CHAPTER 10 CORALINE
CORALINE
“How did you find me?” I ask.
“I was bringing all the horses back into the barn when your car crashed through my fence. I heard the collision, and minutes later, I saw the fire and knew something was wrong, so I checked it out.” He pats his lip with a napkin.
“You were passed out in the snow with blood all over your face. I’m surprised you’re walking and talking fine,” Gavin says nonchalantly as he spoons more eggs onto his plate.
“Well, we don’t know that for sure because an ortho doctor hasn’t looked at me.”
“If you broke something, you would know,” Merelyn and Gavin say at the same time.
“And why didn’t you guys call anyone?”
“I did,” Gavin says, as though he’s losing patience with me.
“When we had service, I called the Chief of Police. He’s one of my good friends, and he told me he couldn’t send anyone up here.
It’s too dangerous to reach by vehicle or helicopter.
He asked Georgia whether he thought you were stable, and she confirmed it wasn’t an emergency.
And when you woke up, the phones were down again. It happens every blizzard.”
“How convenient,” I mumble sarcastically before taking a bite of toast. The strawberry jelly tastes fresh and sweet, the salivation crashing wildly all over my taste buds. My stomach cramps, the acid already breaking down my first solid food in days. I can feel it all as I chew. I hum as I swallow.
“Yeah, it’s convenient that I found you and you’re not dead.
A bear could’ve beaten me to it and dragged you to feed its cubs.
Or the person you claim was chasing you down the road could’ve finished you off,” he snaps.
“When I found you, there was no truck, no strange man. You hit your head pretty hard, so maybe—”
“Then you must have scared the man away, Gavin,” Merelyn interrupts his asshole rant, flashing him a scowl. He clears his throat and continues to shovel eggs and beans into his mouth, no longer glaring at me.
“I’m just saying that driving in the middle of a storm was stupid,” he continues to berate me.
My jaw drops. This man is grumpy as fuck, and I’m supposed to be spending the next few days with him? He might be handsome, but he’s a jerk.
Or he’s just incredibly outspoken.
“That’s fine, you don’t have to believe me.
Yes, it was stupid. I guess I’m stupid then.
I know someone is after me, and I need to talk to the police, so whenever the phones are running again, let me know.
” Pushing my feet to the cold ground, I push the wooden chair back until it’s screeching against the floor.
I rise to my feet fast and pivot toward the bedroom I’ve been sleeping in.
“Dick,” I mutter under my breath.
As soon as I get to the hallway, my stomach growls with a vengeance.
Fuck.
I whirl around and face the dining table again. I amble toward it as Merelyn watches silently. I catch Gavin’s eye twitching in my periphery as I fish the plate off the table.
I’m taking this with me. Despite how angry I am, I’m still starving, and I won’t deprive myself of free, delicious food. I just don’t want to be near him if he’s going to be a terrible ass of a host.
“Sit down. You’re going to hurt yourself,” he grumbles, licking his lips.
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“Sit down. And eat.” He lowers his tone like a deadly warning.
“Sweetie, please sit. We don’t get many visitors up here,” she encourages, her cold palm on top of mine.
I freeze and gaze at her freckled hand. My shoulder drops as the gesture warms me.
Why am I letting him get to me? I mean, it was stupid to get myself lost high in the mountain tops.
“Gavin’s social skills need a little work, but I promise we’re harmless,” she tells me as a small smile crests her face.
“Speak for yourself, Mer,” Gavin retorts.
His knee knocks the base of the table a second later.
“That was my shin,” he gawks at her.
“I know it was your shin. That was my foot’s subtle way of telling you to zip it,” Merelyn replies, tilting her head to the side like a jab.
I can’t help it, but a smile pulls at my lips at their quarrel. I let out a defeated sigh. I’m going to sit here for Merelyn. As soon as my hand touches the base of the chair, Gavin rises to his feet. I watch him round the table and pull the chair out for me.
I nod as an awkward thank you, pursing my lips, then I sit. He tucks in the chair and then heads back to his seat. As soon as he sits down, he reaches for a small pot of black coffee and pours it into my empty mug.
“There’s hazelnut creamer,” he says, pointing to a small ivory plate with miniature hazelnut creamers with his finger. It sits in the center of the table with a glass mason jar of strawberry jam.
