I Choose You | ✓

Chapter 22: "Always full of suprises."

S O P H I E   W I L K I N S

The sun had gone down and the only source of light was the house and some lamp posts that lighted the trail behind his backyard. We walk out of his backyard and stroll down the path, hand in hand. We continue on the path for a bit before Andrew makes a turn and we stray away from the marked path.

"Wait, where are we going?" I ask, confusion seeping into my voice.

"You'll see," he replies.

"You'll see," I mutter under my breath, mocking Andrew's signature phrase. As the darkness slowly takes over the light, Andrew pulls something out of his pocket. It makes a clicking noise and a light flickers on. He continues to walk in front of me before abruptly stopping.

"Ready, Shortcake?" Andrew questions and I make out a faint smile in the darkness.

"Ready for what?" I ask suspiciously. Then, a bunch of tiny lights flicker on from above. Hanging from posts are fairy lights that brightly distinct a path leading to a big, wooden treehouse in front of me. I gasp as I take in the appearance.

The treehouse is also draped heavily with aesthetically pleasing fairy lights. A spiral staircase made out of wood stands a few feet away from the tree and leads up to the treehouse. A small balcony also sticks out of the treehouse and attached to the side is a small swing set hanging from the tree by thick ropes.

"Wow, is this real life or am I looking at a Tumblr post?" I joke. Andrew chuckles and takes a few steps ahead of me. He makes his way up the stairs and I follow closely behind him. Pulling out a small golden key from his pocket, he unlocks the padlock that's holding the latch shut. Andrew removes the lock and pushes the trapdoor inwards and we climb inside.

I marvel at the simple interior design. It's one big room with a few posters plastered on the walls, the characters from Finding Nemo on all four walls.

I chuckle at the sight and Andrew defends himself, "Hey, I haven't been up here in a while."

A dartboard is hung against one of the walls with a few bean bags on the floor. A small window is located on each wall of the room.

"Woah, what is this place?" I ask with curiosity.

"I used to come up here a lot when I was younger. Whenever I wanted to be alone or gaze at the stars, I would come here." He points to the ceiling and a large skylight window reveals the night sky, full of bright, twinkling stars. We walk out onto the balcony and he rests a hand on the wooden railing.

"My dad and I built this place together. We'd run around and play tag," he says, looking down. Instead of his face showing anger and sadness, his face beams with bliss as he reminisces about the good times he had with his father.

"It seems like this place is pretty special, huh?"

"Yeah," he quietly chuckles. I walk over to him and place a hand on his arm.

"It's beautiful," I look up and give him a small smile, Andrew returning the gesture.

"So who else has been up here?" I question as I sit down warily and dangle my legs over the edge. He takes a seat beside me and we look out into the distance.