“No shit,” Jenna replied stepping back from Cort. “She agreed to come?”
Cort was starting to get irritated by both of them. “Why wouldn’t she?”
“I don’t know, maybe because you guys are broken up?” Jenna said playfully as she shoved his shoulder lightly. “I’m okay with though, I liked her and that means I won’t be the only girl.”
“You wouldn’t be the only girl anyway,” Jake piped. “He also brought Katy.”
Jenna and Kevin both looked at Cort in a sort of wonder and awe. There it was again, that kind of similar look you only saw in a couple who was truly meant to be together. “You brought your ex-girlfriend and your current fuck-buddy?”
Cort sighed and looked back to the car where Katy slept to make sure she hadn’t woken up to hear what he was about to say. “Her apartment burned down, what was I supposed to do - leave her behind?”
“Was this before or after you invited Annalise?” Jenna asked, leaning onto Kevin. Cort knew they weren’t judging him, they were just judging the situation, but it aggravated him. They had probably arrived to the same idea Cort had, that it was a bad idea.
“After. It’ll be fine,” he said dismissing their questions and effectively ending the conversation. “Annalise should be here soon, in fact, that’s probably her right now,” he stated pointing to a pair of lights that were heading down the off ramp. For the first time since the morning he felt a little pit of nerves bubble up in his stomach. Annalise was here. She was going to be standing next to him in the flesh for the first time in months. Suddenly, he didn’t know how he should act. Should he hug her? Should he shake her hand? Just say hi? He decided on just saying hello, besides Jenna was the huggy person in the group. She would probably jump at Annalise the minute she got out of the car.
The sporty car Annalise drove came to a halt behind Kevin’s car although she didn’t shut if off. The door opened, and she stepped out of the car walking towards them. The brightness of her headlights created a silhouette around her that made it impossible to actually see her face but accentuated a couple things that Cort pondered. First, she had lost a significant amount of weight since he had last seen her which resulted in her breasts and hips looking more pronounced. Second, she had grown her hair out and her hair, which used to be a short bob cut similar to Jenna’s had now become tumbling waves of red locks that cascaded down her shoulders. The way the headlights were shining on her back, it almost made her look angelic or like a superhero come to save them.
As he suspected, Jenna immediately broke from the group that was currently standing around Jake’s driver side door and embraced Annalise in a warm hug. They were far enough away that whatever they were saying to each other was garbled by the sound of Annalise’s engine and the wind which had picked up since they had first parked. Annalise’s face was hidden from him by the lights behind her and he wondered what they were discussing. Was Jenna saying she was glad Annalise came? Was she warning her that he had brought another girl?
Arm in arm, the two girls walked back to the group. Kevin gave Annalise a hug and whispered something in her ear which she laughed slightly at and patted his back, and then she waved at Jake and Cort while she looked over Kevin’s shoulder at them. So that’s how this was going to be. A wave. After everything they had been through, the first thing she would do when they saw each other was wave from the arms of his best friend. He felt annoyance tug at his soul and waved back. Since there apparently wasn’t going to be a warm reception for him, it was time to get to business.
“Now that we’re all here, I guess we should figure out the game plan.” Cort said, breaking up the happy reunion that did not include him. “Originally this plan involved me already owning a house out here, but I don’t so we’re going to have to find one.”
Annalise smiled, releasing Kevin and stepping forward to push a piece of paper into his hand. “Already have one, there’s a cabin on the lake in Deep Creek sitting on 4 acres that is empty all winter. It has five bedrooms and four bathrooms.”
Cort took the piece of paper and aimed it towards the light so he could read it. It looked like a print out from a vacation rental place. “Where did you find this?”
“It’s one of my clients. Technically, the house is unrentable this winter because there’s was a flood this summer that did significant damage to the basement. They’ve already done most of the repairs and fixed the flooring but they are worried about the foundation so they didn’t want to risk putting renters in there,” Annalise explained pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up. “I don’t know if there’s a key on the property but I figured it shouldn’t be too hard to break in and stay out there for a while.”
