2. -
CHAPTER TWO
-
“Lyla?” I hear Ryan’s voice, so I sit up and blink a few times, realizing that the sun isn’t up, so it must be early in the morning.
As I slowly sit up, my body starts to shiver as the cold air circulates around me. The tent walls are blocking the wind, but by the sounds of it, it’s picked up a lot since I went to bed.
“Why is it so cold in here?” I ask, rubbing my eyes.
“The temperature dropped out of nowhere,” Ryan replies.
“Did you bring any extra blankets?”
“There’s one more big sleeping bag in here.” He turns a flashlight on and shines it toward the corner of the tent. “You should get onto the bed. You’ll freeze on the floor.”
Without hesitation, I unzip my sleeping bag and quickly pick it up, placing it on the air mattress.
“We should have gone back home. I knew this would happen…”
“We’re gonna’ be fine, Lyla. If we have to, we can sleep in the truck. The seats fold down.”
I slip into my sleeping bag and start to zip it up, but Ryan reaches over and grabs my hand. “You’re not going to like this, but—we should share a sleeping bag.”
“Absolutely the fuck not,” I protest. “That’s not happening.”
“It’s for warmth, Lyla.”
Contemplating it for a moment, I let out a defeated sigh and unzip my sleeping bag. “Fine. Get in. Keep your body parts to yourself though.”
“I’ll try…” he snickers, climbing in beside me and zipping it shut. “Do you wanna be the big spoon?”
“Do we have to?”
“You’ll stay warmer that way…”
“Can’t we just sleep in the truck?”
“We can, but the heat can’t run all night. We’ll run out of diesel.”
“It’ll be better than this,” I insist.
“Let’s roll the sleeping bags up that so they don’t drag in the snow,” he replies, tossing his legs over the side of the air mattress.
In a matter of minutes, all three sleeping bags are rolled up and we haul them outside through at least eight inches of snow. I don’t know how it possibly accumulated that fast, but it’s terrifying to trek through the drifts that have formed in front of the tent.
Once we get everything loaded into the truck, Ryan starts the engine and we start folding the seats down to form a make-shift bed.
“We can either sleep in our own blankets, or together, to keep in the heat,” Ryan says.
“I’d rather sleep in our own blankets.”
I sit against the passenger side door while he unrolls the blanket and lays it out flat. Once he’s done, I curl up inside with my jacket still on and zip it up.
Ryan does the same, but removes his jacket to ball it up into a pillow.
I close my eyes, and all I can think about is how stupid I was for agreeing to this. This is absurd. It’s no surprise that this was Ryan’s idea in the first place.
I wake up to the sound of an engine revving, and once I come to my senses, I realize that it’s not the truck’s engine. It’s coming from outside the vehicle.
“Ryan…there’s someone outside…” I shake Ryan, and he sits up almost immediately, grabbing my hand.
“What’s wrong?”
His expression changes when he clues into the noise coming from outside. “What the fuck is that?”
“Sounds like a sled. I’ll go check it out. Stay here and lock the doors once I’m out.”
I do as he says and push the button when he closes the door behind him.
After a few seconds, the sled shuts off and I can hear Ryan talking to someone.
“We didn’t think there would be this much snowfall!” I hear Ryan say.
“Do you need anything?” a man asks.
“I think we’re good for tonight. We’ll probably head back in the morning. Possibly cut our trip short.”
“You won’t get anywhere tomorrow morning. The roads are impassible already and it’s not supposed to stop snowing for a few hours yet.”
“Shit, really?”
“I have an extra room at the cabin. It’s no trouble at all to put you in there until the roads are clear enough for travel.”
“My friend is here with me too.”
“There’s only one bed, I hope that’ll do. Your truck will make it there, but you won’t get back out for a while.”
A few seconds later, the truck door opens and Ryan hops in with a relieved look on his face. “I found us a warm place to stay until the storm blows over,” he says cheerfully.
“Is he giving any serial killer vibes?” I snicker.
“No. He’s giving old man that doesn’t want young people to freeze vibes.”
“I’m trusting your judgment,” I grin. “If we die, I’m blaming you.”
“Grab what you need from the tent. We can pack up the rest tomorrow.” He lifts the driver’s seat up into the correct position and starts the engine. “I’ll be right back.”
I can’t hear what he’s saying to the stranger, but I see the man point toward the road, then he gets back onto his sled and starts it.
Ryan gets back into the truck and we back up, then follow the man down the road, reaching a small cabin shortly after.
“It’s so little…” I say as we come to a stop and Ryan parks the truck.
“I’m sure it’s nice and cozy. Let’s grab what we need and leave the rest,” he says, killing the engine and grabbing his phone from the console.
I grab a few things and follow behind him, still a bit leery about the fact that we’re accepting help from a complete stranger. Isn’t this how it happens? Stranded hikers accepting help, only to never be seen again.
Once we all pile inside, I take a deep breath and sigh in relief when the smell of fresh bread hits my senses. I don’t dare ask for a piece, but the smell is invigorating and making my mouth water.
“I’m making breakfast here soon. Are you two okay with eggs and ham?” the man asks as he kicks off his boots and heads over to the antique stove.
“That sounds lovely,” I speak up.
“Your room is over there.” The man points to the door closest to the kitchen. “Make yourself at home.”
“Thank you,” Ryan replies, taking off ahead of me toward the room.
I grin when Ryan opens the door and I see how small the room is. The bed is a double, but it fits snug against the three walls, leaving room at the end for a small dresser and mirror.
“At least the bed is big enough for us both…” Ryan says, tossing his phone onto the bed.
“As long as you stay on your side,” I laugh.
“I’m a decent cuddler. You’re missing out.”
“Oh, I bet.”
“What should we do later? This guy must have a board game or two around somewhere. Maybe a deck of cards?”
