CHAPTER 8: I just need you.

Griffin point of view:

We´ve been looking for Anna´s video on the internet all morning. We couldn´t find it, it doesn´t exist. Everything looks fine. However, we´ll wait a few days before destroying the radio, just in case. Besides, solving problems is not the only reason why we need the radio right now. Savannah promised she´ll visit us to tell us about her date with Jordan Walker, and to watch Harry Potter with the twins and Topher.

"Where´s dad?" I ask mom while I help her set the table.

"At the woodyard."

"The woodyard? There´s nothing else to repair!"

"Well, you know your father. He always finds something to fix."

That´s true, but he should rest, the urgent things are done. We replaced the living room´s clock, painting and flowerpot, as well as the 205´s bed, lamp and hat rack.

After lunch, the twins and I post the reopening´s information while mom calls all the guests to let them know the hotel will be open on Monday.

"Good news." She says. "Remember the reporter? Yesterday she asked me about the ghost. However, she didn´t mention it today. She´s thrilled to finish her article about The Tremont and the story of its owners."

"That´s amazing!" Zoey exclaims. "That means there are no rumors about ghosts!"

"We made it!" Wyatt high-fives Zoey, and then me.

Suddenly, the front door opens. It´s Savannah.

"Hey, guys" she waves at us. "How´s everything going here?"

"Awesome!" Wyatt jumps off his seat. "Our parents and Jess time traveled and kept Anna away from The Tremont."

"The reopening´s on Monday." Zoey adds.

"That´s fantastic! I´m thrilled to hear that!"

"What about you?" I ask. "What about Jordan?"

"I guess I´ll leave you alone…" mom says.

"I don´t mind if you listen, Sarah." Savannah replies, but mom insists on giving us some privacy. Once she´s gone, Savannah keeps going. "Well, the date was incredible!" she jumps up and down due to the excitement. "Jordan is so sweet, and cute, and kind of shy, but… I really like him."

"Aww" Zoey puts her hands on her chest. "Where was the date?"

"The Tremont´s patio, but I promised to show him the tree house. So, the next date will be there, I guess."

"So romantic!" Zoey seems as excited as Savannah. "And what did you talk about?"

"Mostly camp anecdotes. He´s a counsellor, like me. So, I gave him some advice, like ´don´t let your stuff unsupervised, campers will hide it´."

My dad´s shocked face when he enters the room and sees Savannah is hilarious.

"I´m still not used to seeing you around." He says to her.

"Still not a ghost!" Savannah jokes.

"You are here for the Harry Potter marathon, aren´t you?"

"Well, yes. And I have to tell Harper about my date."

"Oh, right, how did it go?"

"Amazing." Her eyes light up with happiness.

"I´m glad to hear that." dad smiles.

"I´ve heard the news, too. The reopening´s on Monday."

"Yeah, maybe we should wait a bit longer to be 100% sure no more rumors are spread, but the hotel can´t be closed for so long. We must recover all the spent money."

"Don´t worry dad." Wyatt comforts him. "Everything will be all right."

"We should ask Jess if she´s ok with us having a Harry Potter marathon at her house today…" Savannah suggests.

"There´s no way you watch the 8 movies in one night." dad shakes his head. "So, why don´t you stay here tonight? And next time, you go to Jess´."

"Are you ok with that?" I ask.

"Of course! There´s no better time than tonight. In only a few days The Tremont will be open again, and you won´t be able to wander around the place, Savannah."

"Yeah, you´re right. Thanks, Ben."

"Mom told me you went to the woodyard, dad, why?"

"Oh, it´s a special project I have in mind. You´ll see it as soon as it´s done."

Harper and Topher arrived a few minutes ago. Savannah and Harper had a girl to girl conversation about the date, while the rest of us prepared some sandwiches to take to my bedroom. Sandwiches and snacks are the best food to eat watching a movie.

At the end of the second film Savannah is extremely hyped. It´s almost 1am, but she wants to watch the third one. Harper and I go downstairs to make popcorn while the others watch the first minutes of it. About an hour into the film Topher, Wyatt and Zoey fall asleep. As usual, Wyatt is snoring. Savannah is sitting on the floor leaning over my bed. Harper and I are leaning over the dresser. Eventually, Harper falls asleep too, her head over my shoulder. I sweetly caress her hand, not caring if Savannah sees me. She won´t see me, she´s so focused on the movie she might not even know we are still here.

On the contrary, I´m not paying attention to it, I´ve already watched it like 10 times. I´m thinking on something else, instead. Savannah had a date the other day. Harper and I never went on a date. We´ve been awfully busy time travelling and solving mysteries, but it might be the right time for that now.

