"Mrs Henderson asked me to give you a tour if you're feeling up to it. She's sorry she can't do it herself as she had to go away for business. She wanted to when you arrived, but, well, you know, some things don't always go to plan," She chuckled.

"Wait. I thought this was your house."

Again she chuckled, "Mine?" She laughed. "Goodness, no. In my dreams, perhaps. I'm the housekeeper. Would you like a tour then and maybe something to eat?"

"Yes please," I smiled, then closed the door and followed her down the hall.

"The room next door is Theodore's room. I'd watch out for him, he gets himself into all sorts of trouble."

"Yeah. We've met," I simply replied, not going into any detail.

"Then there's the family bathroom and the next two doors are James and Francesca's rooms." She continued.

"Francesca?"

"Mr and Mrs Henderson have four children. Francesca is in university. She pops in from time to time. Charlie's the eldest. You'll rarely see him here now. He lives with his fiancée," She said proudly.

Pointing down the other side of the hall, Celeste told me that there were 2 guest rooms and a storage cupboard, which I already knew from exploring earlier. Celeste led me downstairs, pointing out the living room, dining room and kitchen—all rooms I'd already stumbled across during my earlier search for food. I thought there would be more to the house, but I basically found all I needed to on my own.

"What would you like to eat dear? We have all kinds of fish and meats. Do you fancy something big or something small?"

"I've had a sandwich, so something in-between would be great," I smiled.

"Why don't you go through that door there..." she pointed to a door on the other side of the kitchen, "....and take a look around. I think you'll like it in there. I'll call you when your food is ready."

I nodded and thanked her, then stepped through the door and stopped.

They had a pub. An actual pub. Inside their house. A polished bar ran along one wall, bottles lined up behind it beneath soft lighting. There was a pool table, dartboard, booths and double doors opening onto the garden. Outside was even more ridiculous. A swimming pool stretched across the center of the garden, its surface catching the last of the evening light. Beyond it sat an outdoor kitchen with a built-in barbecue and pizza oven, while strings of colored lights wound around a large seating area to the left. I could look at this sight for a long time and not get sick of it. Back home, our yard had been small: a patch of grass, some decking and the table Dad insisted on dragging outside whenever the weather was decent. What did these people even do to afford all this?

"Food is ready, dear," Celeste said from behind me, causing me to jump. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, dear."

"It's fine. It's just so peaceful here."

Celeste smiled. "Enjoy the peace while it lasts, dear. Summer has only just begun."