Cort passed the piece of paper to Jake to review. “How do you know they won’t decide to come hide out here too?”
“Because they took off the entire month of December to fly to England for Christmas and I doubt they’ll come back with the state of the district.” Taking a long drag of her cigarette she smiled at the group. “There’s a wood burning fireplace and a gas grill there. Everything we need.”
Cort nodded as Jake handed the paper back to him. “Alright, you want everyone to follow you?”
“That works,” she said taking the paper out of Cort’s hands. “We waiting for anyone else?”
Jenna shook her head, “I think we have everyone from our group.”
It struck Cort as odd that Annalise was here alone. Her last text to him said she was gathering people but yet here she stood, asking them if they were waiting for anyone else. The Annalise he had known always had a group of friends around her that were willing to follow her almost anywhere. Typically they were guys, hoping for a chance to be with her, but why weren’t any of them with her now? Had she left them behind because he was here? He’d have to ask her about that later.
“Alright group,” he said, hitting the door of Jake’s jeep. “Let’s roll.”
Chapter 7: Annalise
Deep Creek Lake, Western Maryland
December 19, 2012
The ride to the house had only taken about thirty-five minutes, since there had been no other cars on the road and all the streetlights had been dark. She lightly pressed on the brakes as she turned onto the gravel driveway that she assumed should be leading her to her client’s house and glanced in the rearview to make sure all the other cars were following her. As Cort’s car, which was the tail end of their caravan pulled around the corner she sped up a little on the driveway to the house. According to her directions, the house was a mile off the road, and fairly secluded. It was the kind of house she would have loved to stay at under different circumstances, especially with Cort. She imagined if they hadn’t broken up, they probably would have spent New Years out here with the same group of people. Maybe that’s how she should take this trip, as a vacation with her friends.
She was still feeling a little off though, like something wasn’t quite right with the situation. Maybe it was because she was still reeling from seeing the guy at the gas station and hadn’t yet found a way to deal with that experience. Maybe it was because she hadn’t known how to address Cort the first time she saw him. It had been awkward, her little wave. She had hoped to embrace him, and maybe see a light in his eyes that was just for her. Instead, she had waved, and he had looked annoyed. She hoped that faded quickly, they were going to have to find a way to work together and find a common ground sooner rather than later if they weren’t going to kill each other.
When she reached the house, she pulled her car up to the garage and parked on the grass near it. She turned down her music and rolled up her windows, but didn’t get out. She had to find a way to better address Cort this time than that stupid wave. She should hug him, maybe even give him a kiss on the cheek. That would a go a long way to repairing their relationship. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the car and looked at the group of people standing in front of the garage.
The first thing she noticed was the blonde who didn’t belong. Sh
e looked impossibly perfect with her tailored and fitted jean jacket, white tank top and jeans that looked like they were painted on her. She had Dulce and Gabanna sunglasses holding her hair back out of her eyes, and she was looking at her perfectly manicured french nails like she was already bored with the situation. Most importantly, she did not look like someone who had been at the rally point before, and she did not look like the frumpy, overweight wife of her client.
Annalise’s brain feverishly searched for a reason she would be there. Maybe she was Jake’s girlfriend, but she had been right next to Jake’s Jeep and there hadn’t been anyone in the seat next to him. If she was with Jenna and Kevin they would have introduced her, Jenna would have made sure of that. The only person left was Cort. She felt a surge of anger and depression rise up in her throat. She was with Cort, and Cort didn’t have any siblings or know any girls that looked like that when she was dating him. She looked at Jenna desperately, hoping that Jenna just forgot to introduce her, but the pity look on Jenna’s face told her everything she needed to know. That perfect specimen of the human body was Cort’s girlfriend. Cort had invited her here, and he had brought his girlfriend.