I wake up on the floor cuddling Harper. My whole body aches for sleeping on the floor but it was worth it, it was the first time I snuggled with her.

"Where´s Savannah?" Zoey yawns.

I stand up and see a note over my bed.

"It´s Savannah´s." I read it out loud. "Guys: thank you for the amazing evening. Harry Potter is epic! I can´t wait to watch the rest of the movies! What if we keep on with the marathon tomorrow?"

"That sounds good." Zoey agrees.

"Come on guys, let´s have breakfast." Wyatt picks up his pillow and blanket before leaving my room.

Zoey and Topher do the same. There are a few more pillows and blankets on the floor, so I put them over my bed. I should pick up all the empty dishes and bowls, but I´ll do it later.

"Would you like to have breakfast?" I ask her while I tie my sneakers. "It´s almost midday."

"I rather wait until lunch."

Still in our pajamas, we go to the bathroom, wash our faces and brush our teeth. We run into the twins and Topher on the hallway.

"Did you have breakfast already?" I ask. "That was fast!"

"We didn´t." Wyatt answers. "But mom says she´ll order lunch soon."

"Oh, ok, cool."

"If you need us, we´ll be in our room."

Back in my room, Harper and I are alone. This is my chance to ask her on a date. Where should I take her? I have no money for fancy restaurants, there´s no movie theater in Sulphur Springs…

"A Harry Potter marathon was a great idea, don´t you think?" she interrupts my thoughts. "It´s an excuse for hanging out with Savannah a few more times before we break the radio."

"Yeah… it´s kind of sad knowing we won´t see her again."

"We should be happy for her. She has a family now, and she met her future husband."

"Sure, I´m happy for her. I´m just saying I´ll miss her."

"I´ll miss her, too, but destroying the radio means all problems are solved."

"I guess we´re good at it." I get close to her. "Solving problems, I mean. First Savannah, then Grace, then Judge Walker, and now saving the hotel."

"We´re a good team." She winks at me. "It´s wonderful knowing we´ll be together for a long time."

"Do you think we will?" I´m pretty sure she can see in my eyes how in love I am with her. She´s the best thing that happened to me in Sulphur Springs.

"Of course we will, you fool!" she playfully pushes me. "We´ll have a son in the future!"

"Oh, right." For a moment I had completely forgotten about Nick. "Sorry, I´m a bit distracted, umm…" I nervously scratch my head. "It´s weird, isn´t it? Knowing we´ll have a son."

"Totally!" a giggle escapes her mouth. "Seems like we´ll do a good job. Nick loves us so much he time traveled to make our dreams come true."

"Do you believe we´ll stay in Sulphur Spring when we grow up? I mean… I love helping my parents with the hotel but I´m not sure if I want to do that my whole life."

"Mhh… I don´t know." She stares at the floor for a moment, analyzing her options, I guess. "Would you like to move back to Chicago?"

"Maybe." I reply.

"We shouldn´t worry about that now, though. We´ll see. I´ll be happy anywhere, as long as I´m with you."

I can´t help smiling. She´s so sweet.

"You know… I…" I scratch my arm and avoid eye contact. Why am I so nervous? "I was thinking that… umm… we´ve never gone on a date." I recover my confidence when I see her smiling. "I don´t know where we could go, I don´t have money for a fancy restaurant…"

"I don´t need a fancy restaurant, Griffin." She places her hands over my shoulders. "I just need you."

I gently hold her waist, take a step forward, and without thinking it too much, I kiss her. Feels like the butterflies in my stomach have gone crazy, not only in my stomach, but all over my body. Her fingers stroking my hair makes it even better. It feels wonderful. She takes a step forward, so I take a step back, and that´s when I stumble. I fall back over my bed, and Harper falls over me.

"Oh, crap, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I´m fine." She says. "And you?"

"I´m good." I nod. "We should´ve picked up all the dishes earlier."

"Yeah, I think we should´ve." She giggles.

We jump off bed when my mom opens the door talking out loud,

"… tacos for lunch?!" I didn´t hear her coming! What did she say? Still with her hand over the doorknob she stares at us with suspicion. Harper and I instinctively adjust our clothes, despite nothing´s out of place. "What´s going on here?"

"Nothing." I quickly reply. "We were talking, and I stumbled. We should clean all this mess." I point at the floor.

"Mhhm…" Her eyes are fixed on me, she doesn´t believe me. "Ok…" her stern voice disappears. "I was asking you if you´d like tacos for lunch…"

"Sure, yes. Thanks, mom."

"Thanks, Mrs. Campbell."

We can´t help a nervous laugh once mom is gone. That was awkward. But we did anything wrong. We were just kissing, and I stumble. I have no regrets. Anyway, Harper and I stay silent while cleaning my room.