CHAPTER 4 CORALINE
CORALINE
Istare at the screen, my hands trembling. My thumb hovers over the keypad, shaking as my breath catches in my throat. Everything is blurry as I process the words, re-reading them over and over again because I’m trying to convince myself this isn’t real.
There are no digits attached to the message.
I thought these weird threatening messages were going to stop.
I brush my bottom lip with my fingers. I hold them in front of me, not remembering what shade of lipstick I put on before I came here.
Please don’t be red.
My heart drops to my clenched gut when I see the staple holiday red shade deep in the crevices of my fingers.
Is someone watching me? Is he or she here? Is this the same person who left that weird letter in my mailbox? How do they know about me selling out again? How do they know I’m here in Alaska? Specifically, Sleepy Coldwater…
Blood rushes to my ears, and everyone and everything gets tuned out as I lock my knees.
This can’t be happening.
I can’t be getting stalked.
But it’s real. I do have a stalker. It’s happening, and all logic gets thrown out of the window as I try to process this.
“Is there something wrong, Cora?” Harper asks, concern painting her tone.
My brows knit together as I grind my molars until it hurts. Before I turn to her, I swipe and report it as spam. I refuse to let anything or anyone ruin this day. It’s just a sick joke.
“Yes, everything is fine. Here’s my QR code,” I say, clicking on the app.
“Thank you,” she chirps. Her cellphone camera aims at my screen.
“Hey, Harper, did you tell anyone else about my art being bought out?”
“Nope.” She taps her screen faster. “Just you, Cora! Alright, I’m going to get going. Payment sent!”
The event went amazingly.
But now, I’m rushing.
I’m supposed to be at the airport in an hour, or I’m going to miss my flight.
Before I left, I walked down the street and decided to rent a small sedan.
There were no taxis or Uber’s available to take me all the way to the Anchorage Airport because of the storm, so I’m trusting myself to get there on my own.
“I swear, Coraline Rosa, if you do not take off your wedding ring, I’m going to pull it off your finger the next time I see you.” Maya’s annoyed tone filters through the car speakers.
I sent her a picture of myself standing in front of my table before I started driving.
I dart my eyes to the square-cut diamond on my ring finger. Looking at it burns as memories of a false love I thought was real mockingly glare back at me. I should take it off. Throw it in a river. Pawn it. Sell it. Give it back to Liam. Or simply take it off…But I still wear it.
I hope I’m not alone in this. I hope it’s more common than I think because right now I feel like I’m the only one.
Being married for years to someone I thought was going to be my forever life partner, and then for it all to fall apart?
Just a few months ago? I’m a bleeding, hopeless romantic who loves with all her heart.
Who gives more than she takes, and still it took everything in me to walk away.
Even though I knew it was going to hurt, I had to do it. For me.
I don’t deserve the cliche affair that happened behind my back.
It’s going to take me some time to let him go. Every time I try to move on, I think about all the good times we had together—all the great things about him.
What I need to remind myself of, truly, is the real dick he was.
He broke my heart. He made sure to remind me every other day that my curves and weight were too much, always hinting that I should eat less. He brought down my spirit. Yet, even though he would say these things, I love my body. There’s nothing wrong with me; it’s all him.
He was a lying, cheating asshole who made me feel like something was wrong with me, and I wasn’t enough for him. And then with my so-called best friend? Of all people?
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I reply.
“Okay…how are you still in Sleepy Coldwater? Girlfriend, you’re going to miss your flight.” I can see the judgmental scowl on her fair skin through the phone.
I sarcastically let out a loud, dramatic gasp so she can hear me over the thundering windshield wipers and howling glacial winds.
“Wow, Maya. I wonder who booked me far away from the nearest airport!”
“I know. Who the fuck did that? You should fire them.” She burps.
Cringing, I stare at her contact portrait across my screen and glare at it as though she’s next to me in the passenger seat.
“Okay, so by your words, I should fire you.” I scoff.
I crane my head forward as though that’ll get the thick snow flurries to stop battering my car.
My eyes narrow, squinting, trying to stabilize my hands on the wheel to stay in my lane.
I haven’t seen a car drive by since I started driving.
Everyone is probably inside. It’s so dark out, and the snow won’t stop.
