Chapter 1 #2
“Okay. It’s really snowing,” I say, biting down on my lip nervously as the wind whips around my truck.
“You’ll be fine,” he grunts. “Worst case scenario put it in four-wheel drive and keep going. You’re close enough to make it.”
“Yeah.” I swallow the nerves pummeling me as the weather seemingly worsens with every passing second. I drive at a steady speed, ignoring the crunch of the snow under my tires.
“Have you passed anymore roads?” Adam’s voice chimes in my ear.
“No,” I answer him flatly. “Though, I’m not sure I could even read the sign if I did.”
“You’re going to have to try and read it, Em.”
“I know,” I snap back at him. “I will.”
“You’ll be fine,” he hums with an air of annoyance. “Just keep driving and take a few deep breaths. It’s going to take a little bit for the roads to get unmanageable, and I have plenty of supplies here for us to wait out the blizzard.”
“Blizzard?” I echo him, surprised. “I thought you said it was just supposed to just snow.”
“Yeah, it’s Colorado, honey. Just drive.”
Keeping Adam on the line, I grit my teeth as press down on the accelerator. As I do, the back end of the truck spins out, and my heart jumps to my throat. Slow and steady wins the race. My palms begin to sweat, and I reach forward and turn down the heat in the cab.
At least the crappy weather is a distraction from the conversation we’re going to have when I get there.
“See anything?” he asks again.
I squint into the snow. “Um, it looks like…” I catch sight of what looks like a side road off to my left, but it’s nearly impossible to read the sign. Still, I squint, attempting to read the blur. “Ugh… Thirty-six, maybe?”
He’s silent for a second. “Hang on.”
I swallow hard. “Please tell me you know where I am.”
He huffs. “Of course, I do. I’m just figuring how much further you have to go. I don’t usually come in that way. I take the highway all the way to the turn off.”
“Why did my GPS bring me this way?” I think aloud, my voice tinged with my inner panic.
“It’s probably shorter, but the road sucks through there. It’s fine though, you only have about a mile and half to go. Start paying attention to the dash.”
“Right,” I glance down and then reset my trip to make sure I don’t miscount. “Got it. What’s the entrance look like again?”
“Black gate on the right side of the road. You can’t see the cabin from the road or entrance. It’s a fairly long drive, but you should be able to make it. If not, I’ll come get you.”
“Yeah, I should’ve left earlier,” I mutter as I watch the tenths of a mile tick by. “I should’ve just come with you.”
“You’re the one who had the writing workshop, Em.”
I roll my eyes. “And you’re the one who wouldn’t wait for me.”
“Really?” he spouts off in a condescending tone, one that’s become a regular occurrence. “I told you I’d wait, and you said not to worry about it. I can’t read your fucking mind. I don’t have superpowers.”
“Yeah, sorry.” I swallow the hurt and notice as my trip hits 1.2 miles. “I should be getting close.”
“Great.”
I take a deep breath, and to my right, I see an entrance with a large black metal gate—but my heart sinks. “I thought you said the gate was open.”
He’s silent. “Is it a black gate?”
“Yeah, surrounded by trees,” I note through the whipping snow.
He sighs. “I may have shut it last night when I got in. It’s just out of habit. My parents don’t like it left open. You never know who might drive up. The isolation out here attracts strange people sometimes.”
My shoulders slump as I slow down and turn into the entrance. “I’ll open it then.” Snow is already creating drifts and I grab my parka from the passenger seat, psyching myself up for the brutal cold. I wriggle into it and leave the phone on the console as I head out.
The wind slaps me across the face as it catches my truck door.
“Holy crap,” I groan, forcing it closed before trudging to the gate.
With freezing hands, I fumble with the dummy locked lock.
I unwrap the chain, hanging it off to the side.
I slide the bolt style bar, and push against the metal pickets to swing the gate inward.
It gives with a wretched squeal, and I shove it open enough for my truck to fit through.
My feet are already freezing, and the bottom of my jeans are wet from the snow. I jog back to my truck and climb in, shaking off the cold. Forget this. Maybe I don’t like the snow. Maybe I don’t want a white Christmas.
I smash the gas as I pick up the phone. “I’ll be there in a second.”
“Sorry I didn’t open it. But I swore it was open.” His tone actually contains some remorse, and while it’s not a lot, it brings a little relief.
“It’s okay,” I say, once again putting the truck in park as I clear the gate. “Do you want me to shut and lock it?”
“Yeah, if you can. Like I said, you never know who might show up. Better to make it harder for someone to get in.”
“Yeah, I’m locking it,” I mutter, my mind humming with a repeat of all the true crime documentaries I’ve watched.
I climb out into the elements, bracing against the wind.
I shut the gate and then click the master lock shut all the way, no longer leaving it dummy locked.
I return to the truck and pick the phone up as I shut the door. “Okay, well the chain is locked now.”
“Wait, what?”
“What?” I repeat it back to him, confused. “You just said to lock it, right? You never know who might show up…?”
“Honey…” Adam’s voice trails off in a way that makes me instantly nervous. “There’s no chain lock on the gate—just a slide on the inside. The Master Lock broke the last time my parents were here, and they haven’t replaced it. I thought you meant lock as in shut the gate.”
I pause. “So… There’s not a Master Lock with a chain?”
“No…”
“So then what the fuck did I just do?” I exasperate. “I just locked myself in—wherever the hell I am.”
“Share your location with me,” Adam’s voice picks up a concerned tone. “I need to see where you are. I know most of the people around here…But there’s no one close to us with a black gate. You had to have gotten turned around or something. Maybe you entered the address wrong.”
My heart jumps with panic as the wind howls around the truck, rocking it. I reach for my phone and try to share my location with Adam, but the screen freezes. “It’s not working.”
“It’s probably the weather,” Adam says, his voice still calm. “Just drive up and tell them you got turned around. I can meet you there—wherever you are.”
I have no idea if anyone is even going to be there when I pull up. I don’t even know if this is a house. “I might as well just go home,” I blurt out as I squeeze my eyes shut, fear thrumming through my body.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Adam snaps. “Why would you leave? We’ve had this planned since summer, and for the record, you’d never make it out of here with the blizzard coming in.”
“Catie told me what you told Aaron,” I throw it out there, irritation, hurt, and frustration beating in my chest as I smash the gas and start the ascent into the trees.
“What are you talking about?”
“He said you told him this isn’t going anywhere—and that this whole two-week holiday alone is for everyone to think you’re trying to make things work with me.” I want to rip my hair out, knowing this is a terrible time to do this. I should’ve stayed quiet.
Because Adam sure as hell is now.
I glance in the rearview as the lump grows in my throat. I can’t see the gate anymore, and I feel like I’ve been swallowed by trees. My front tires bust through snow drifts as I continue, and as I careen forward I spin out.
“I guess you’re not going to say anything to that,” I mutter, as I shift into four-wheel drive. “Cool.”
“There’s no point being like that,” Adam hits back. “I was drunk, and things have been a wreck between us. I am trying. You can’t listen to anything my brother says.”
“Yeah, well, maybe it’s time to just throw the towel in,” I huff. God forbid he ever be the problem.
“Great. Whatever. Just call me when you know wherever the fuck you are. As soon as this shit clears, we’ll go our separate ways. Isn’t that what you want, Em?” I can hear the hurt in his voice as he hangs up the phone, and I toss it into the passenger seat…
Right as my truck gets stuck.