Niamh slipped her doorkey into the lock, entering the hotel room she had been living out of for the past week. She had completely given up on trying to talk things over with her family, and ultimately decided to take it upon herself and be removed from the situation temporarily. She couldn't take the thought of giving up her home any longer. After today, if it had to come down to each of them strutting with their chests stuck out at home, then so be it.

   She went to one of her bags and pulled out a relaxed outfit for the day ahead.With all of her toiletries in hand, she ventured off to the bathroom, cutting on the steamy water.

     After emerging from the moist air, she toweled off her hair and quickly got dressed. She saw that by washing her hair, she ended up being fifteen minutes past the time she said she would be back to Blaise's.

      "Crap."

      It was a quarter to twelve, and she could just barely make the noon checkout if she rushed to the lobby. She ran around to her scattered items, stuffing them into bags as she got dressed. She acrobatically slipped into her pants while balling up shirts to toss away. Once she was sure she was done, she took one last look just because.

    Everything that was hers was collected, and Niamh made her way out of the small room to checkout.

     ooooooooo

      Blaise put his car in park as they arrived to a rennovated home his father had turned into his own little storage place. It was back in the cut of town, out of sight from the mass. He checked his keys to see if he still carried the key needed to open the house.

     " How would you be able to find this place? It's kind of inconvenient don't you think?" Niamh peered through the windshield out to the stout building. It made from wood making a natural camoflage in the dense trees surrounding it. While they drove, it seemed as if civilization was fading out of their reach the farther they went. 

    "Do you use this as a seasonal home?" She questioned Blaise who was now searching his glove compartment for the mysterious key.

     " Uh, no we actually just let it sit our here to rot. He drops stuff off here when he can't find room in his own place. He hates clutter, so there are a handful of houses sitting around town just for this." Closing his middle console he turned to Niamh with an apologetic facial expression.

    "I haven't used the key in years, so I'm sure it's not with me."

    The smile she held downgraded to just an upward turn of her lips.

    " We came just to sight see then?" She laughed trying to clear the disappointed air she had caused. Blaise could see the drop in attitude and bit his lips as he figured out a way to get them in. A hand ran across his chin as it came to him.

    " I got us. Come on."

    They exited the car and walked up the gravel driveway to the front door. It was a large intricately detailed door with an obscure image crafted into the strong wood. Niamh tried to fall the pattern of the picture made, but it was so large that she couldn't grasp it all at once. To the touch of her fingers, the roughness sent a tingling sensation shooting over her skin that she couldn't get enough of.

    " Was this bought this way?" She said with amazement.

     Blaise was busy murmuring a riddle that would help him find the cloak and dagger key amongst the wooden panels.

     " No, he did that himself. Actually sat down and whittled the entire thing. If you spot the monkey than you've found my artistic mark." He told her as he pulled out a broken away section of a board revealing a small key on its underside.

     Pushing it into the old lock, he turned it sharply, pushing the heavy door open while slipping the key back into its place on the wall.

    " It may be dusty in here." He warned as he stepped aside to allow Niamh to enter before him. He felt around the side wall for the light switch, flooding the room before him.

    It wasn't how he had remembered it. There weren't items lying in mountains along the room.

    " What happened here?" He was confused at the sight before him.

    "Maybe Joseph moved the things back into the rooms?" Niamh offered, noticing the dark shadows on the floor that suggested there once was an item there.

     " I don't know, they were filled to the hilt too." Walking around her, Blaise went to one of three rooms and opened it to reveal the same thing.

    It was empty.

    He went to the next as Niamh jogged to the third door. 

     "There's only a trunk in here Blaise.Or something that looks like a trunk." Going to joing her, he saw what she was speaking of. In the dead center of the white lined room sat a large cube looking object. It was bolted down on the sides, into the flooring.

     " What is this shit?" He attempted to lift the lid of it, but couldn't find a place to grap on to.

     "Your dad must have wiped the place out." There was a sudden chill in the room and Niamh drew her arms around her waist as she walked around examining everything. She looked behind a small closet door to find it bare. There weren't any clothes hangers or dustballs just lying around in the place. 

    " It's pretty spotless in here. Have you noticed?"

     " Like someone came through and did a clean up." Blaise had given up with the box, and rose to his full height resting his fists on his hips." I don't understand. This is practically all of the house other than the kitchen."

    "Maybe he's letting someone stay here?"

    " There aren't any things."

    " They could be coming soon."

    "That doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't I know?" Blaise shook his head in disbelief at the suggestion.

    " I'm sure your dad doesn't tell you everything Blaise." Niamh tapped on the wall as she walked out of the room leaving behind her more than true words.

    " No fucking kidding."

    "What was that?" Niamh popped her head back into the room when she heard his light words.

    "Nothing."

     "So you can't get that thing to budge?" Niamh took a short running start towards the trunk, hoping to knock it off of its screws but only accomplished to bust her ass. Blaise smiled a crooked smile at the sound of her bottom slapping the ground.

