Page 6 of While They Watch

“They take avoiding laundry to a whole new level,” he says with a small laugh, but I can read in him that he is feeling confused and maybe even a little worried deep down.

“I’m serious. This place feels weird. This is ALL weird and look over there.” I point back to the dark doorway that Luke somehow hasn’t seemed to notice yet. When he sees it, his eyes go wide as he grabs my hand and pulls me the few steps back over. He raises his phone up, pointing the beam into the darkness, but all I can see is the stream of light until it phases out in the distance. There isn’t anything to be seen straight in front of us and when Luke directs the light toward the sides there is only dirt, no walls.

“It looks like a mineshaft or some sort of tunnel,” he says as he takes a step forward. I quickly grab his arm and hold him back, feeling bewildered at his boldness.

“What are you doing?” He looks back at me with a scary level of calmness.

“We have to see how far it goes…”

“Uh. No, we don’t. I actually think that sounds like a terrible idea. I vote that we just pretend this doesn’t exist. I was already very brave by following you down here, and I even let you open the door, like you wanted. I’ve done my part and now I want you to do yours and fix the water heater, so we can go back upstairs. I also would like to start the romantic getaway you promised me. Watch one of the movies we downloaded, find a flower-filled meadow to skip through, build a fire in the living room fireplace and have sex on a bear skin rug. Something along those lines,” I ramble on.

“I don’t think there’s a bear skin rug here.”

“Well, if you make me go in there, there won’t be any more sex with or without the rug. The choice is yours.” I cross my arms and glare at him. He pauses and I watch him try to decide how much further he wants to take this.

“Fine, you’re right. I vowed to take care of you and if hot water is what you need then, by God, it’s what you’re going to get but you have to admit there is something curious about this place. Look around… tons of canned food, water, a cot… this is some sort of shelter or something. I gotta know where that passage leads,” he says before grabbing my hand and leading me back out of the room. Luke doesn’t like to leave things open-ended or unanswered, so I know this mystery will eat away at him, but something in my gut is telling me nothing good comes from exploring that place.

I hesitate for a moment before answering. I don’t want to completely shut him down, so I say with some apprehension, “Yeah, I suppose if we remember and have time, we can think about it.” I already know there is no way in hell I will go in there. I feel intensely relieved when Luke finally closes the door and slides the giant lock into place. Finally, we can go looking for the water heater.

Luckily, we don’t have to search for long, finding it neatly tucked away in the corner of a furnace room, under the stairs. “Please, be an easy fix.” I hold my hands together in a prayer pose as Luke leans down and opens a cover at the bottom.

“Very easy. The pilot light is out, that’s it. I have some matches in my backpack, upstairs. I’ll go grab them and then I can have this up and running in moments.” He pops up and is halfway up the stairs before I have time to process what he said.

“Luke! Don’t leave me down here... God dammit.” I rush to climb the stairs after him. As I get a few steps up, I hear an indiscernible noise somewhere deep in the room. I stop for a moment and look back, but when I don’t see anything, I choose to ignore it.

What I don’t see is the giant door swinging open behind us.

Chapter Six

“You are quite the handyman, Babe. Fixing toilets and magically making hot water appear and, as if that isn’t enough, you make me lunch. I’m a lucky woman.” I wink at him as I set my plate down on the side table next to me. I finally feel like I’m on vacation as I lean back and take a deep breath of the fresh, forest air. We decided to eat on the front porch where there are some surprisingly comfortable rocking chairs. They had been calling to me since I woke up this morning. I feel Luke looking at me, so I turn my head toward him as I peek one eye open.

“I lit a match and put peanut butter on bread. While I appreciate the low expectations, I think we can do a bit better. Maybe we should go searching for that meadow you mentioned? Start working our way through that list of yours.” He reaches over and takes my hand, leaning forward and kissing it. I close my eyes again and silently nod, laying my head back on the chair as I rock myself gently. I let myself enjoy the sounds of nature for a few moments before glancing over at Luke.

“Honestly, what I’d love right now is to have you move this chair into the yard so I can sit in the sun and maybe read a little?” I ask it in a part question-part statement kind of way as I look at him with my best puppy dog eyes and pouty lip combo. “I won’t even make you join me. You can go exploring to your heart’s content which I know you would rather do anyway.”

“You don’t want to explore with me?”

“No, I do. I just really need to decompress a little. It hasn’t been exactly the most restful start to our trip and an hour with my book boyfriend is just what the doctor ordered.” I get up, walk over and sit across his lap as I wrap my arms around his neck.

“I can’t believe you want to ditch me for your fairy porn, and on our romantic getaway,” he says in an overly sad voice. He wraps his arms around me, so I know he is teasing.

“Oh stop, you won’t be complaining later when I ask you to act out certain parts.” I lean in to kiss him but at the last moment, I bite his lip instead. He squints his eyes mischievously, and I prepare myself for his revenge, but he only pats my leg.

“Fine, go get your book and I’ll get your spot all set up but I expect detailed notes of what I can look forward to tonight.” I hop up, clapping my hands excitedly as I watch him stand up after me. He grabs my rocking chair and starts to take it down the steps.

“Oh, I already have it right here, all ready to go,” I say as I grab my book that was hidden behind the side table. He looks back at me with a “really” look, so I flash him an extra big smile. “One must always be prepared. Isn’t that you and your dad’s motto?”

Luke laughs. “Sure. Bear spray, smut book. Potato, potahto.” He walks across the yard and sets the chair down in one of the few sunny spots. The grass is overgrown which makes me a little uneasy as I walk barefoot in it, so I start to tip-toe, hopping my way after him. “Madam,” he says as he turns toward me. When I look up at him, he is staring at me with an amused look on his face. “What’re you doing?”

“Nothing… I didn’t put my shoes on so I’m just watching out for snakes.”

“Well, why didn’t you put shoes on?” He crosses his arms, chuckling a little.

“Listen. Shut up. Thank you for the chair. You're dismissed.” I drop down into the chair and stick out my tongue at him. He laughs before kissing the top of my head and walking away. I pull my legs up to my chest, shivering a little, and feeling happy that I decided to bring a blanket out with me so I can get extra cozy. As Luke moves a few steps away, I give in and start catcalling him. He shakes his head without looking back but I can imagine the expression on his face which makes me smile to myself.

Out of habit, I have my phone with me, but I’m mostly using it to keep track of the time at this point. It’s exactly 12:12 pm. Must be good luck. I decide I’ll only read for an hour. I don’t want to take up too much of Luke and my time together.

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