Annalise felt her feet start to tingle with the urge to take the couple steps back to her car, start the engine and drive all the way to Tennessee to be with Meredith. She had made a mistake in coming here. She hadn’t even realized the fact that she had mentally assumed if Cort was bringing her here that he wanted to be with her. It was only confronted with his girlfriend that she realized all her dreams and expectations had suddenly been shattered. Cort had moved on. Cort was with someone else. Cort had put her here, in the middle of nowhere, with his someone else.
The next emotion to rise inside of her was fury and she mentally started a countdown in her head from one hundred to calm herself. She had to remain calm for at least tonight. She couldn’t leave without at least getting them into the house safely and she probably shouldn’t drive all the way to Tennessee with this anger inside of her anyway. She’d get them in the house, text Meredith and tell her she’d meet her sometime tomorrow. It was only one night. She could definitely make it one night.
“So, how do we get into the house?” Cort asked, looking at Annalise. Her hands balled up into fists at her side and she took a deep breath. He wasn’t even going to introduce her. He was just going to let her stand there looking bored, and let Annalise wonder who she was. What a coward Cort was being. It was infuriated her. Just get them into the house, she reminded herself.
“I’ll check for a key,” she responded walking towards the front door and looking for anything that would be an obvious hiding place for a key. Looking for the key at least gave her focus on something besides the perfect blonde. “There might be a st… ah ha!”
She found the stone that looked out of place, picked it up, and saw the compartment for the key under it. Reaching in and pulling out the key, she stepped towards the door. The house inside was dark like every other house they had seen on the way here but upon opening the door a rush of warm air hit her face. The power must not have been off for long for the house to be so warm. Taking a step inside, she pulled her phone out of her pocket to use it as a flashlight. There were candles in the foyer and she reached for a lighter out of her pocket to provide them with a little light.
“Wow,” Jenna said after following Annalise into the house. “This place is gorgeous. I’m going to find the bedroom with the biggest bed.”
Kevin chuckled as he stepped in behind Jenna, handing her a bag which was probably full of clothes. “Might want to drop that in there to claim it.”
Annalise moved towards what she imagined was the kitchen or living room, opening doors along the way. There seemed to be two bedrooms on the lower floor by the front door, and she guessed the other bedrooms were probably upstairs. Towards the back of the house, which faced the lake, there was a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room. She immediately went to the kitchen to see what kind of stove it had. Shining her flashlight into the kitchen, she smiled. Gas. Even if the power never came back on, they’d still be able to cook.
She heard heavy footsteps up the stairs and knew instinctively it was Jake searching for a room. With the amount of nights she had spent at Cort’s house, in Cort’s bed, she would know those footsteps anywhere. She stepped back to into the hallway to go out to her car and get one of her duffle bags, and ran right into the blonde.
“Umph! Watch where you’re going!” the perfect specimen exclaimed, taking two or three steps back, her heels making a clack every time they hit the hardwood beneath their feet.
“Sorry, it was dark, and I didn’t see you,” Annalise hurriedly apologized. She stepped around the girl quickly, rushing for the door as fast as she could without looking like she was running away. Stepping into the crisp winter air, she looked back to make sure the blonde wasn’t following her before running to confront Cort as he took stock of equipment in the back of his SUV.
She shoved him hard enough to knock him off balance and onto his ass in the driveway. “You brought your fucking girlfriend?!” she whispered with as much anger as she could get out in hushed tones. “You’re a real piece of work Cort McCoy.”
Cort stood up and dusted his jeans off. “What the hell Annalise, who said she’s my girlfriend?”
Annalise laughed bitterly. How like Cort. “Let’s skip the semantics Cort, you’re sticking your dick in her and you’ll probably be sharing a room. For all intents and purposes, as far as I’m concerned, she’s your girlfriend.”
Cort reached into his pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes, offering her one. She snatched it out of his hand and lit it up as he explained, “Yes, I brought her. Her apartment burned down and she had nowhere to go. What was I supposed to do?”
