Chapter Six
“You are quite the handyman, Babe. Fixing toilets and magically making hot water appear and, as if that isn’t enough, you make me lunch.
I’m a lucky woman.” I wink at him as I set my plate down on the side table next to me.
I finally feel like I’m on vacation as I lean back and take a deep breath of the fresh, forest air.
We decided to eat on the front porch where there are some surprisingly comfortable rocking chairs.
They had been calling to me since I woke up this morning.
I feel Luke looking at me, so I turn my head toward him as I peek one eye open.
“I lit a match and put peanut butter on bread. While I appreciate the low expectations, I think we can do a bit better. Maybe we should go searching for that meadow you mentioned? Start working our way through that list of yours.” He reaches over and takes my hand, leaning forward and kissing it.
I close my eyes again and silently nod, laying my head back on the chair as I rock myself gently.
I let myself enjoy the sounds of nature for a few moments before glancing over at Luke.
“Honestly, what I’d love right now is to have you move this chair into the yard so I can sit in the sun and maybe read a little?
” I ask it in a part question-part statement kind of way as I look at him with my best puppy dog eyes and pouty lip combo.
“I won’t even make you join me. You can go exploring to your heart’s content which I know you would rather do anyway. ”
“You don’t want to explore with me?”
“No, I do. I just really need to decompress a little. It hasn’t been exactly the most restful start to our trip and an hour with my book boyfriend is just what the doctor ordered.” I get up, walk over and sit across his lap as I wrap my arms around his neck.
“I can’t believe you want to ditch me for your fairy porn, and on our romantic getaway,” he says in an overly sad voice. He wraps his arms around me, so I know he is teasing.
“Oh stop, you won’t be complaining later when I ask you to act out certain parts.” I lean in to kiss him but at the last moment, I bite his lip instead. He squints his eyes mischievously, and I prepare myself for his revenge, but he only pats my leg.
“Fine, go get your book and I’ll get your spot all set up but I expect detailed notes of what I can look forward to tonight.” I hop up, clapping my hands excitedly as I watch him stand up after me. He grabs my rocking chair and starts to take it down the steps.
“Oh, I already have it right here, all ready to go,” I say as I grab my book that was hidden behind the side table. He looks back at me with a “really” look, so I flash him an extra big smile. “One must always be prepared. Isn’t that you and your dad’s motto?”
Luke laughs. “Sure. Bear spray, smut book. Potato, potahto.” He walks across the yard and sets the chair down in one of the few sunny spots.
The grass is overgrown which makes me a little uneasy as I walk barefoot in it, so I start to tip-toe, hopping my way after him.
“Madam,” he says as he turns toward me. When I look up at him, he is staring at me with an amused look on his face. “What’re you doing?”
“Nothing… I didn’t put my shoes on so I’m just watching out for snakes.”
“Well, why didn’t you put shoes on?” He crosses his arms, chuckling a little.
“Listen. Shut up. Thank you for the chair.
You're dismissed.” I drop down into the chair and stick out my tongue at him.
He laughs before kissing the top of my head and walking away.
I pull my legs up to my chest, shivering a little, and feeling happy that I decided to bring a blanket out with me so I can get extra cozy.
As Luke moves a few steps away, I give in and start catcalling him.
He shakes his head without looking back but I can imagine the expression on his face which makes me smile to myself.
Out of habit, I have my phone with me, but I’m mostly using it to keep track of the time at this point. It’s exactly 12:12 pm. Must be good luck. I decide I’ll only read for an hour. I don’t want to take up too much of Luke and my time together.
____
I end up getting lost in my book’s world and the drama the characters get themselves in and out of.
When I come up for air, I have no idea how many chapters I’ve read or how much time I’ve spent.
The sunshine on my skin is warming me inside and out, making me feel like I’m in a hazy dream.
It’s been so relaxing that I wish I could stay here forever and I realize just how normal I feel.
I haven’t had any anxious thoughts or feelings that someone is watching me.
I look at the land around me and at the cabin, marveling at how pretty this place is in the daylight.
It’s overgrown and run down, yes, but that also makes it feel like it’s part of another world.
One where the Earth has begun to take back control–-rabbits hiding in the grass and ivy climbing the walls, while the trees start slowly creeping further onto the property.
The secrets that are hidden here are probably more than can be discovered and I decide I like that.
This is what reading does for me; it pushes me to romanticize everything and wish I could be one of those characters who are brave and passionate and always ready to try new things.
A small gust of wind blows through and I shiver, realizing that I’m cold.
When I look up, I notice the sun is much lower than I thought it was.
I look back at my phone and it’s now 3:27 pm.
I’ve been reading for three hours? My eyes fly open and I’m unable to figure out how I let this happen.
Luke is probably super annoyed with me by now.
Actually... where is he? It’s not like him to let me wile away this much time uninterrupted.
I get up, setting my book down on the chair with my blanket, to go look for him.
I look around the property but don’t see him, so I walk back over to the cabin.
I stick my head in the door and yell for him.
After calling a few times and waiting with no answer, I decide to stay outside and keep searching before the sun gets any lower.
