Wicked Winter Night

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Day Before Christmas Eve

The road is blurry as I fight back the tears forming in my eyes.

Snow falls fast on the ground outside, and the roads are slick.

Crying would only make my anxiety worse about having to drive in these conditions, but I had to leave.

I couldn’t stay there any longer. Catching my own fiancé fucking my best friend in our bed was not what I expected to happen two days before Christmas.

I might have lost my shit and thrown a few things at them, but can ya blame a girl?

Liam and I had been together for eight years, and I caught him balls deep in Kaci, my best friend of fifteen years.

Fuck both of them. May they never know a moment’s peace moving forward.

I hope my face haunts their dreams. May both sides of their pillows always be hot, and I hope that every time they’re about to orgasm, it fades. Fuck love. And fuck friendships.

My body is vibrating, and it’s not from the cold.

I feel like I could scream until my heart gives out, but in an effort to prevent myself from completely spiraling, I decided to make a drive out to my family's cabin in the woods. Just a peaceful, quiet Christmas alone. I can’t go home because I don’t want to deal with the interrogation from my mother and sister.

How could you have missed the signs? What did you do to make him stray?

He’s such a nice man, you should try to make it work.

I can only handle my family in small doses as an adult, and that’s just a type of medicine I don’t want to take right now.

Looking back on a few things, I can see how I was stupid and naive in some situations, but forgive me for thinking adults could be friends without wanting to rip each other's clothes off. Thankfully, I can get a little Christmas spirit at the cabin, considering it’s where we all used to go to spend Christmas together.

There should still be a flocked Christmas tree and some decorations in the attic I can use to spruce up the place.

I made a pit stop at the grocery store to pick up what I need to get me through a few days, including a nice Christmas dinner I can make.

I can get through this. Fuck men. Fuck best friends.

The only thing I know is that I always have myself, and I always survive.

The snow begins falling faster onto the ground the closer I get to the cabin.

The sky is pitch black, only lit by the moon’s soft glow and the twinkling of the stars.

The heat in my car is on full blast, and I’m bundled in my favorite sweat suit.

F.U.R.B (F U Right Back) by Frankee blares loudly on the speakers, and I am belting the words with rage-filled anger when my phone slides off the seat.

“Shit,” I whisper to myself.

I bend down, trying to keep my head above the dashboard and stick my arm out, reaching around the floorboard.

It’s just out of reach as my fingertips graze the edge.

I push further, taking my eyes off the road for a split second and grab it, sitting back upright in my seat.

Just as my eyes hit the road again, they widen, noticing a man standing in the middle of the pavement, and I slam on my brakes and jerk my wheel to the left.

The tires slip and slide on the slick ground, and I scream, trying to right the wheel of my car while moving in the direction of my tires.

The car spins out twice before coming to a stop, facing the wrong way on the road, right where the guy had been standing.

My heart is pounding in my chest, and I feel like it’s going to explode.

My hands are gripping the steering wheel so tight, my knuckles have turned sheet white.

“What the fuck,” I whisper to myself, staring at the empty road illuminated by my headlights.

I didn’t feel a bump, so I know I didn’t hit him.

Or did I? Did I just hit someone?! I frantically unbuckle my seatbelt and throw the door open, grabbing my thicker coat from the passenger seat and throwing it over my body.

The snow crunches beneath my boots as I rush over to where I last saw the man standing.

“Hello?” I shout. “Is anyone there?”

Silence. There’s nothing but the sound of the snow falling and the distant sound of the whooshing of my windshield wipers.

“Hello?” I shout again, moving to each side of the road, searching around. “Is anyone hurt?”

Again, silence greets me, and I’m left stunned by what could have happened. If I didn’t hit him, then shouldn’t he have at least checked on me after spinning out? I mean, it was his fault that he was in the middle of the road. If it had been another car, he might not have been so lucky.

I spend the next 10 minutes searching up and down the street for any signs of a body, but I come up empty.

If someone were here, he’s gone now, and I can’t stand out here anymore.

I can’t feel my hands or face, and I’m pretty sure the snot running down my nose has frozen to my face.

Walking back to my car, I take one more look over my shoulder, but the result is the same.

I get in my car, shoving my face and hands into the heat from the vent before I put it in drive, turn around, and head toward the cabin.

What the hell just happened?