If Time Stands Still

34- swimmingly

Aylin's POV

The drive from the airport was a quiet one until our Uber driver turned up the radio's volume. I'm exhausted after today, so I'm hoping that none of them have any group plans for tonight. Throughout the ride, I use Zayn's comfortable bicep as my pillow up until we enter the woods.

At first, I truly thought that our driver was about to do something crazy and hide our bodies in the woods since it's already dark out, but then I realized that nobody else is reacting.

"Is this the right way?" I whisper to Zayn.

"According to the GPS, yes."

"We're gonna die." I joke.

"No, it's a lodge in the woods, babe." He laughs, "You're so paranoid."

I lay my head on him again as we continue driving slowly in the dark. There's no other car in sight, which makes me wonder just how creepy and remote our cabin will be.

After a few minutes, white fairy lights draped around the trees come into view, causing me to sit up in anticipation and relief. The further we drive in, the more lights we see in the distance which eventually leads to a few, rather large houses scattered about.

The car stops in front of a beautiful, two-story lodge with most of the front consisting of reflective windows, and until Shak mentions that this is the place, I would have never guessed that this is where we'd be staying. It's a lot bigger and much more modern than I imagined.

"Whoa." Aunt Zileh and I say in unison as we climb out, "For some reason, I was expecting an old-fashioned cabin or something." I mention to them, still in awe of the wooden masterpiece before us.

"Get with the times, love." Zayn takes my suitcase from me, "Uncle Shak here is loaded. Good call, Aunt Zileh."

His aunt glares at him for the bold comment, but her fiancé looks pretty amused. Leave it to Zayn to stir the pot, though there is some truth in what he said. Shak insisted that we didn't have to pay for anything other than our flights, which means that he's paying for our stay.

"I got a discount." Shak responds, looking at his phone screen.

"So where's the host?" Zayn asks.

"The key's with a neighbour. He'll be right over."

While we wait, I take in the crisp air of the forest. Our closest neighbour must be a couple hundred meters away, so this might take a while if he's on foot. I walk up the porch and rest against the railing. This place must be beautiful in the day time. I bet the balcony provides a magnificent view of sunrise and sunset.

Once the neighbour and Shak finally exchange keys, we all head inside which is just as impressive as the exterior. Much like the outside, it's modern; but contains a rustic touch to it which intends to give off that woodsy feel.

"Is this real? It better not be." Zayn points upward toward the elk horn chandelier.

"Maybe the deer was already dead." Aunt Zileh mentions.

Zayn shakes his head with annoyance before exploring the rest of the place with me, "That ruined it for me."

"We can cozy up by the fireplace." I mention to him, more as a distraction from the chandelier.

"I wanna see our room." He smiles.

"Let's check it out." I walk first, unsure of where I'm going. We head upstairs which only contains two doors. From this angle, you can see just how big and spacious the downstairs area is.

"So they're both bedrooms. Looks exactly the same." Zayn announces, "Though the one has rose petals all over the bed and..." He shudders dramatically, "I don't wanna know. Let's take the other one."