I walk around the cabin, my eyes occasionally darting to the windows like my mind thinks I might see someone standing inside the cabin.
Each window I pass, my anxiety spikes a little higher.
As I get to the backyard, I almost trip on a huge box on the ground.
No. It’s not a box. At first, I can’t make out what it is, but as I lean down and get closer, I think it’s actually a solar panel.
I walk around to the front of it and notice there are two more sitting right next to it.
This must be how the house has electricity, which makes sense since it’s so remote.
I reach out and brush the dust and dirt from the glass and am shocked at how dirty it actually is.
I can see my reflection now in the spot I cleared.
A shadow darts to the side behind my small reflection, causing my breath to catch as I spin around.
The yard is empty behind me, and I wonder then if it was Luke playing a prank on me.
“Luke? Where are you?” As my voice echoes through the clearing, I realize how eerily quiet it is out here.
I start tearing at my fingernails as I get back to searching, quickly becoming more frantic.
I remind myself to keep calm. It’s not going to help anything to get worked up and if anything, it will only help my mind wander more.
If I let my anxiety get control of me then I will spiral fast.
It isn’t like Luke to wander off without letting me know.
The car is still here, so he didn’t leave completely.
I remember seeing a small shed on the property.
Maybe he’s snooping through the owners’ things.
The man has no boundaries so it wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Combined with his ADHD, he could have gotten really sucked into that, probably turning it into some kind of organization project.
I make my way over there, and as I get closer, I notice ivy has been winding its way up every surface of the shed.
It would be easy to tell if Luke had been in there and from the looks of it, no one has been for a long time.
Panic is starting to take over but I try to talk myself down. I know I can jump to conclusions easily and usually the worst ones. I stop and take a few deep breaths, willing myself not to freak out. Luke is fine. I told him to go explore and that’s what he’s doing.
As I walk to the edge of the woods, I keep my eyes low to the ground.
Feelings of dread creep into me with every step I take.
I can’t make myself look into that dense forest, not when I’m standing so close, but I let out a shaky breath and force myself to look up.
My eyes scan through the tall trees, the ones along the edge of the property.
As far as I can see none of the trees have leaves.
There aren’t even any on the ground. The barren trees make the forest look empty and lifeless.
They make me feel dizzy as I stare at them.
They seem to sway back and forth ever so slightly.
Their arms almost look like they’re reaching out to me–for me.
When I look up to the tops of the trees, a little bit of the sky is peeking out.
It’s getting dark faster now that we are this far into fall and the sun has almost set now.
I take a hesitant step forward, tempted to walk into the trees and search for Luke myself.
I feel something hard under my foot and it’s then I realize I’m still barefoot.
When I move my foot, I can just barely see something peeking out of the grass below.
I squat lower, picking it out of its hiding place.
It’s a gold heart-shaped locket. It is surprisingly delicate looking to have survived being outside for who knows how long.
I stand back up, bringing it close to my face as I try to get a better look in the dimming light.
I can just barely make out what I think is a cursive M.
I run my thumb along the pendant, feeling its shape engraved into the metal.
I hear a branch crack in front of me, quickly bringing my attention back to where I am.
Panicked, I shove the necklace into my pocket before bringing my gaze back up toward the trees.
I’m shocked at how dark it's gotten inside the woods. I’m slightly startled as I think I see something further into the trees.
As I squint my eyes, two small, yellow lights come into focus in the distance.
“Luke?” I call out shakily. The lights disappear so fast I wonder if I imagined them.
Before I have time to think, something crashes through the trees.
It sounds like someone is breaking them down.
I scream as I fall backwards, my breath heaving in and out of me as my eyes race side to side along the tree line.
I stand up fast, stumbling a few steps backwards as I yell this time, “Luke!” I hear crunching, but the sun has set now, so I can’t see anything.
I’m about to run back to the cabin when Luke pops into the clearing with wide eyes.
He rushes over to me, grabbing hold of my arms and asking worriedly, “Hey, what’s going on? What happened?” He starts looking around the yard frantically. I push him off me as several emotions hit me at once, anger taking root first.
“What do you mean? What happened to YOU? Where were you? You just go into the woods by yourself, without letting me know and stay there until dark? I couldn’t find you.
You didn’t leave a note or anything. I was scared, Luke.
You can’t do that!” I’m yelling, not realizing that tears have started streaming down my face.
I can see on his that he is taken aback and doesn’t know how to respond.
He drops his backpack to the ground and pulls me into his arms and even though I don’t want to, I hold onto him tight, bury my face in his chest and sob.
“I’m sorry, Hanna. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I would never mean to scare you. I just lost track of time and I know that’s not a good excuse but I promise, I will never do it again. Tell me how I can make it up to you.”
I think through several responses, varying from mean to overly forgiving but ultimately decide it doesn’t help to do either.
Instead, I wipe the tears from my eyes and sink a little deeper into his arms, letting him comfort me before saying, “I’m ready for the three-course meal and movie part of the evening, please.
” He holds me tighter, laying his cheek on the top of my head.
“We can do that.”