AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Trees are great,” I keep my voice upbeat even though I know no one in the car is going to buy it. I’m just grateful as hell that they seem to be willing to let it go. As I take everything in, an excited peacefulness settles around me, which is a new feeling for me. Huh. Wonder what it means. “Really,” I say with more conviction, “I think this will be a good trip.”
Mom turns and gives me a wide smile. I might not be quite so sure but making mom happy is worth it. I just hope I don’t regret those words by the time we have to leave here.
When we get out of the car, I can’t deny how fresh the air is and it does recharge something inside of me. Is that some sort of hunter-gatherer response? Something primal going back to what we all used to be at a time when nature was our salvation while holding the biggest dangers?
I don’t know, but it does put a pep in my step. The inside of the lodge is clean and cozy, making me feel even better about this trip. I take note of the Spruce Ridge Tavern because, if nothing else, I’ll be able to sneak away to get a drink at some point. I’ll probably need it.
Maybe tonight. This has already been a lot of togetherness and the vacation has barely started.
It doesn’t take long to check into our rooms, a family suite which has Will and I sharing a room with two beds. We both let out a groan, our parents having omitted this fun fact when they told us about the trip. I’m not sure what I expected and it’s not like I’ll be bringing a guy back to my room but sharing a room with my brother is not high on my to-do list.
Will and I stare at each other in disgust. I’m sure for totally different reasons. I don’t even want to get into mine.
When dad walks in and finds us in a stare down of epic proportions, complete with narrowed eyes, he chuckles and shakes his head. “Looks like not much has changed, no matter how old you get.”
Will and I blink at each other and then look at dad who has a big smile on his face. Will huffs out, “Whatever,” before turning and taking one of the beds, slinging himself onto it.
Dad scoffs, “What did you think? You’d have some cabin to yourself for parties and chicks?”
“Chicks?” I can’t help myself and snort which turns into full-on laughter fit I can’t seem to get under control.
It doesn’t take long before dad and Will are laughing along with me. “We’re going to go grab some lunch and then take a walk around. Maybe see what’s available at the activity rental place.”
Will calls out, “Mountain bikes?”
Dad’s voice is fading as he moves into the room he’s sharing with mom, “We’ll see.”
My laughter dies and my smile drops. Mountain bikes? I can’t even remember the last time I was on any bike, let alone one with special tires for terrain or something.
I try and keep the whine out of my voice as we start to unpack, “Why couldn’t we start with time at the pool?”
Will chuckles and mockingly pouts at me, “Get used to it, there’s a lot of fun stuff to do to here without going to the pool.”
“Yeah,” I tease him, “but you know where girls your age wearing bikinis would be, right?”
Will whips around so fast he almost topples over, and I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. His eyes narrow at me before he goes back to unpacking and mutters, “Might have a point there.”
We unpack in silence, neither of us wanting to acknowledge how fucking awkward it is to be sharing a room. Once our parents are ready to go, Mom’s emotions become a happy buzz around us. She’s so damn excited to do this with us. I swear if she could bounce up and down as we head to the dining room, she would.
Halfway through lunch, Will innocently suggests to mom, “Are you tired from traveling today? Don’t you want to just lounge by the pool?”
Mom makes a sound of dismissal and shakes her head. “Your dad is so excited about the bikes, and I think it’ll be a great way for us to check everything out so then we can decide what else we want to do.”
I’m not sure who is more crestfallen between Will and myself. I feel like I haven’t gotten nearly enough sun this last semester at school. You don’t realize you miss it until you emerge from your cave and are blinded by the non-artificial light.
Yes, I would get sun on a bike, but on a bike I can’t read a book on a lounge chair while doing it, which is my preferred way to bask in vitamin D.
While everyone else is finishing up, I pull up a map of the resort on my phone. It looks like there might be a few places for me to slip away from my family and the game room wouldn’t be far.
I know they will notice, but can they really expect anything different from me? They’ve known me my whole life and biking is one of the last things I would do willingly. In fact, mentioning going biking would be something I would say if I wanted to alert anyone who knows me that something is wrong.
If I were to ever say, “Oh yeah, I’m just going to go biking,” it would clearly mean that I’m being kidnapped or detained in some way and am barely holding on to my sanity out of fear.
As we leave the main lodge, I hang back a little, grateful I grabbed a book on the way out of my room. I’m tempted to make a break for it right away, but they’re so excited about being here. Instead, I follow along behind them, smiling to myself because they really are kind of adorable when they get excited about something.
Talk about major Labrador vibes from all three of my family members.
The more distance I put between us as we head toward the rental place, the more I feel like slipping away is the right call here. When I stop, they don’t notice me at all. When I glance around before heading toward the game room, no one turns around.
