Chapter FiveJustin pulled to a stop in front of the wrought iron gates surrounding the small chateau. It was ten miles from the village, seventy-five miles from the nearest city, Grenoble.
The small chateau was surrounded by a dark forest that stopped at the gates. There was a winding road leading to the chateau. The chateau itself was old, with it’s brick walls covered in vines and moss. Someone had kept the vines pruned, for they didn’t cover the windows, and the manor was in good condition for being so old. The agent had told him that it hadn’t been affected during any of the wars France had seen, because it was off in the corner of nowhere.
It was perfect for him.
Justin sighed and got out of his car. He walked to the gates and pushed them open. They open silently on recently greased hinges. He was slightly disappointed. He expected to hear them creak and groan. This was the perfect setting for a horror movie, especially in this wild weather.
As though the skies were reading his mind, thunder growled high above him and lightening flashed though the stormy sky.
Justin shivered and hurried back to his car, getting out to close the gates after he’d entered the grounds.
He had carried the last of his luggage to the verandah when the skies opened up and a torrent of rain poured down.
~~~
He’d carried his stuff inside and left them in the foyer while he wandered around his new home. On the first floor was the kitchen, dining room, a study, a library, and some rooms that he assumed were once used to receive visitors. There was also a music room, with French doors leading to a greenhouse, that was, surprising, doing very well. And there was a grand ballroom.
On the second floor, he found bedrooms. Sixteen of them, to be exact. Plus a gallery that had once held all of the pictures of the family that used to own the chateau. It was long and narrow, with large windows covered by thick velvet drapes, due to Justin’s request. All windows and mirrors that couldn’t be removed were covered by drapes so he wouldn’t have to see his reflection.
On the third floor, he found small bedrooms that had once been used for servants, along with storage rooms.
Justin made his way back to the second floor, and picked to his room. It was all the way in the back, where he could overlook the gardens that composed the backyard. It was decorated in dark blue and gold, with a huge four poster bed, a fire place, comfortable chairs and even a couch, a desk, a huge walk-in closet that even had drawers along one wall, so he didn’t need a dresser. And the closet led to a huge bathroom, with a bathtub the size of a small Jacuzzi sunk into the marble floor. It was a bathroom made for two people, not one. The shower had two shower heads, the marble countertop held two sinks.
Justin walked back downstairs and brought his luggage to the room. There were other boxes in the foyer, since he’d had things shipped here before he came. But he could unpack those things later, when he’d rested more.
He’d just finished unpacking his three suitcases when his stomach rumbled.
"Okay, time for food," he said, his voice loud in the room.
Five minutes later, he was down in the modernized kitchen, staring blankly into the full refrigerator, trying to find something he could make without having to turn on the stove. He’d never learned how to cook, not thinking he’d need it.
He found some sandwich meat and cheese and found bread and chips in a cupboard.
"I really need to learn to cook," he muttered, munching on his sandwich.
~~~
The storm was still raging on outside when he laid down in his huge bed. Thunder boomed and he could see faint flashes of lightening through the heavy curtains on the windows. Justin curled up under the thick blankets and clutched a pillow to his chest. While he wasn’t afraid of storms, he’d never been in one all by himself. If he was with the guys, they’d all end up in one room, curled up on the bed. It hadn’t been very comfortable, but they’d been together and that’s all they cared about.
Justin eventually fell in a restless sleep around midnight. At two, he was jerked from his sleep by a nightmare. He couldn’t remember it, but he was panting and in a cold sweat.
He laid back down, missing the guys even more. Whenever he’d had nightmares- and he had at the beginning there- Chris would tease him and make him laugh, JC would say something strange and spacey and make him slightly confused, but he’d be thinking about JC’s words hard enough to get his mind off of his nightmare, Joey would hug him and that would comfort him, and Lance would just sit beside him as he fell asleep again, to "keep away the nightmares". That had always made Justin feel better, knowing someone was there to keep the nightmares away. He slept better when Lance was there.
He tossed and turned on the comfortable bed, trying to find a comfortable position, his heart aching even more as he thought about everything they’d done for him.
~~~
"I need cookbooks," Justin mumbled, searching the shelves in the kitchen. After waking up early, unpacking everything, and arranging everything to his liking, he’d searched the library for cookbooks. Joey would love it; there were more books there than Justin would ever think about reading. After failing at finding cookbooks in the library, he searched the study. And he didn’t find any there, either.
So now he was searching the kitchen in hopes of finding a cookbook so he could learn to cook. If he was going to stay here, he’d need to know how to cook, or else get used to eating simple, cold food all the time.
"Ah ha," Justin exclaimed, opening a cupboard to reveal a good dozen cookbooks. He pulled one off the shelf and sat down at the kitchen table to start reading. He wanted to become familiar with all of the terms before starting anything.