“Fire me and see how well that works out for you.” I hear the sound of liquid bottoming a glass.
“Now it’s making more sense. How many glasses of wine have you already had tonight?”
“First of all,” she slurs, “it’s the weekend. And second of all, this is my second wine bottle, but who’s counting?”
A laugh bubbles out of my lips.
“Apparently you are,” I retort. I twist the heating dial on the Honda Civic to the highest setting because I can still feel the freezing temperature outside. How can people endure brutal winters like this? I love the snow, but only when I’m indoors underneath a pile of fluffy blankets.
I dialed Maya as soon as I started to drive. I told her about the event, but left out the part about the weird messages. She still doesn’t know about the letter.
“Where are you?” she asks.
It’s pitch black outside. The temperature is dropping so fast that it’s below zero.
“Honestly, I’m not sure, somewhere in the mountains. The blizzard is here. It rolled in five hours ahead of schedule.” I groan.
“Oh shit,” she clips.
My heart drops to my ass.
“What, ‘oh shit’? There shall be no, oh shitting, right now! I forbid it!” I tighten both hands on the steering wheel.
“I just checked the status of your flight.” Static cuts into the call. “It’s been can—” Her voice drops into nothing but grainy noise.
“It’s been what?” My GPS suddenly spins in circles, distracting me. My stomach flips as I watch it reroute.
“Come on, don’t you go out on me!” I’ll be stuck up here in the mountains because I don’t have a physical map on hand; I’m using my cell.
My feet are on the brake, lightly stepping until I’m slowing down to a complete stop at a stop sign.
Finally, the GPS reroutes successfully. I exhale, relieved.
Instead of taking a right, it’s telling me to go left.
It cut the distance time by five minutes, so maybe it’s onto something. I take a left.
“Maya?” I call out.
“Coraline, are you still there? I—” Her voice goes out again. My gaze hardens at her contact name. “Y-your flight is—”
“Maya! Are you there? Can you hear me?” I shout, just as a pile of snow falls from a tree and lands on my windshield. I duck my head inside the car and swerve.
This is my worst nightmare. I’m pretty sure I’m in the middle of nowhere, and Mother Nature seems to be very angry tonight.
I’m supposed to be at the airport by now, but everything is going wrong.
It started when I couldn’t get a taxi or an Uber after the event.
Hell, I didn’t even have time to report the weird, cryptic messages from my stalker. I’m on edge. I just want to be home.
“I can hear you.” Static. “Barely!” she responds. “Your flight has been canceled. I’ll book you another, but you need to find,” her voice goes out, “shelter! Go to a hotel or—”
The phone beeps three times. I flick my gaze to the screen and see that the call’s been dropped. There are no bars, and my battery is running low. But somehow, my GPS is still working. I hit the call button on her contact, but there’s no service.
Of course, there isn’t—just my luck.
“Crap!”
Another strong wind rattles my car, forcing it to sway to the left and almost hitting the metal guard rail that protects drivers.
Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.
As much as I would love to say I can endure country life, I cannot. It's been absolutely beautiful, peaceful, and majestic to be up here in the mountains these past few days, but being out here in the dark is making me miss city lights.
Now, all I see is black fog mixed with mist. My windshield keeps getting hit by giant snowflakes that even the wipers can’t keep up with anymore.
Suddenly, a huge gush of wind blows by, making me steer my vehicle. I almost ram it on the side of the mountain before I'm plowing it back straight again. The storm is getting wilder by the second.
My heart thunders, adrenaline coursing through my veins, making my senses go into overdrive.
I'm hyper alert, and I grip the steering wheel so tight it pinches my palm.
A truck has its high beams on behind me, blinding me.
The driver is flashing their lights, getting dangerously close to my bumper.
I speed up, squinting in my rearview mirror.
What is their problem?!
I push on the gas. Maybe this person is in a hurry. I’m going ten miles per hour over the speed limit right now, and it's still not enough for the person behind me. I swing my hand to the left side of my head like a signal.
“Dude, go past me!”
They don’t budge. Their horn blares over and over again as they trail my exact movements. My anxiety is about to explode, and I feel a lump in my throat from being so damn nervous.
“Stop! You’re going to hit me, asshole!” I whisper-yell to myself.
Then, I feel it.
The truck crashes into the back of my car.