She gave him a halfhearted smile. “Oh, yes, I’m fine. Just thinking about those empty rooms,” she lied.
He shrugged. “Yeah, kind of weird. But considering how much of the house we didn’t see, I’m sure that there are plenty of non-empty rooms.”
“How much of the house didn’t we see?” she asked, suddenly feeling like she was adrift in an ocean. She thought she’d known her world but was just finding that there were things she had no idea about.
“A lot,” he emphasized. “But, if we get started early tomorrow, we can probably see a lot more.”
“Early tomorrow?” she repeated.
“Well, yeah,” he said around a bite of apple. “You heard the woman downstairs. She’s leaving in the morning and won’t be back until Monday.”
“But what about the other workers?”
“Well, I know for sure that the construction guys don’t work on Sunday.”
“How do you know that?” she asked, setting the plate of remaining cookies in front of him as he finished his apple. He grinned in gratitude, picking one up and taking a huge bite.
“Mmm, so good,” he moaned. “Anyway, I know because everyone knows that. They work six days a week.” His eyes flew to hers, as if he’d revealed too much. Rapunzel shrugged. That sounded about right to work six days and have a day off. Right?
They played another round of poker, this time using Skittles that Fane brought. Rapunzel enjoyed them, though not as much as the M&M’s, so when they finished she still had a respectable pile. He showed her another card game called Rummy. Finally, he told her he had to go.
“So, should I come back tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yes, definitely,” she said, excited at the thought of spending another day with him.
“I’ll come back in the morning, if you want, so we can have the whole day to explore the house.”
The thought of more exploration brought a thrill of fear to her stomach. Then she thought of the lock on the other side of her door and decided she wanted nothing more than to discover this home she lived in—but really didn’t live in. She hoped he was right that Cook would be gone the whole day.
“Sure,” she said. “I’m up early, so come when you want.”
“Don’t eat breakfast,” he said. “I’m going to introduce you to the wonders of an Egg McMuffin.”
If it was anything like the foods he’d brought so far, she was more than happy to discover whatever else he wanted to bring.
As he put a leg over the ledge, he turned back and took her hand in his, tugging her closer.
“Thanks, Rapunzel. I had a good time today.” He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. Heat flooded her cheeks, and she was grateful for the semi-darkness of the alcove.
She watched him descend safely, watching until he waved before disappearing around the corner. She walked back into the living area, holding a hand over her cheek as if she could trap the feel of his kiss there. She glanced toward the door that suddenly felt ominous to her. She wanted to question her mother about it, but how could she without giving away her actions today?
She sighed and went to her room, fingering the braid out of her hair as she thought about the day spent with her hand enclosed by Fane’s. She grinned happily, fell back on her bed, and, for the first time in her life, went to sleep in her day clothes.
chapter
*.*
12
.**
Rapunzel rose earlier than usual the next morning, unable to sleep any longer with the excitement of having Fane come once again. She showered, washing her hair that took a good amount of time. Without having time to dry it, she braided her hair while wet. She still waited for Fane to arrive for over a restless hour.
Finally he rounded the corner of the house. He hurried to the trellis and began climbing. The bulk of his backpack was larger than it had been the previous day. She smiled in anticipation, wondering what he’d brought today. As he neared the top, he looked up at her and grinned. A loud crack reverberated in the morning air. With horror, she watched as the trellis began to sag away from the wall. A squeak escaped her as she caught sight of his fear-filled eyes. She looked around her for something to help him with. At the sound of a second crack, she panicked and threw the end of her braid out the window toward him.
“Grab on!” she yelled. He hesitated for a nanosecond until the trellis tipped precariously away from the wall. He quickly grabbed the thick rope her braid provided and used his weight to leverage the trellis back against the wall. He tugged against her hair, and she grabbed it near the base of her skull with her hands to relieve some of the pressure. Using her hair as the rope she proffered, he scrambled up the wall and over the ledge, falling to the floor with Rapunzel beneath him.
He stared at her, his face inches from hers. They both breathed heavily in the aftermath of his near fall. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly against him. “Thank you,” he whispered in her ear before standing, pulling her up with him.
Rapunzel felt shaky as relief washed through her. She laughed, unable to stop the sound. Fane stared at her before laughing along. He reached out and ran a hand down her braid. She tipped her head to watch the gesture before returning her gaze to him.
“Seriously, thank you,” he said earnestly. “You saved my life.”
“Oh, well . . .” She didn’t know how to respond, glancing down shyly.
He put his hand against her cheek, caressing his thumb along her jaw. Her heart beat staccato, and she felt heat rising in her cheeks as it always seemed to do when he was near.
“Did you remember breakfast?” she asked with a tremor, meaning it to come out sounding nonchalant.
“How could I forget?” He grinned and, thankful he was back to his usual self, she led the way to the kitchen.
The breakfast sandwiches they ate, which had to be heated a little in the microwave, were yet another item Rapunzel savored. It did give her a bit of a bellyache, but she’d never admit it to Fane. She decided her next grocery list would include English muffins, sausage, cheese, and eggs so she could make her own version.
