Fall of Rome

Sunlight peeked through the curtains and landed on my face, just above where my blanket hit and right above my eyes. It stirred me awake, and I raised my arms up, stretching my body out so my muscles could breathe. Sitting up in the bed, I let out a small yawn before I popped my eyes open. Dylan was already awake, sitting on the sofa in his pajamas while he read some sports magazine he had picked up.

When he realized I was awake, he looked over at me with a smile on his face. I could feel a sort of lightness in the air that I hadn’t felt in a long time, and it was good to finally feel like a bit of the weight was taken off my shoulders, though I didn’t know why I was feeling that way.

“Good morning,” Dylan said, as he folded up his magazine and stood up from the sofa. He walked over and sat at the foot of the bed, smiling at me. “You ready for the day to start?”

I shrugged my shoulders, my eyes still a little heavy from being so rudely awoken by the sun. “I guess so.”

“Then pack up your things,” he said, pushing himself off the bed with his hands. “We’re leaving.”

“What? Where are we going?”

“You’ll have to wait and see,” he said, looking back at me with a smirk as he began gathering up his things. “Trust me, it’ll be worth it.”

I let out a small breath before nodding my head and walking to the bathroom to get myself prepped for the day. By the time I had taken a shower and fixed myself up, Dylan was already done packing both his things and mine, save for the outfit I’d taken into the bathroom with me.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said just as he finished zipping up my suitcase, which was now sitting comfortably on the bed.

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied, “I don’t mind.”

I smiled at him, giving him a soft nod, and he dropped both his and my suitcase to the ground and began dragging it across the room. I had to admit that I was sad to be leaving our hotel. It only had one bed, and I was sad there more times than I was happy, but it was a beautiful place.

When we got to the small airport, Dylan set down our bags, smiling at me as he held up his phone. “Do you think we could take a picture together?”

I nodded my head gently, giving him a small smile which only made his widen. He turned his phone to the front camera, so we could both see our reflections in the screen, and he moved closer to me so we could both fit in the small window. My head was just inches away from his shoulder, and we were both smiling. Any of our friends who saw the picture probably wouldn’t realize there was anything wrong at all. They wouldn’t know what had led us to that place or the awful thing that sent us on a scavenger hunt across the world to find our happiness again.

The plane was a tad bit smaller than the one we’d taken to get there, but not much different. Dylan still sat in the aisle while I sat by the window and the same safety warnings played over the intercom that we had heard before.

As soon as the plane had steadied in the air, Dylan reached into his carryon bag and pulled out the bag of things he had bought for me at the terminal in LA. He dropped the bag on my lap and smiled at me, and I wrapped my hands around the edges. I still hadn’t opened it or examined the contents, but it didn’t feel as weird touching the bag as it had the first time.

After giving him a quick smile, I reached my hand into the bag and pulled out the first thing I touched, which just happened to be a book of crossword puzzles.

“I know how much you love them,” Dylan said, his eyes locked on me as I held the book. “I thought it could keep you busy on the flight.”

“Thanks, Dylan,” I said as I flipped open the book to the very first page. I looked at him with a smile as I cocked my head to the side. “You got a pen?”

Dylan chuckled, nodding his head as he reached deep into his pockets and pulled one out.

“You just carry these around with you?” I asked as I took it from his hand, clicking it into its working position.

He nodded. “Just in case.”

I had finished four different crosswords by the time the plane began its descent, and when it landed I was excited to see what new place we would find ourselves in.

When we got off the plane and stepped into the terminal, I couldn’t help but to notice the overwhelming amount of skis and snowboards that were being carried around.

“Where are we?”

“Sweden,” Dylan said, smiling at me as he pulled our bags across the terminal. “We’re going skiing.”

Our ride to the ski resort we were staying at was not at all what I expected. We were piled onto a large bus with several other tourists. The place was so packed there was barely enough room to breathe, and I couldn’t help but scoot closer to Dylan to get away from other people. He didn’t seem to mind though, and every time we hit a bump as we made our way up the mountain, he would move just a little bit closer to me.

It was amazing how it seemed like the higher up we got the more snow there was, and the more difficult it was for the bus to trek the road safely, which was probably why they had the roads closed off to anyone who wasn’t resort personnel.

It took the bus nearly twenty minutes to make it halfway up the mountain, where we parked in front of one of the nicest resorts I had ever seen. The entire building was made of grey stone with large windows overlooking the mountainous scenery. It was absolutely beautiful, and I couldn’t wait to see how gorgeous the inside would be.

After Dylan checked us in, he carried our bags down the hallway and up two flights of stairs, insisting that he didn’t need to use the elevator. He was probably right, because when we made it up to the top he didn’t seem to be out of breath at all.

Our room was the last one on the right, which Dylan promised was one of the nicest rooms in the resort. I didn’t have any reason to doubt him, especially considering the gorgeous décor of the spacious room we had stepped in.

In the corner, a fire was already roaring in the fireplace, which had to have been set by the staff just moments before. The entire place smelled like a pine forest and there was a balcony with the most magnificent view I had ever seen.

Dylan took our bags straight to the bedroom, and I followed him so I could help him unpack. I was surprised to find that, unlike all the other rooms we had stayed in, this one had two large beds in rooms that were right across from one another.

“This one’s the master,” Dylan said, as he pointed to the room on the left and set my bag in front of it. “You can have it and I’ll take the other.”

“Oh, no, you don’t –”

“El,” he interrupted, smiling at me as he shook his head. “You can have it.”

I nodded my head back, giving him a small smile before I stepped into the room that would be mine until Dylan decided we needed a change of scenery again. It was much too big for one person, with a king sized bed and a TV bigger than the one I had at home. There was a separate bathroom and a hot tub in the corner that I probably wouldn’t even end up using.

Letting out a breath, I pulled my suitcase in the room and began unpacking my things into the closet that was two sizes too big, and I finished up just as Dylan popped into my doorway.

“How are things in here?” He asked, folding his arms as he leaned against the doorframe. I turned my head to look at him, smiling at how casual he looked. It was strange to feel myself becoming less tense around him, but I knew it was happening.

“Good,” I said, as I slid my empty suitcase under the bed and out of sight. “I just finished up.”

“Come on, then,” he said, smirking as he pushed himself off the wall. “We’re going shopping.”

I chuckled at him, raising my eyebrow because I knew exactly how much Dylan hated shopping. It was hard enough to get him to buy clothes for himself, which was why it was good his mom had enough sense of style to shop for him.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” I said as I began walking towards him. “But there’s not a mall for miles.”

Dylan simply rolled his eyes, stepping out of my room. “Just come on.”