“I highly doubt he has either of those things. He’s a hunter. I’m sure he’s not hanging out in his cabin playing cards with himself.”
“I can ask. Only if you’re up for a game of strip poker…”
“As fucking if. You can play that all by yourself.”
Ryan shoots me a flirty wink and heads off into the kitchen area. “Need any help, sir?” he asks the man.
“You can call me Doug,” he replies. “You two just relax. I think I have a few BVB’s kicking around from when I took my grand-kids hunting.”
“DVDs you mean?” Ryan chuckles.
“Yes! That’s what I meant. They’re over there by the TV.” He points in the corner and smiles.
Ryan grabs the pile and we sort through them, finally finding something that won’t officially bore us to death; National Lampoon’s Vacation.
A little while later, Doug calls us to the table, serving us a heap of ham and scrambled eggs along with what looks to be freshly squeezed orange juice.
“This looks phenomenal, Doug. Thank you again.”
“Happy to help. Weather conditions can change pretty quickly around this neck of the woods. Gotta’ be prepared, you know?”
“I guess we know for next time,” I snicker.
We all finish eating and I head to the sink to rinse off my plate, only to find that there isn’t any running water.
“I’ll take care of those later. The well is frozen. I don’t have the strength to go have a look at it.”
“Can I help with that?” Ryan asks. “I’m sure I could figure it out if you tell me what needs to be done.”
“Nah. I’ll leave it be for now. My son is supposed to be here on Monday. He takes care of those things.” Doug gets up from the table and grabs a pair of camouflage coveralls from the wall. “You two will have the place to yourselves for a while. I’m hoping to get me a deer today.”
“In this weather?” I ask, concerned.
“I have a hide up in a tree. Built it myself. Keeps the weather out just fine,” Doug replies, shooting me a friendly smile.
“We appreciate the hospitality,” I say.
“My pleasure.” He nods. “Lock the door behind me. I have a key. Never know who’s out there snooping these days. There’s a shot-gun above the door in my bedroom, if you need it.” With that, he takes off.
“He’s so sweet,” I chirp, watching him hop on the sled through the window.
“I’m glad he ran into us,” Ryan says, walking over to the DVD player to exchange the disc with another.
By the end of the next movie, we’re already bored. “Should we play twenty-one questions? Like we used to?” I ask once the credits are done rolling.
“I’m game,” Ryan nods, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. “I always won.”
I tilt my head to the side, rolling my eyes. “Fuck that—I definitely took that title.”
“Oh yeah? Let’s see who’s still got it then. You go first.” He grins in defiance.
“If you insist.” I think for a second, trying to come up with something or someone he couldn’t possibly guess right away.
A vibrator.
Surely he won’t figure that out.
“Okay, I’m ready. Shoot.”
His face scrunches up and he studies my face. “Is it a person?” he asks.
“Nope.”
“A place?”
I smirk. “No.”
“So, it’s a thing then?”
“It’s—an object.”
“Oh—now we’re getting somewhere.”
“Ask another question…”
“Can it be used?”
“Yup.”
He thinks for a moment. “Can you bring it with you?”
“You sure can.”
“Hmm…is it big?”
I scrunch my face, not knowing how to answer that. I mean, vibrators can be all different sizes. “Technically, no.”
“It’s small. You can take it with you…and it can be used. Does everybody use it?”
I start to laugh. “Everybody can most certainly use it,” I manage to say.
“Do you wear it?”
“Some are wearable…”
“Okay, now I’m confused,” he snickers. “Give me a hint.”
“It makes people really happy.”
“A phone?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Wrong!”
“What the hell was it?”
“A vibrator. I knew you wouldn’t get it,” I tease, clapping my hands together in victory.
“How the hell would I have known that? You said everybody can use them.”
“Yeah…everybody can use them.”
“How wo—ohhh…” he stammers, finally cluing into what I’m insinuating.
“It’s meant for any hole…”
His eyes widen and he shakes his head. “Fuck no.”
“It’s your turn now,” I say, pointing in his direction.
“I already decided mine when you were thinking of yours,” he announces. “Hit me with your questions…”
“Is it a person?” I ask.
“No.”
“Is it a place?”
“Nope.” He shakes his head, smirking at me.
“Can you eat it?”
He suddenly bursts out laughing, nearly snorting. “Fuck yeah, you can.”
“Please tell me you didn’t pick…pussy.”
He laughs even harder, nodding his head up and down. “Okay, maybe you are better at this game than I thought.”
“You’re fucking vile, Ryan Winchester,” I scold him, even though I can’t help but laugh myself.
I miss this. Pure, stupid, borderline immature laughter with my best friend. I bet it’s been a while since he’s been able to open up and enjoy being…himself.
“I really didn’t think you’d get that one. Fuck.”
“I literally own one, man.”
“I forget that sometimes,” he replies. “You’re my best friend, I don’t really think about your…body parts.”
“Well, that’s reassuring. Thanks,” I tease. “Let’s look around. We might find a game. If he has grand-kids, I’m sure there’s something around here that’ll keep us entertained.”
We both get up and start searching. Finally, after looking through a few shelves, I find a closet filled with nothing but puzzles, games and a ton of dice.
“Do you think he’d mind?” I ask.
“He said to make ourselves at home…” Ryan reminds me, reaching into the closet to grab one of the games.
“Trouble? Really? Of all games,” I taunt him, reaching into to grab a puzzle.
“A puzzle? Really?” he mocks, raising an eyebrow.
“I’ll play trouble—if you’ll do this puzzle with me after,” I bribe, performing my best puppy dog eyes.
He looks down at me and grins. “Deal…”
I can already tell that I’m going to regret this.
One thing about Ryan—he’s extremely competitive.
This could turn into a full blown Trouble marathon in no time.