Chapter 1 #3
Alec’s hand briefly rests on my back as he guides me around a group of giggling teenagers. Those darn sparks erupt again. “I know MMORPGs,” he says. “I haven’t played yours, but I’ve played World of Warcraft a few times. Some of my buddies play it. World of Warcraft, that is.”
“Oh, really?” We leave the park and start heading down the sidewalk.
“Yeah.” Alec glances over at me. “Where are you parked? In the parking lot? Or one of the side streets?”
“I’m parked on Bliss Boulevard.” And like I always do, I giggle as I say it. “I don’t know why, but that always makes me laugh.”
He chuckles. “I hear you. When I first moved to Bliss, I couldn’t get over how many businesses had the word bliss wedged into them. Blissful Brews. Breakfast Bliss.”
“Burger Bliss,” I add. “Blissful Sleep Motel.”
Alec shakes his head. “Never stay there. Not that you’d have to, having a house and all. But if anyone is coming to visit… I would tell them to stay someplace else.”
“I wouldn’t. It looks kind of creepy. Like the set of a horror movie, or something.”
He nods. “I can see that.”
A crisp breeze picks up, swirling around my legs and seeping through my jeans. I shiver.
“I’m sorry I don’t have a coat to lend you,” Alec adds. “I think I’m still in the pretending it’s summer stage, rather than accepting it’s actually fall.”
“Me too. That’s why I’m only wearing a sweatshirt instead of something warmer.”
“So your game.” Alec moves to my right side, so he’s between me and the road. A hint of his scent wafts towards me: an earthy blend of cinnamon and sandalwood and amber. “Do you play often? Are you in one of those guilds where you take dozens of people deep into a dungeon to kill a boss NPC?”
I look at him in surprise. “You do know about the games.”
“Gage and Knox play,” he explains. “You’ve met them at the bar. They talk about it sometimes, so I’ve picked up bits and pieces from them.”
“It’s pretty fun. My friend Jess and I are in a guild. But it’s not a hardcore raiding one. Most of the time we just go around exploring zones and questing in small groups. She just convinced her husband, Kane, to play, too. So sometimes he joins us.”
“That’s nice.” There’s an odd note to his tone. Not dismissive, like some people sound when I talk about Tenebris Veil to them, but almost… wistful. A moment later, his voice is back to normal again, as he points up ahead and asks, “Is that your car?”
I’m a little surprised he knows which car is mine.
But then again, it’s a small town. And it’s not like there are a bunch of other cars to choose from.
On the narrow side street running perpendicular to the main street cutting through downtown, my car is one of only three parked on it.
The other two are a giant SUV that could easily seat eight people and an enormous pickup I’d need a stepstool to get into.
And then, mine, the practical Subaru hatchback I bought when I moved here from Boston.
“Yup, that’s mine.” As we head towards it, a pang of disappointment spears through me. For all my protests, I’ve been enjoying our time together. And now that it’s almost over, a wistful part of me wishes it didn’t have to end.
Alec walks me over to the car and waits while I unlock it. Then he opens the door and stands off to the side while I slide into the driver’s seat. “Thanks for walking with me,” I say. “I’m sorry Frank pushed you into leaving the Stew Fest to do it, though.”
“He didn’t push me. I wanted to.” Alec shifts his giant container of soup to his other hand. “Like I said, I only came because my friends were bugging me to go out. I saw them already, so I’m good.”
Before I can reply, Alec asks, “You live outside of town, right? Out towards Morrisville?”
Small towns. People know everything.
Even in the dark, I spot a telltale flush spread across Alec’s cheeks. “I’m not stalking you,” he adds quickly. “Nothing like that. Winter mentioned it one time. That’s all.”
Winter is married to Enzo, one of Alec’s good friends and another member of Green Mountain Guardians. I’ve had plenty of conversations with her, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I mentioned where I live at some point.
“It’s fine.” I make a small it’s nothing gesture. “I do. Just off Northern Valley Road.”
“I’m out that way, too,” he says. “Off Route 5 past the overlook.” After a beat, he adds, “Be careful this weekend. If the snow hits. It gets icy out that way.”
Warmth unfurls inside me, heating my chest.
Yes, I know he’s just being polite. But still, it’s nice.
“I will.” Before I can talk myself out of it, I grasp his forearm and give it a quick squeeze. “You too.”
He smiles at me as I close the door. “Be safe, Hazel. Enjoy your game tonight. Kill a couple of bad guys for me.”
As I head home, our conversation plays on repeat in my head. Though I know I shouldn’t, I keep dissecting it; studying each tiny detail.
His smile when he first saw me.
The way he seemed more interested in talking to me than in the soup.
How interested he was in my game.
The way my body felt when he touched me.
“No,” I say out loud, breaking the silence. “I’m not interested in dating. And just because Alec was nice to me doesn’t mean he is, either.”
Unsurprisingly, there’s no answer.
If Jess were here, she’d encourage me to be open to the possibility. She’d remind me of how she never thought she’d find the one, and now, here she is. Married. Beyond happy. Even considering having kids.
But Jess isn’t here. No one is.
It’s just me, alone in my car, my headlights illuminating an otherwise empty road.
Now that I’m outside town, I bring my speed up to fifty. If it were daytime, I’d go even faster, but in the dark, on a winding road with steep hills on one side and a drop to the river on the other, I’d prefer to err on the side of caution.
And anyway, I’ll be home in plenty of time to shower and get online to meet Jess. So there’s no need to hurry.
Did he have to touch my back? Twice?
Would he have touched anyone? Or was there some meaning behind it?
Why do I care?
As I come up on the next curve, I press down on the brake.
But it feels strange. Kind of… spongy.
The car doesn’t slow.
My heart skitters.
No. It’s fine. Fine.
I press my foot down harder.
But nothing happens.
If anything, the car’s going faster.
My heart isn’t just skittering. It’s galloping. Stampeding.
I jam the brake to the floor.
Nothing.
The curve is coming up, and my car isn’t slowing.
How can this be?
I just had the car inspected last month, and it passed easily. The brakes are only a year old. They should be working just fine. I even sprang for the nicer ones at the repair shop—Max, the owner, gave me a great deal on them, and he threw in the installation for free. They should—
Why am I thinking about the deal I got on brakes?
Think about how to get the car to stop.
Now.
Oh, God. The curve is right there.
Instinctively, I yank on the emergency brake.
Nothing happens.
How is that possible?
My dad told me the emergency brake always works.
But it’s not. And I’m flying down the road, now traveling well over sixty, and that curve…
I wrestle with the steering wheel, white-knuckling it, panic rising as I desperately try to stay on the road.
The wheels slip. My headlights bounce off the rippling surface of the river.
A thunderbolt of terror crashes into me.
I’m not going to make it.
Oh, God. I’m not going to make it.
In a panic, I pound my foot against the brake pedal and pull at the emergency brake with all my strength. But it’s futile.
The guardrail looms up ahead, shining dully as my headlights hit it.
My car hurtles towards it.
What do I do?
Oh, God. What do I do?
And then.
I hit the guardrail.
For a second, I think, Maybe it’ll stop me. Maybe the airbag will deploy and I’ll end up with a broken nose, but I’ll still be on the road.
But it doesn’t.
My car crashes right through the metal. It takes flight.
My body feels weightless.
Breathless.
Time seems to stop.
In that frozen moment, it feels like I’m floating.
Then. Time speeds up again.
My car smashes into the river.
The airbag smacks me in the face, stunning me.
All around, there’s darkness.
Do something, my brain silently begs.
But what?
How do I get out of this?