    " Why in the world?" He reached out a hand for her to wrap around and pulled her to her feet.

    " Well I at least heard something move inside of it."

      Blaise couldn't come up with an explanation for the object and shook his head leading her out of the room.

    "Obviously it's none of our business." 

    " Make something in here my business because I didn't sign up to see an empty house.

     " What is your deal with my dad? He just draws buildings there isn't anything that infatuating."

    Niamh's smile became reserved as she lowered her head, thinking about what it was that drew her to Joseph.

   " He's got that Yankee Ingenunity going on. He's gifted at what he does, admit it. I know him being your dad, you might not get the full jist of his talent, I mean to you he's just....Dad. I haven't had a man at home to admire, so I resorted to tearing out his articles in Architecture Digest and pasting them around my room to see everyday. Believe me, if I hadn't caught an interest in building designing, then I'd be shacked up somewhere with three kids and four possible baby daddies. Don't you think this was a better thing to take up my time?"

   Blaise stood there and absorbed all that she had said. He had never heard of anyone crediting his dad to setting such an example in life for them.

    Jokingly, Blaise said," Your childhood must have been bleak as hell to be so facinated with him of all people."

    Bleak. That was a new term to describe her childhood. She admittedly grew up too fast for her own liking. Being forced to learn how to fend for yourself while they lived on the streets wasn't what she had wanted to do as a girl.She had a good reasn for wanting to build homes--shelters-- any form of safety. Between the ages of six and eighteen, she never had one.

    It's one of her deepest fears in life, not having a pillow to lay your head on at night. She took pride in her home, and held her arms wide open for her mother and brother when they needed a place to stay, knowing that they lived the same life she once did. She didn't have the heart to kick them out in order to have it back to herself. Having someone do that to her would utterly shatter her spirits.

     An elementary school teacher once provided the entire class with a journal to document nightly assignments about what was on their minds. On presenting day, while her classmates went on and on about the latest sleepovers they had, the trip to amusement parks they were preparing to take, or the brand new toys their parents bought them, Niamh would stand proudly going into great detail and explanation about the different rough drafts of the buildings she always boast she would one day create.

    It had always been a bore to the others, but to her, it held just as much thrill as their topics did for them.

    "Yeah. You could say that." She laughed lightly.

    " I think we should go Blaise. There's nothing here for us to find today."

    Agreeing with her, they headed out of the house ending their short field trip.

    " I really do hate that you couldn't see anything."

    " I'm sure I'll have other chances."

     "That's the spirit." Looking at his watch, he saw that it wasn't too late for them to find a place for lunch." Food sounds great right now don't you think?" He sat down in the driver's seat and started up the car as soon as she got buckled in.

     " Let's find a wing place."

     " Won't that be too messy for you?" He threw a teasing grin her way.

    " You'll see." Niamh wiggled her eyebrows back

ooooooooooooo

     They sat engaged in a natural conversation as they sat back in their booths people watching. Niamh nibbled on a celery stick as she laughed at what Blaise was saying. He never thought himself a comedian, but with her he felt like his words were gold. It rubbed him the right way to see her hanging on to his every word. Her dark brown orbs moved along with his lips, almost making him self conscious.

    " How do you think you'll be able to stay in this only for the sex?" The question in his head fell from his lips.

   " It's actually easier done then said. People go off into these rants that you'll have to develop an emotional connection with the person you sleep with. I don't think that's true. I'll be straight up with you Blaise because I only think it's fair. I've been with too many men to count--and this is not me boasting about it. It's a carnal act programmed into each of us, and I just happen to not mix pleasure with business.No love, no hurt."

    "You see love as a burden?" Blaise leaned forward on his arms hearing what she was saying.

    She ponder for a quick moment." I've never experienced it before with anyone. I've never felt the urge to melt another person into my life like that. I guess I'm not the best spokesman for love, but I can tell you that it's a possibility that everyone isn't meant for it. I'm not depressed or trouble--to my knowledge-- without it and I've been getting by very well."

    " I don't think you should deprive yourself of that. It's a natural gift that we possess. To love someone more than yourself at times."

    Niamh shrugged her shoulders to his sincere demeanor." It'd be better for me to have someone who loves me more than I love them."

    " Are you saying you wouldn't even try if you were in what you thought was "love" ?"

     She slowly shook her head as she wondered off into his eyes." No, I could only love the way I know how, and that isn't much. If I were blessed with someone who loved me more than I loved them, then I could maybe learn and figure it out. It'd be securing." Her voice drifted off on her last words.

   Blaise had never considered not trying love, better yet not wanting it. He saw the beauty it could bring to a person's life, and so he sat patiently waiting for it to show up in his. The woman he sat across from no was no doubt what God had intended for him to have. He saw that she would be a resisting type, but something deep within him told Blaise that this is what has been saved for him. He was saved for her, and if that was the case--if he was meant to show Niamh just how good loving someone could be-- then damn it he will do all that he can in order to save her from completely writing it off.