The inside of the Mayor's house was nothing compared to the Blackwood mansion. It wasn't half as lavish and the size was perhaps a third of the mansion on the hill.
However, it was clear that it had been passed down through generations ever since the first settlers of Wild Cliff. Portraits of the previous owners of the estate hung on the walls to remind every guest of the bloodline that lived there.
They were guided through the long hall and gathered in the living room to start planning the Winter Whimsy.
Already there was another University student, Justin O'hare. Lola stared bewildered at his shrunken presence on the couch.
"His parents must've dragged him here," she whispered to Melissa who nodded agreeably.
"Girls, come and sit!" Mrs. Clan called and waved her bronzed hand delicately in the air.
They all took a seat around the glass table in between two beige four-person couches.
Mrs. Clan walked out and returned with a tray of cups, sugar, and cream, and a teakettle.
It was all very sophisticated and Lola couldn't help but glance over at Lavina who was handling herself quite formidably.
Mrs. Clan poured the tea into the cup and as she handed one of them to Justin he shook his head tiredly and respectfully declined.
"Let's just get started then," Mrs. Clan exclaimed with a cheery smile as she sat with her cup.
The talk of ideas between Lavina, Mrs. Clan, and the O'hares was buzzing within the minute and the chairman, Mr. O'hare was quickly scribbling it all down in his notepad.
He pushed his bifocals up on his nose and his lips formed a stiff O when he looked around with laser focus to catch every single idea that was swarming around.
Justin released a sigh and contorted his face into a grimace of disgust when he saw his father's snort-like expression.
He rolled his tired eyes and looked at the girls who sat quietly at the edge of the couch.
"Have you guys seen the Historical Hideaway?" Justin asked, pulling attention from the planning.
Lola sat upright and her attention was pulled from the foggy mix of festive planning and trampled opinions.
"No I haven't... or we haven't," she said, and grabbed Melissa's arm.
Justin got up and gestured for them to follow.
"I'll just show them around around the house, teach them about the history of the town." He said with a cocky grin that had his mother roll her eyes and scoff.
"Be back for lunch please," she said to her son and laughed when she turned back to Mrs. Clan who started laughing as well- Lavina joined in and lifted her cup to her lips.
Lola stood bewildered, staring at the women who sat with their pinkies stretched out from the cups, pearls pretty around their necks, and laughed with their mouths but it didn't quite reach their eyes.
She was pulled out of the living room but Melissa and they disappeared down the hall.
"Thank god. Any longer and I would've suffocated in there." Melissa said and massaged her throat.
They closed the door to the so-called Hideaway which was a room filled with historic artifacts related to the founding of Wild Cliff. The room also doubled as a small library with scripts, books, rolls, and other forms of text- much of it related to the town.
As far as Lola had heard it was the Blackwood family that first settled in the town and built much of what existed to this day. But according to the rolls, paintings, and proof in this room, it was the Clan's bloodline that set the first seed and stepped their feet in the soil.
She turned around when the sound of scraping metal filled the room and she watched Justin unscrew the lid of a flask.
"Seriously?" Melissa snarled and looked at him with a raised brow.
"Don't worry, I won't share it with you." He mused and chugged the liquor.
Melissa grabbed the flask from his hand and lifted it to her lips. The liquid burned the walls of her throat and she coughed as it cooled her gut and sent a cloud of pain to her lips.
It was an instant relaxation after that, she slumped back against the standing bar and closed her eyes.
"You needed that more than I did," he grinned and reached out to take the flask back but it was pulled just before he could reach it and Melissa wiggled her finger in his face.
"Not done, not yet." She said without opening her eyes.
The tip of the flask touched against her lips and she swallowed the liquor like water in three big gulps.
Lola turned and watched with worry. Melissa's head fell back, her tongue slowly graced over her parting lips and she exhaled a breath that seemed to have weighed heavy.
It wasn't just Lola who was questioning the sight of her friend, Justin's brows pinched tighter and he carefully pushed away from the armrest he was sitting on.
"Hey, give me that," he said and gently grabbed the flask from her hand.
Her fingers opened and she placed the hand on her chest.
Once she had taken another deep breath and the smell of whiskey fanned against Justin's face, she opened her eyes and saw him.
"You don't drink," he remarked in a gentle tone.
"Yes, I do,"
"Not like this you don't," Lola added.
Melissa looked with glossy eyes and rosy cheeks.
"It's been a lot lately. That makes it feel normal," she said with a smile that spread on her lips and she glanced over the flask.
"Whatever that is that is craving the liquor," Justin said and lifted the flask to his lips, "you better deal with it," he swallowed the whiskey and tucked the flask away.
He and Melissa locked eyes, a deep gaze that carried foggy secrets locked to their lips.
"You first." She said.
Lola scanned the two of them and started to see similarities. She knew that Justin had always numbed pain with alcohol, he was the biggest party boy in town but he was also kind-hearted and respectful to everyone who deserved it.
The worry lay in the fact that Lola started to see the same pain in Melissa's eyes that she had seen in Justin's. The pain was silent and careful but it shone in the eyes of the carrier.
She knew she had to talk to Melissa about whatever it was that was weighing her. She suddenly realized that she had no clue what'd been going on in her best friend's life lately- she had been too preoccupied with her own pain. Just as Lola walked over and thought about leaving with Melissa, her eyes wandered to a painting behind the bar.
A plaque was screwed in on the bottom with a name and a description.
"Mell?" Lola said, catching the attention of both Justin and Melissa with her hollow voice.
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember Elwina's last name?" She asked.
Melissa thought back, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"StCloud I think, why?"
Lola stepped around the bar and looked at the painting.
"Freja StCloud and her family were some of the first settlers here in Wild Cliff," Lola read.