Chapter 10
TEN
ROOK
The room was dark when I snuck back inside.
Mom once told us that she’d lived in this place, and all these years later, there were still a few things of hers here.
It made me wonder if my dad knew about it, or if maybe he came to visit this place with her, or maybe it was for her and my aunts.
She liked to have time with them and it wasn’t very often they came out to the Orchard.
“What were you doing out there, Rook?” my mom whispered from her place on the bed.
I stood close to the edge of where she was sleeping, but her eyes were open.
Sometimes my mom reminded me of an angel.
Her hair was fair and wispy, and pieces always curled against her face.
She was always happy. Even when she was mad, she only stayed that way for a few minutes before she was smiling again.
“I went looking for cookies.”
She patted the space next to her, and I crawled in beside her. She pulled me closer, hugging me while pressing a kiss to the back of my head.
“Cookies?”
“Didn’t find any though.” I smiled in the dark, listening to Ryle breathe on the couch across the room.
“What did you find, Little Bird?”
I wasn’t sure if I should tell her, but Mom never got mad at us for being curious. “We went into the cellar and found a secret hatch in the floor.”
Mom froze behind me, which made me even more nervous about what was under there.
“Did you open it?”
I shook my head. “No.”
Mom’s fingers slowly slid in my hair as she let out a heavy sigh. Things were quiet for a minute until I finally asked the thing that had been on my mind since this morning.
“How come Dad isn’t here yet?”
She continued to stroke my hair until finally she softly replied, “Daddy had to go help Uncle Lance with something this morning.”
“Mom, I’m not a baby…you can tell me what’s going on.”
She was quiet again, but this time, she moved until I was sitting up and she was sitting next to me.
“Honestly, I don’t know. But I know your dad would be here if he could, but the fact that he’s not means we’re safe. You know that.”
I did know that. Dad would never leave us if he thought we might be in trouble.
“But why can’t we just leave and go home?”
Her fingers found mine and she gently squeezed.
“Tenebrae iterum nos invenit. Non solum opus est ut omnem lucem protegat.” Darkness has found us again. We just need to protect all the light.
I pulled my hand away, frustrated that she wasn’t just telling me. She always got cryptic when she spoke in Latin. Maybe I was just tired, but I felt tears burn the backs of my eyes. I wanted to go home. And I wanted my dad.
My mom probably sensed my mood, and where it was taking me, because right as I moved to leave her bed, she lightly gripped my wrist.
“If I were you, I’d check the cabin. Make sure the grounds are safe first, and the blizzard has to have died down, but there might be a clue about that secret hatch you found out there.”
“It’s snowing again,” Royce said from off to the left. Her nose was pressed against the glass, just like mine.
I was watching the members of the club blow hot air into their palms, while walking along the perimeter of the property, when Royce Quinn randomly sat next to me. I was just waiting for the right moment to ask them to go to the cabin with me.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of it out there too.”
But not as much as I assumed would be out there after the blizzard warning.
Royce turned toward me and gently put her hand on my shoulder.
“You worried about your dad?”
My stomach turned over like I was sick, but I just shook my head.
“I’m sure he’s fine.”
The sounds of Christmas music filled the air from the television where the younger kids were snuggled up on the couch, under blankets.
We all woke, and it felt like the heat hadn’t been on all night.
Mom explained how hard it was to heat the main area of the club because of how big it was.
The fire was roaring, but it was still chilly.
“What are you guys looking at?” Ford came up next to us, staring out the window.
“I want to go to the cabin…I think there might be another door there. We could look for more Christmas lights too.”
“We can go out through the kitchen door. The one that no one ever uses.” Royce stood up, watching her mom and mine cook in the kitchen.
Ford turned away, checking the stairs. “I’ll go get Connor.”
Royce and I headed into the kitchen through the side hall, closest to her mom’s office. Aunt Laura didn’t see us walking, but my mom did. She gave me a wink before returning to kneading the bread in front of her.
