Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton (novels for beginners txt) 📕

and company are going to do something stupid, so let’s stay as far away from them as possible.”

I glance toward the far end of the Infinity Room, where Holden and his friends are now stomping heavily, trying to bounce the entire thing like it’s a tightrope strung between trees. A stern-looking HOTR employee strides toward them, and I don’t want to see how this all ends up. I suppose if I were still Holden’s girlfriend, I’d be down there too, laughing along with everyone else. Or would I? Would I have let Holden influence me to do something so clearly against what I wanted?

I’m betting I’d be out here with Bran, which would’ve probably just pissed Holden off.

Right. Okay. So, now that I think of it, maybe we weren’t a perfect rom-com couple. I remember a thousand small fights with Holden about exactly this sort of thing.

With a glance back at the students in the Infinity Room, Bran and I walk away from the original house part of the House on the Rock. We wind our way past dozens of stained-glass lights, dusty velvet couches, walls of weapons, and much, much more. There’s a deep sense of nostalgia throughout, especially in sections like the Music of Yesterday or the life-size reproduction model town from the 1800s. In that fake town, Bran pauses in front of a nineteenth-century “miracle cures” display in a faux pharmacy window.

“This is gross,” he says, pointing to the hundred-year-old tapeworm in a bottle. “It was sold to help women lose weight. Good grief.”

“That’s nasty,” I agree, ready to keep walking. “Let’s keep going.”

We move farther into the darkness of the house, and while Bran stops to read a label on a display about haberdashery—because hats! Fedoras! Oh my!—I try to quell the anxiety that I can feel snaking through my body. It’s making my heart race, and I need a quiet moment away from all this stuff.

“I’m going to find a bathroom,” I say to Bran. I peer at our map. “There’s supposed to be one somewhere around here.”

“Good luck, and if I don’t see you in an hour, I’ll send a search party,” says Bran.

I laugh and head down a hallway to our right, thinking about all the reasons why the House on the Rock creeps me out:

1)  Because I have no idea how deep in the earth we are (remember, claustrophobic);

2)  Because of the smell of mildew and the cacophony of music from all the mechanical orchestras is overwhelming my senses;

3)  And, most of all, because it feels like I’m walking through my mother’s brain.

Seriously, if her mind could be made into an object, it would look something like the House on the Rock.

Which is terrifying.

As with our house, here too much stuff is shoved into what was once a home. What would Mom do in a place like this? Would it feel welcoming to her? Like she’d found a kindred spirit in this person who was determined to save all this junk from certain extinction? Or would she be as overwhelmed as I am?

“Hey, Earth to Jane,” a voice comes up from behind me.

Holden. He rests a hand lightly on my lower back.

I look up from the display case full of false teeth that I’ve stopped in front of while my brain churns. Bran is nowhere in sight, and I have no idea how long I’ve been standing here.

“Hey,” I say.

“Super into false teeth?” Holden quirks a half smile.

I laugh, trying to shove my dark thoughts away. “I didn’t want to tell you this, but they’re fascinating. I’m thinking of starting my own collection.”

Holden gives me a look like he can’t figure out if I’m joking or not. I roll my eyes at him. “I’m kidding.”

“Okay, good,” he says, relief in his voice.

I’d forgotten how Holden likes to make a joke but doesn’t always get the joke unless it’s explained to him. Silence stretches between us.

“How’s your worksheet going?” he asks, holding up his questions sheet. It’s partially filled out.

“I haven’t touched mine,” I admit. “Have you seen Bran?”

Holden shrugs and gestures toward the part of the house we were in earlier. “I passed him wandering around back there somewhere, looking at his checklist and trying to call you.”

I pull my phone out, but it has no bars. Hopefully I’ll meet up with Bran soon. Holden and I begin to amble toward the next section of the house.

“So, what happened to Banks and Hunter and all your other cross-country dude-bro buds? I can’t believe they let you wander around on your own.”

Holden bumps me back. “I love how much you love my friends. They’re not that bad, you know.”

“Really? Have you met them?”

Holden laughs at that. “They’re back there, daring one another to try on some suits of armor. I was looking for you, though. How are you doing?” His hand brushes mine as we walk, and I have the most foolish of urges to turn my body toward his and kiss him right there.

“I’m fine,” I say. “This place just creeps me out.”

“It’s super disturbing,” Holden agrees. “And you’ve not even seen the half of it.”

“Are you kidding? We have more to see than has been seen?” I groan. “I came here once when I was a kid, but it seemed much smaller then. Is there a secret exit? I think I need some air.”

“This way,” Holden says with a mischievous smile. “I’ve got something to show you. I promise you’ll like it.”

He grabs my hand, and we walk through room after room filled with terrifying circus collectibles, blank-eyed porcelain dolls, and a host of unspeakable oddities that I make myself forget as soon as we’re past them. Our hands stay linked together, and Holden runs his thumb along mine absentmindedly, like it’s the most natural thing. Like we haven’t been broken up for months. Like he didn’t rip my heart into pieces.

Like we had kissed twice two days ago. Like he might still have feelings for me. Like I could trust him to cash