“I have to admit,” Fane said around a mouthful of the breakfast sandwich, “I never thought my life would be saved by someone’s hair. That’s definitely a new one for the books.”
Rapunzel fingered her thick braid. “I didn’t have anything else to throw to you. I panicked.”
“Well, thank heavens for your particular way of panicking. Seriously. That was some quick thinking. I was panicking as well, but in a completely different way. Still, never would have thought to yell, ‘Rapunzel, throw down your hair.’ ”
Rapunzel laughed at the image of him calling that. Had he done so, she probably wouldn’t have thrown her braid out just for the sheer ridiculousness of the request.
“Ready to explore some more?” Fane asked when they finished and cleaned up.
“Yes, let’s go,” she said, walking to the door and opening it.
“Where’s your mask?” he asked.
“I’m not wearing it today.” When he lifted an eyebrow at her, she shrugged. “The air out there has to be the same as in here, right? I believe I’ll be safe enough.”
Fane wavered but finally followed her out the door. Rapunzel felt confident until they came to the same set of stairs where they’d heard the voice the day before. Fane recognized her hesitancy.
“It’s okay. Her car is gone.”
“Oh,” Rapunzel said. She still felt a little frightened at the thought of going into this portion of the house. Fane took her hand in his as he continued down the stairs, and she felt some of her confidence return.
At the bottom of the stairs they turned left into a large kitchen. The large gleaming appliances, including two ovens, wide counter spaces, a fridge that was double the size of hers, and a six-paned window that allowed the brightness of the early-morning sun to wash the room in light awed Rapunzel.
“Cool,” Fane said, running a hand acros
s the granite counter. Rapunzel was afraid to do the same. She just clutched Fane’s hand tighter.
They discovered a fully stocked pantry as large as Rapunzel’s main living area. A door at the other end of the room opened to a high-ceilinged dining room with a long, elegant, dark wood table large enough to seat twenty people, but only had six chairs clustered at one end. Red brocade wallpaper covered the walls and a red and black oriental rug nearly covered the entire wood floor. A chandelier above the table dripped crystal that matched the sconces above the sideboard. An overly large bouquet of dried flowers dominated the center of the table.
From there they entered the foyer. Sunlight filtered through a tall wooden door with patterned stained glass windowpanes that caused panic to fill her belly again. On the opposite side of that door was the outside world that she’d only ever seen from her window high in her tower. She took one step toward the door as if to step into the world, but Fane tugged her lightly back. He pointed to the little white box affixed to the wall next to the door that flashed a red light.
“Alarm,” he said. “If you open the door, it’ll go off.”
Rapunzel nodded, disappointed that she couldn’t follow her instinct. A wide set of stairs led up to a landing, where the stairs then split in opposite directions. Rapunzel thought they might go up, but instead Fane led her around the base of the stairs into a darker area. He opened a narrow door. A set of stairs that descended beneath the others. As they went down, the house changed.
It was darker, the little light available coming from both the upstairs and small windows tucked up against the ceiling in the rooms that they passed, all of them with cement walls and floors, dust and cobwebs evidence of their disuse. Rapunzel shivered, not completely due to the chill pervading this area of the house.
They came across a set of wooden steps that led up. By mutual silent consent they followed them, only to find that they ended at a cement wall. There was no door, no hallway, just a solid wall.
“Huh,” Fane said, not sounding all that surprised. The discovery stunned Rapunzel. What was the point of the stairway?
They descended, discovering several other sets of stairs, both ascending and descending that ended in the same manner, or sometimes at a door that opened to a wall. The more they found, the more the sick feeling in the pit of Rapunzel’s stomach increased. Finally they found a set of stairs opening onto a narrow walkway. Fane pulled his phone out to light the path in the dark. Rapunzel could feel the soft, stringy pieces of webs sticking to her face and arms and, shivering, tried to push the thought of it from her mind. The path went on for some ways, and Fane asked her if she thought they should turn around.
“Maybe,” she said. “What do you think?”
He thought for a moment then said, “Let’s go a little farther and see if we find a way out. If not, we go back.”
Rapunzel agreed and they soon came to a door. Fane put his shoulder against it and gave it a couple of hard hits. It flew open, spilling him into a room like the others that had light coming in through their dingy windows.
“Stairs,” he said, pointing to the opposite side of the room. They went up, ending in a trap door above their heads. Fane pushed it open and stepped up and out of the hole. He looked around before turning to lean down and offer his hands to Rapunzel. She placed her hands in his, and he pulled her up and out into a brightness that hurt her eyes.
“What is this?” she breathed, looking around in awe at the room made of glass. Plants and flowers grew everywhere, even trees. Rapunzel reached out and reverently brushed her fingers over the pink rose nearest her. She took a deep breath, breathing in the fresh smells, a mixture of scents she’d never experienced.
“A green house, or nursery,” Fane told her. “People use these to grow plants where they can bloom year round. That way they won’t die in the winter.”
Rapunzel walked down the aisle, wonder lighting her eyes. Fane dropped the trap door, causing her to flinch and look back. “Well, I guess I know how I can get out of the house tonight without risking my neck on the trellis that will probably fall when I climb on it.”
