Page 28 of A Cornish Love Story
‘Georgie, wait!’ Ethan’s footsteps were fast on the stairs.
Panic welled up inside me, because I couldn’t spend any more time with him. It was too confusing, we were too far apart, and I didn’t know him any more. I had to let him go for good, like the house, so I went on the defensive.
‘Your house is fucking creepy, you know that?’ I strode towards the front door and pulled the handle, but it was locked.
‘It’s not creepy,’ he said from behind me.
‘It just said “farewell, Georgie”, even though I didn’t say “Sparks”.’
‘That’s not possible.’ Ethan cleared the last couple of steps.
‘Yes, Georgie?’ the house asked innocently. ‘What can I help you with?’ I ignored it.
‘Do you get a kick out of saying your surname over and over? That’s a very specific kind of narcissism.Can you open the door?’ I pulled on it, but it wouldn’t budge.
‘Stay for ten more minutes,’ Ethan said. ‘Please.’
‘Sparks, open the front door!’ There was a loud clunk, and the door started to move.
‘Sparks, close the door,’ Ethan said, and it whooshed shut.
I glared at him.
‘Ten minutes,’ he said, his hands out in front of him. ‘I don’t want us to part like this. Not after last time.’
‘Sparks, open the front door,’ I gritted out.
‘Yes, Georgie,’ the voice cooed, and I felt a surge of triumph as the door moved towards me.
‘Sparks, lock the door,’ Ethan said, and I was once again denied exit.
I spun around. ‘You told me you wouldn’t keep me here against my will!’
He looked pained. ‘Please. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry about what I said upstairs, about naming the house for you. This has been … obviously it’s been a dream, getting this place done, but it’s been hard too. And then, you turning up … I know I’m not expressing myself well, but I should never have—’
‘You have to let me go.’ I could feel the burn of tears behind my eyes.
He nodded, holding my gaze. ‘Sparks,’ he said, ‘open the front door.’
‘Bye, Ethan.’ I turned around and pulled the handle, but it didn’t move. I glanced at him, and he frowned.
‘Sparks, open the door,’ he repeated. I waited for theclick, for the door to slide towards me as I tugged the handle. Nothing happened.
‘Sparks, unlock the front door.’ He was louder this time, but still nothing shifted. ‘Sparks, give me a status update.’
‘Sterenlenn is fully functional,’ the house said smoothly. ‘No bugs or anomalies detected.’
‘Great,’ Ethan said, and I noted the sarcasm in his voice that, despite everything, made me smile. ‘So, Sparks, unlock the front door.’
There was no clunk, but I pulled anyway. The door was still locked. We exchanged a puzzled look.
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with it.’ He turned to the wall panel and pressed a few buttons, the cute electronic beeps filling the silence. ‘What the actual fuck is it doing?’ He jabbed at it angrily.
‘I know,’ I murmured, losing patience. ‘Sparks,’ I said loudly, ‘open the front door now!This. Is. An. Emergency!’
‘No!’ Ethan shouted as the last word came out of my mouth. The house made a series of bleeping, whirring noises, and I heard a heavythunkbehind me as the front door seemed to settle even further into its metal frame. The panel Ethan had been stabbing at warbled melodically and its lights flashed blue and red, then the tall windows behind the staircase slid from transparent to solid, like blackout blinds, and all the lights in the house flickered on.
‘Ethan?’ I said. ‘What is this?’
