Hidden Cave

Trudy

The next couple of days, Bryan and I don’t leave each other’s sides. As we begin our Scotland tour, everything that happened in Ireland seems like it’s far in the past.

“When we get back home, why don’t we find a place of our own?”

I pull back and look up at him, surprised. “You want to move in together?”

He nods, “Why not? It seems like the next step for us. The penthouse apartment will be available soon in the building my parents own. There are going to sign it over to me. It could be our place.” Bryan runs his nose up the crook of my neck before he begins kissing me.

I breathlessly respond, “I don’t know Bryan. You enjoy having parties, and I always need to study.”

“I’m done throwing parties. If I want to, I can go to someone else’s.” He whispers in my ear, “Besides, cleaning up takes too long. I’d much rather spend a Saturday morning in bed with you.”

I giggle as Bryan nips at my neck. Pulling back to look at him, I touch his cheek, “Let me think about it. I have a lot going on, and I don’t want to be unfair to you. Plus, my parents would be upset if I moved in with a man without being married or at least engaged.”

Bryan shrugs, “Your parents love me. They will get over us living in sin.”

My parents didn’t hate Bryan, but he wasn’t their favorite. My dad calls Bryan a “trust fund boy that’s never worked a day in his life,” and my mother finds him ignorant. They are religious but not conservative. My brothers lived with their wives before getting married, but they had their careers established first. “It has more to do with me not getting distracted. They want me to finish school and start a career before I settle down with someone.”

Bryan nods as if he understands, “I would keep school a priority for you.”

I roll my eyes, “School isn’t even a priority to you. How can I expect you to make it a priority to me?” I ask in a joking tone.

He pulls back and looks upset. “I care about you. What’s important to you is important to me. I thought you knew that. It’s why I’m always giving you money. I know you want to prove yourself and live alone. That’s why when your short, I help you. I paid for your mom’s treatments because she is important to you. How could you think so little of me? It feels like I’m not as important to you as you are to me.”

“Bryan, I was teasing. I’m sorry if it hurt your feelings. I just meant-”

Before I can finish, he starts speaking, “You just meant that you think I’m an idiot. Maybe I see more to life than education. I see experiences like this trip or taking care of my family’s businesses to measure my success. But I guess when you come from nothing, education is the only way. Britany was right. You are uncultured.”

I don’t know what to say in response. Bryan’s words hurt, really hurt. I know some things he said were out of anger, but there were some he meant.

The bus pulls up to the grounds of Tantallon Castle. We get out, and the guide shows us around and tells us different facts about the grounds. Bryan ignores me and stays close to his friends. Britany and I stay close to each other. As we listen to the guide, Britany whispers, “I wonder if we will find anything.”

I look at her and shake my head, “Unless it is a family crest buried, I doubt you will find anything. No one has lived here since the 17^th century. Almost 400 years ago. I’m sure everything is looted.”

She nods, “A girl can dream.”

We walk around until the guide finishes the tour. Then we have an hour to walk the grounds on our own. Britany looks near the castle, hoping to find something with a dragon. I look for Bryan and find him sitting in the grass next to some other girl on the trip. He looks up at me and turns his attention back to her.

A pain shot through my chest, and I know I should go on a walk. I find a path down to the beach and start walking. I stare out at the water when I hear voices approaching the cliff. It’s Bryan calling for me. I don’t want to talk yet, so I quickly begin walking.

There is a cave ahead, and I quickly dart inside. Deciding that I’d rather get lost in a cave than talk to Bryan, I begin walking deeper into the cave. I take out my phone and use it as a flashlight.

Walking, I find what appears to be a door. Feeling curious, I pull the handle. I accepted it to be locked, but it wasn’t. The room begins to brighten when I open the door.

Looking around, I find the lights appear to be a strip in the walls. I wonder how they did that. It almost seems that a line in the stone is glowing. It’s too high for me to reach, so I can’t tell the type of lighting used.

In the middle of the room, there is a statue of a man standing on a platform. It’s highly detailed. The stone used is dark, very dark. Almost black. If I had to guess, I’d say hematite.

Walking towards the statue, I look at the details. The man’s jaw is defined, his hair is curly and at chin length, and his muscles are in explicit detail. The man is completely naked, with his hands covering his genitals. I wonder who the model was. He was handsome, whoever he is. For some reason, I want to touch him. I’m not sure why, but I do. Resisting the urge, I continue walking through the room and find benches protruding from the wall. This place almost looks like a room where they would hold court, vote on laws, or stab Caesar.