Rapunzel hadn’t even thought of that. She was just so glad he’d made it in safely it hadn’t occurred to her to figure out how he could get back out. He jogged the short distance to catch up to her. He took her hand once again, and though she didn’t need it for security, she was glad of the feel of his hand firmly in hers. This was all so surreal she half believed it was a dream, and welcomed something real and solid to hold onto.
Fane named many of the plants for her. Some of them she was familiar with, others she’d never even heard of. They soon discovered little wooden picks at the base of each plant labeling those neither of them knew. When they came upon an orange tree, Rapunzel breathed in the clean citrus scent with pleasure.
“This is all so amazing,” Rapunzel said, rubbing a maple leaf between her fingers. “I haven’t ever touched a live plant before.”
“You don’t ever have flowers or plants in your room?”
“No. Mother says they can bring in unwanted germs.”
Fane looked at her with horror, his eyes encompassing the plants that surrounded them. “Maybe we should get out of here,” he said.
“No way!” Rapunzel laughed. “Whatever happens, this is worth it.” She turned a dazzling smile on Fane, and he returned it though the worry didn’t completely fade from his eyes.
They spent more time exploring the plants until they came to the wide double doors at the end of the building. Fane ran his fingers around the edges of the door. “Huh,” he said. “No alarm here.” He glanced at Rapunzel. “Your mom must be unaware of the tunnel that leads from the house out here.”
Rapunzel gazed out on the lush green lawn on the opposite side of the glass. She turned her head toward Fane. “I want to touch the grass,” she said.
Fane shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Rapunzel. I mean, we’re already taking a chance with all the places we’ve been today.”
“Fane,” she said, turning to fully face him. “I’ve spent my entire life inside my rooms. My entire world consists of that small amount of space. A few years ago I opened the window, even though I’d been warned it could harm me. But I had looked out for so long that the temptation was too much.” She shrugged and took a step closer to him, taking both his hands, trying to convey her feeling. “It didn’t harm me at all. And it gave me something to look forward to. It’s probably ridiculous to you that I would look forward to something as simple as opening a window, but it became very important to me.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. “But the grass.” She turned her head and looked out at the green expanse. “The grass has always been out of reach. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering about it, the smell of it, the feel of it, even the taste of it.” She turned her eyes back on him. “Please.”
“Okay. We’ll go out but only on one condition,” he said. “You’ve gotta promise not to eat the grass. It’ll definitely make you sick.”
Rapunzel readily nodded, a smile lighting her face.
“All right, then,” Fane said, giving her hands a little shake. “Let’s go meet the grass.”
chapter
*.*
13
.**
Are you getting hungry?”
Fane’s question pulled Rapunzel from her fascination with the grass where she was lying, reveling in the soft, prickly feel of it beneath her, smelling the clean scent and basking in the warm sun that felt as if it cocooned her.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
“Of course I am. I’m a teenage guy.” He laughed. Rapunzel wasn’t sure what he meant by his comment, but laughed anyway. The thought of the long trek back through the dim, dirty cellar made her cringe. That, and the thought of leaving the amazing grass and sunshine. She’d felt the sun on her face and arms before, but not all over her body like this. And the grass . . . it felt just as she’d imagined it would and smelled even better.
“Let’s go eat, then,” she said, breathing in one last lungful of the glorious lawn before standing.
Walking through the greenhouse, Rapunzel took deep breaths, trying to memorize the smell. They went back down into what Fane laughingly called “the dungeon.” The return trip was much shorter, and in no time they were back to her rooms. They ate ham sandwiches—Rapunzel one, Fane three.
After lunch they went down the hall in the opposite direction, Fane carrying a heavy flashlight he had stored in his backpack and discovered an unlocked door that led to the lower floors of the tower. They crept through dark, cold, stone-walled rooms filled with dust and cobwebs. On the bottom level, they discovered a dark room with a door that opened to the outside on the opposite side of the room.
“I don’t think this one will trip the alarm,” Fane said, after running his fingers around the perimeter of the door.
“Why’s that?” Rapunzel asked, shivering in the dank cold that penetrated her skin and seeped into her bones.
“No connections, no wires—nothing but a wood frame.”
He twisted the handle and pulled. They flinched as the door hinges creaked and breathed a sigh of relief when no alarm sounded. Sunlight flooded the room and Rapunzel closed her eyes, soaking up the heat. She opened her eyes and glanced at Fane, only to see him staring over her into the tower room with a look of horror on his face. As she began to turn to see what caused his reaction he quickly grabbed her, holding her in place.
“I don’t think you should look, Rapunzel.”
She stared at him, trying to read his face. Finally she shook her head. “I need to look, Fane. This is my home, where I live. It can’t be any stranger than what we’ve already seen, right?” She smiled, but Fane didn’t return her smile. That strengthened her resolve to look.
Taking a breath for courage, she turned. The room was painted entirely black. A large, white, painted six-point star dominated the floor. Six repeating designs were painted on the walls in equal spacing. Sixes were hand drawn with chalk on almost every remaining available space, sometimes drawn as a number, sometimes the Roman numeral, and sometimes spelled out.