Taking another drag of her cigarette she hissed at him, “Not invite me.”
Cort looked genuinely wounded by her words, his big green eyes staring at her like she had said something that just wasn’t possible. Cort had always had the power to make her lose her anger at him by giving her that look, and she fought the urge to reach out to him, and ease his pain. He brought them both here. He should feel a little pain. Of course, Annalise was already examining her own motivations too. Cort had never said they would be getting back together, she had just hoped it. Maybe that was something that had been incorrect on her part. It wasn’t like he had said anything to this point, besides the fact that he wanted her with him, that would make her assume he actually wanted to get back together.
Fortunately, they were interrupted by the perfect blonde yelling at Cort from the doorway about which room they were taking and where he could put her stuff. Apparently the blonde was bossy too. Serves Cort right, she thought as she walked away from him to her car. She opened her trunk and grabbed the bag which had her sleeping clothes and toiletries. Putting it over her shoulder she giggled bitterly in her head, this was also the bag that had condoms in it. The condoms she had brought along with her because she subconsciously had thought she’d be able to use them with Cort. Maybe she’d leave them here with Jenna and Kevin before she took off in the morning. She walked past Cort, who was still standing against his SUV looking dumbstruck. Flicking her cigarette into the snowbank on the side of the driveway, she stepped into the house took the bedroom immediately on the right.
Throwing her bag in the corner by the closet, she flopped on the bed and looked around. The room was nice, if a little small. It was the kind of room she could stay in for a while, if Cort hadn’t brought the blonde. Across the hall she heard the muffled tones of Cort speaking to who she assumed was the blonde. They seemed to be fighting, or at least arguing over something. Shoving her face in the pillow, for the first time since she and Cort had broken up months ago, she let tears flow freely from her eyes. She cried for the man at the gas station, for the people in DC, for the fate of the nation, but mostly, she cried for herself and the fact that in the span of twenty-four hours her entire world had collapsed upon itself.
>
She pulled her phone from her pocket and looked at the service bars. Still no service, so she couldn’t call Meredith. She was about to put it back in her pocket when she noticed the date. December 12th, 2012. So the Mayan’s prediction came true nine days earlier than expected.
“Well played Mayans,” she whispered. “Well played.”
Chapter 8: Cort
Deep Creek Lake, Western Maryland
December 13, 2012
Cort woke up early the next morning, throwing his feet over the edge of the bed and stretching quietly. Katy was sleeping beside him and he didn’t want to wake her this early. He had argued last night over the situation with Katy, which he had expected, and he was in no mood to resume that discussion. Besides, he had to somehow figure out a way to handle Annalise this morning, which would be much easier to do with Katy asleep. He hadn’t expected the anger that had come from Annalise last night and he wasn’t quite sure what he did to provoke it. He searched his brain for the text messages he had sent her, it wasn’t like any of them had professed an undying love or even suggested they were getting back together. He just wanted her here. Anything she assumed from them, well, that was her problem. As much of a hard ass as he was trying to be this morning though, he remembered the quiet sobs coming from her room across the hall last night while he unloaded the rest of the car. Every single one had wracked him deep inside his soul. He didn’t want to be the harbinger of pain to anyone, least of all Annalise.
Slipping out of bed, he reached into his duffle bag for the blue robe he brought with him and put it on, tying it tightly around his waist. Hopefully he was up before everyone else and he could have a conversation with Annalise without being interrupted. Stepping out into the hall, he looked towards the living area to see if anyone was awake. Annalise was standing in front of the sliding glass doors that overlooked the lake. The light of the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon making the lake glimmer in the distance. He held his breath as he watched Annalise rub her shoulders slowly. He had imagined this before, only it wasn’t in this situation, and they were together. He felt a tightness begin to unravel below his waist and fought a battle to calm himself before her took a step towards her. On his second step, she turned around, her impossibly blue eyes meeting his. She always had the most expressive and beautiful eyes. A guy could get lost in those eyes.
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