I pulled on my coat and boots, so did Royce, and once Connor and Ford met us, we left through the back door.
The wind hit my face, icy and frigid. Snow swirled above our heads, but the wind wasn’t blowing like it was last night.
We started walking, lifting our legs high to clear the snow that had built up.
Ford looked over at Connor, and the two of them followed.
The cabin was sort of far from the main club, but we must have all just silently agreed we could manage, even with the snow.
Except, by the time we reached it, we were all breathing heavily and our cheeks were red from the cold.
“This was a stupid idea,” Royce complained while stomping her boots on the porch.
Ford followed suit, stomping all the snow off.
Connor glared around the space, frowning at the boarded-up windows. Something had happened out here a few years back. I wasn’t sure what, or couldn’t remember, but it had to do with someone trying to hurt my aunt Laura and uncle Killian.
“Do we even know if it's unlocked?”
I hadn’t even thought of it being locked. Warmth invaded my face as I reached the steps and joined everyone waiting by the door.
Connor must have read my expression because he pulled on the screen door without dragging out the issue.
“One way to find out.”
His hand wrapped around the brass knob and twisted. The door opened with a low creak, but Connor had to use his shoulder to push it all the way open.
“I don’t think anyone has been out here in a long time,” Ford said, assessing the room. The light from outside came in through the windows along the back of the cabin. There was a round table in the small dining area, but the space was smaller than I imagined.
“How did anyone even live in here,” Connor asked, lightly kicking at the pinkish couch.
It could only fit two people. Connor’s comment made me want to roll my eyes.
He was rich and spoiled. He and his sister had everything they could ever want, plus a huge house, on a ton of property. They even had a pond in their backyard.
Even Ford and Royce, they all had big houses.
But Ryle, Mom, Dad and me, we all lived in a small cottage up in the orchards.
We loved it. Ryle and me, we shared a room, always have, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I liked that we didn’t have a ton of space, made it so I always knew where my dad and my mom were.
They loved that house, and every square inch of it was full of love.
Royce moved over to the bedroom off to the side. “There’s a closet, might be some decorations.”
Connor was next to her within seconds, just like I knew he would be. Even Ford shook his head, moving in the opposite direction. While they looked, I began searching the floors for any sort of door that matched the one I saw in the cellar.
By the wood stove, I pulled back the rug there, but found nothing. I checked the kitchen, under the table, and even ended up moving the couch. Nothing.
I was starting to doubt my mom when Royce called for us from the room, “Hey, come look at this.”
Ford and I looked at each other then quickly moved to where the other two were.
There, under the window where Royce and Connor were huddled, was a small hatch that matched the one we’d found last night.
“So it’s true,” I whispered, moving closer to it.
Connor’s eyebrows shot up. “You knew?”
“It’s why I wanted to come out here. I just wanted to see if there was a chance the two connected.” I didn’t want to tell them I’d told my mom, because they’d probably get mad at me and call me a snitch.
Ford crouched and placed his hand on the silver handle. “You ready to see what’s under here?”
Royce backed up the smallest bit. “I still think maybe we aren’t meant to know.”
“The wood is newer than the original floors,” I pointed out, running my hand over the smooth surface.
Ford followed my gaze. “So?”
“So, whatever this is…it’s been made recently.”
Royce stared at me, then the hatch. “So nothing super old and haunted then.”
“Probably not,” Connor mused, before pulling on the silver handle. But the hatch wouldn’t budge.
“Maybe we aren’t strong enough?” I asked, narrowing my gaze at the frustrating door. Why hadn’t my mom warned me that we wouldn’t be able to open it?
Royce shook her head. “I’m taking this as a sign. Let’s check the other closet for decorations.”
I actually agreed with her this time. Whatever the door was, maybe it was better if we just left it alone. Right as I stood up, Connor pulled once more on the door, grunting as he went, until suddenly he was gasping, and Ford was muttering a curse word his mom told him not to say.
The hatch was open.