“Hazelnut is my favorite. Thank you.” I peel it open with my fingernails, then pour it into the mug. The white creamer swirls as I add three more.
So he can be a gentleman when he chooses.
“Want some coffee with your creamer?” Gavin asks as he eyes me.
The whiplash this man is giving me. He’s nice one moment, and then he opens his mouth, ruining it.
Flicking my annoyed gaze at him as I hold my mug, I spot his cruel smirk. Rolling my eyes, I take a small sip, the warm coffee waves over my tongue and down my throat. God, coffee feels so good on icy days.
“So you got jokes.” I cock a brow, setting the mug down. “I want to see the crash site.”
I’ve been holding that in since I sat down.
Merelyn freezes; the spoonful of fluffy scrambled eggs shakes as she slowly blinks my way.
“I mean, someone has to be looking for me by now. My parents, my sister, and friends?” I continue. “I need my phone, regardless of the signal.”
Gavin straightens his spine as he continues to chew breakfast and glances at me.
“How far is it from the cabin?” I ask.
“Like a twenty-minute walk.”
“I’m going. Maybe I can find my cellphone while I’m there.”
“No,” Gavin tells me with a scowl.
“You can’t keep me locked in this cabin. If I want to look for my things, I can do that.”
He scoffs.
“Go ahead and be my guest. You won’t last five minutes with how cold it is right now. I’m not leaving my house unless it’s an emergency. The winds and snowfall are brutal right now.”
Shit. Maybe he’s right. I can’t go out there alone.
“Where’s Georgia?” I ask, genuinely curious.
Gavin shrugs.
“Must have been something I said last night,” he replies coldly.
She tried to shoot her shot with him, and he rejected her.
“She’s next door, probably helping me organize my house.
I have a hoarding problem,” Merelyn replies.
She slowly scoots her chair back, collects her fork and butter knife, and places them on her empty plate.
The glass and utensils chime together as she stands, but before she can take a step, Gavin helps her.
Towering over her, he takes the plate from her hand and hands her her cane instead.
He saunters over to the kitchen and puts the dishes in the sink.
Merelyn slowly walks to the living room.
I’m almost done with my breakfast, and then I need to find a way to convince Gavin to take me to the crash site.
As soon as I turn around, a shadow of a figure, resembling a woman with long black hair, flashes outside the dining room window’s wooden curtains.
The woman disappears into thin air, my mouth gaping open as I hold back a scream.
Blinking, an eagle crashes against the window hard.
The sound of its beak and nails scratching the glass momentarily catches my attention.
The loud thudding boom startles me, forcing me to yelp and jump in my chair.
Its wings slowly batter as it picks itself up and flies away.
My palm covers my trembling lips as I watch it travel deeper into the trees through the raging snowfall.
I’m surprised the window didn’t crack or break with how hard it hit it, and I’m shocked that the bird was able to get back up and fly.
“T-there was someone in the window. It looked like a woman,” I call out, losing my appetite. First, I saw someone behind me in the bathroom, then on the porch? What the hell is going on with me?
“It was an eagle that hit the window, Coraline. We live in the wilderness, and lots of wild animals stop by. It happens.” He closes the shutters.
My tongue clicks. He doesn’t believe me.
“I’m not talking about the eagle! I saw a woman walking by just before.” I point in the direction she went with my finger, my heart racing.
I turn to Gavin, who has his hands on his waist, his long fingers hovering over his belt. He looks at me momentarily and then glances toward the front door. He unlocks it, opens it, and peers with only his head outside, looking left and right. I stand, doing the same.
The wrap-around porch is empty. Nothing but two rocking chairs sway in the wind next to a small, round table with drink coasters—no tall woman with black hair in sight.
“No one is here,” Gavin replies as he closes the door.
“But I swear I saw a woman with long, straight black hair.”
“No one is here but you, me, Merelyn, and Georgia,” he reiterates.
His hand snakes into his left pocket and takes out a pack of Marlboros.
He takes one bud out and pinches it in between his teeth.
I track him as he walks out of the kitchen, heading out toward the back of the house, as chills skate down my spine, still trying to process what I just saw.
His hand spears through his long, dark hair, combing it, before he places a brown cowboy hat on top. “I’m going to check on my horses.”