Page 8 of Tasting Innocence
Chapter Three
For the thirdweekend in a row I find myself at yet another place with Violet. This time, just like the first time, I invited her. But I wanted something fun we could all do this summer, and since most of my friends work, I have to wait until the weekends or when they can get off.
Since my dad is the founder of a billion dollar tech company, I’m pretty much set. I’ll eventually go to work at one of his companies, but right now, I don’t have to worry about working. I have all the time in the world. While that may sound like I have it made, it’s not as glamorous as you may think. Yes, I’m privileged, but as cliché as it is to say, money doesn’t buy everything.
“Where the fuck are we?” Trevor asks, removing his sunglasses to stare at the rundown looking building.
“My dad knows a guy who told him about this place,” I answer, grabbing my bag from the backseat. “They do murder mystery parties and stuff like that. I figured we could all spend a weekend here and tell ghost stories and scare the shit out of the girls.”
“Ugh, sexist,” Violet quips, her bag hanging from her shoulder. “Like men don’t get scared.”
“So, we’re doing a murder mystery or we just have a creepy looking hotel to ourselves?” Jayden asks.
I grin. “Guess we’ll see.”
Not gonna lie, though, this place gives off haunted house vibes for sure. It’s three stories and looks like it was built in the fourteen hundreds. The entire thing appears to be solid concrete, and kind of looks like it was an old prison.
Besides the usuals: Jayden, Trevor, Renzo, Ronan, Violet, and her two friends, Scarlet and Monique, we also invited a handful of other people we know, giving us a solid thirteen.
“I swear to God, if someone goes missing tonight…” Scarlet says, not finishing her thought.
“Why are we in the middle of nowhere? We drove over two hours and the last place I remember seeing was at least thirty minutes away,” Violet says.
“Nowhere for you to run,” I tease with a smile. “Our cars will be parked somewhere else, so don’t even think of trying to escape. We’re all stuck here for the weekend.”
“Jesus Christ,” Renzo murmurs.
“Let’s head in,” I say, barging through the crowd and heading toward the entrance.
Inside, two men greet us from behind a counter. The walls are an emerald green and the lights are dim. The outside light only shines through two slim glass panels in the double doors, because there are no windows on this level.
“You’re the Anderson group, I presume?” the taller of the two questions.
“Yes, sir.”
The other man, stout in size, but just as stoic in the face as the other, starts gathering keys. “Your rooms will be found on the second story. It’s probably best you don’t venture to the third story.”
Murmurs grow louder behind me as my friends begin to wonder how serious this experience is.
“What’s on the third story?” Vi asks, stepping forward and placing her hand on my arm.
The taller man smiles. “Feel free to find out. The rooms stay unlocked.”
A few guys slowly venture into the lobby, checking out a fireplace that looks like it hasn’t worked in a hundred years, and Vi’s friends investigate a few of the framed photos on the walls. In typical scary movie fashion, the pictures appear to be of people who have been dead for a very long time.
The man hands me an envelope of keys and says, “We have the parlor to the left.” He gestures with his long arm. “It’s a nice quiet place to relax or read a book. We have a cook on the grounds who will prepare three meals a day, and in order to eat, you must come down to the dining hall. There is no room service.”
“Okay.”
“Myself and Mr. Coal will be on the premises the entire time, and you may see a few other workers from time to time. Other than that, you are here alone. You will find some history about this place in your rooms.”
Trevor takes the envelope of keys from me, eyeing the guy cautiously. “When’s lunch?”
“In two hours,” he replies, his narrow eyes shifting from me to him.
“Thanks,” I say, turning away.
We all make our way to the large staircase that goes up about fifteen steps before it splits, with two sets of stairs going up on either side. A cathedral arch shaped cutout in the wall holds a statue of a young girl.