Walking back towards the doors, I stumble and catch myself on the statue. I pull away quickly, feeling slightly embarrassed at touching a statue of a naked man, but then something registers as odd in my head. I place the back of my hand against the man’s arm and find he’s warm. The stone is not cold; it’s warmer than me. That’s bizarre. The same stone doesn’t appear anywhere else in the room. I don’t know much about geology, but I cannot think of a stone that stays warm without a heat source. I wonder how long the statue has sat here.

“Tru, I saw you come into this cave. Just come out, and we can talk.” I hear Bryan’s voice echoing off the walls of the cave. Letting out a sigh, I look around the room one last time. Britany should see this; she would think it was cool. She probably would understand a lot more than I do about this place. History is her thing, not mine. However, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m supposed to keep this place a secret. Something in me is saying this is something that should stay hidden.

Opening the door, I walk back out into the cave. Bryan is walking up as I am closing the door. “What were you doing?”

“I was exploring. Why do you care? Shouldn’t you be with whatever her name is?” I tell him in a casual voice. He doesn’t need to know that I was exploring to get away from him.

“Her name is Sarah. We were talking. Besides, you didn’t say for sure we are back together.”

“What?!” I ask in shock, “Are you serious? We’ve spent the last couple of nights together and were just discussing moving in together.”

Bryan shrugs, “A discussion that didn’t go in my favor.”

“Oh. If I disagree with whatever you say, I don’t want to be in a relationship with you. If I disagree with you, that gives you the right to hook up with some other girl?”

He shrugs again, “You never said we were back together.” His calm tone is starting to bother me.

“You’re right, Bryan. I didn’t say we were back together, but I did sleep with you. I told you that I would forget the breakup text. You still acted like a jerk either way.” I pause for a moment, “We’re through, Bryan. Go hang out with Sarah and get your things from my room.”

I try to walk past him, but he grabs my arm. Bryan pushes me against the wall, “Tru, I love you, and I’ve been patient with you. You’re a smart girl. Think about what breaking up with me will mean.” I look at him, confused. Bryan smiles and lightly touches my cheek, “Where would your life be without me? You can’t finish out this trip with a couple of hundred dollars in your account. We almost have two weeks left. You can’t survive eating out three meals a day, pay your bills, or even get a cab from the airport to your apartment. That card I gave you, I put a hold on it. You will be stuck here.”

“So, you plan to hold money over my head for me to stay with you?”

Bryan smiles, “I’ll do whatever I need to do to keep you.”

I try to pull away from him, but his grip is too strong, “I can ask Britany for help or take out a loan.”

“Britany is in debt to my family, and I can make sure you can’t get a loan. You remember my uncle owns the largest bank in Fort Collins and has many connections. Especially in Walden. Even if you got a loan, he could make sure it’s called before you can pay it. You could call your parents; your mom would willingly miss one of her treatments to bring you home.” He steps back from me with a smile. “Sarah and I are going out to lunch. Why don’t you take some time to think about things? I’m sure you’re just confused. Either you fully commit to me, and we move in together, or I find someone else and leave you stranded here.” With that, he lets go and walks out of the cave.

I sink to the ground. There were rumors about Bryan’s family having unethical practices, but I never thought about them. Now I’m not so sure. I feel small and dirty.

“Are you alright?” I jump up and find a naked man, almost identical to the statue, standing near me. He holds up his hand, “I mean you no harm. I think we can help each other.”

“What do you mean?”

“I overheard your conversation with that…dog.” I can hear the disdain in his voice. “I’m searching for something and need a female companion to help me. In return, I will pay you and protect you from his and his pack threats.”

“What do you mean by a companion?”

“I need your energy and the only way to get it is for me to lie with you. The boundaries are up to you. I also need someone that knows about this time to help me navigate and find something stolen from my family.”

“What do you mean energy?”

He gives me a curious look, “You don’t know about what any of this is, do you?”

“Of course, I know. It’s just a secret, you tell me what you know, and I will confirm or deny it.” I tell him in fake confidence.

He looks down at a gem glowing in his hand then back to me. “Come with me, and I will explain.” He sees my hesitation, “You can follow me or go back to the animal that just threatened you.” I nod and begin walking behind him.

As we walk further into the cave, I notice the glowing line in the stones appears. I wonder what is causing that. It’s different from the glowing crystal or gem in his hand. I can’t really tell what it is.

The man touches a stone, and the wall pulls apart, revealing a staircase.

My heart is racing. Something in me says to run. To go back and talk things out with Bryan or see about getting an early flight home. A voice screams in my head not to go up the stairs. That the moment I do, I’m entering a world I don’t understand. A world I might be better off never knowing exists.