Sin: A Survival Romance Fiction (Her Story Trilogy Book 1)

by Kensley Hatch

  “Either it’s abandoned, or they’re idiots for getting frozen out through an open window. Either way, I think we stand a pretty good chance.”

  Summer hesitated, looking from Julian to the cabin.

  “You’re that scared?” Julian baited.

  She stood up straight and pushed Julian out of the way, and he spun excessively with the force, causing Summer to smirk at his drama.

  “I’m never scared.” She threw at him as she went up the creaking stairs of the front porch.

  Julian ran to catch up with her, and together they opened the front door that was already slightly ajar. The first smell that hit them was mildew from the wet carpet near the window. They carefully walked through the entryway with its dusty furniture and bare walls. Summer still held the ax in her hand, and she was scanning every dark shadow that could pose a possible threat. Julian had taken out his knife, and his curiosity also had an element of caution as he followed her into the hallway.

  “Hello?” Summer called, looking down the row of closed doors.

  No answer.

  “Hello!” She repeated, louder this time.

  She grabbed a baseball bat sitting against the wall of the hallway and gave it to Julian, motioning for him to follow her as she made her way to the closed doors. She swiftly swung open the first door and Julian went into the room carrying the bat like a club. However, the room was empty besides an old mattress and after thoroughly examining the contents of the room, they proceeded down the row of other rooms, each time discovering only unoccupied spaces. The cabin truly appeared to be abandoned as nothing stirred with their search and the tenseness in Summer’s shoulders lowered a bit.

  “Let’s go check out the kitchen.” She suggested, this time taking Julian’s hand.

  It looked like the house may have already been rummaged through by whoever might have found it before them or maybe the owners had simply stocked up before leaving. Regardless, they found a couple of loaves of molded bread in the cupboards, a few packets of hot chocolate, and a box of microwavable popcorn on top of the fridge. When Julian opened the pantry door, two mice scurried from their hiding places and vanished in a hole chewed through one of the baseboards. There was a tipped over box of cereal on the ground where the mice had apparently been having their feast.

  “Someone planned on having fun up here,” Julian said, pointing to the bottles of whiskey on the top shelf.

  Summer poked her head in to get a better view.

  “We should take them. I’m sure Stephanie knows how to use them medicinally.”

  She peered further in and eagerly took down several boxes of crackers down from a shelf with a half empty case of tuna cans.

  She placed them on the counter, and when she turned around, Julian was waiting for her with his hands behind his back.

  “What did you find?” She asked, piqued by the secretive look on his face.

  He moved his hands from behind him to reveal an already opened box of Oreo cookies.

  “Your favorite.”

  Summer took them from his hands and opened the covering. To her delight, two full stacks had been left untouched, and she closed it again quickly.

  “For later.” She pronounced and headed up the stairs in the living room.

  They searched through the closets of the bedrooms and found a large coat that Michael could grow into and several windbreakers that they put in a pile on one of the twin beds. Their findings in the shoe department were less successful since all that had been left were sandals and high heels.

  “Bridger would look good in these.” Julian offered, holding up a pair of shiny black stilettos.

  Summer snorted at the idea and draped a teal prom dress across her torso.

  “Maybe, but I think Phil would look better in this.”

  She twirled the dress bombastically, while Julian nodded his head enthusiastically.

  “You’re right.”

  “I always am.” Summer replied flippantly, throwing her ponytail behind her shoulder.

  Julian shook his head at this open display of playfulness that he wasn’t used to seeing compared to her usual reserved and serious demeanor. Summer unzipped her coat and Julian couldn’t help but notice the graceful curves of her hips contrasted with the petite waist that was often covered by the obscurity of her winter clothing. Julian realized he was staring and quickly averted his eyes to avoid looking like he had been lingering for too long.

  “Look at that!” He suddenly pointed out the window and opened the double doors that led out onto a small balcony.

  The sun was setting, and the sky was stained with vibrant reds and oranges that filled the air with color and light. Summer stepped out onto the balcony with him, and they watched as the sunset’s hues grew darker and even more pigmented.

  “You know, for being in nature all of this time I have forgotten to appreciate the beauty of its wonders.” Summer reflected, trying to remember when she had last taken the time to watch a sunset.

  “Sometimes that happens. We don’t recognize the beauty that is right in front of us.” Julian agreed as he watched her unaware face bask in the glowing light. He swallowed and went back inside of the double doors.

  Summer stayed on the balcony until the sun had finally hidden itself behind the horizon. It intrigued her how the sun could seem to move so slowly throughout the day, and yet once it reached a certain point in its descent, it was only a matter of moments between when it had barely touched the horizon to when its last rays could be seen as it transcended out of sight. The landscape below her was dimmed with the sun’s departure, and Summer went back inside to try and find Julian.

  He wasn’t inside of the bedroom, but as she descended the stairs, she saw light flickering from below. When she reached the bottom step, there were four lanterns spread out in the living room at the edges filling the room with an ambient delicacy as the flames flickered in the night air.

  “Look what I found.” Julian’s voice was beyond ecstasy as he held up an old boombox with prominent round speakers. “It’s battery powered!” He flipped the stereo over to reveal a battery compartment without a covering. Two of the six batteries were missing. Summer eagerly went over and grabbed the old piece of technology.

  “Do you think it still works?”

  Summer anxiously looked around the room in search of something. She ran to the couch and picked up a TV remote.

  “There’s only one way to find out.” She replied and popped off the sliding piece of plastic to reveal two batteries inside of the remote. She quickly removed them and then put them into the empty slots of the boombox. The unmistakable sound of static immediately emanated from the two speakers causing Julian and Summer to jump from its loudness. Julian set it down onto the wooden floor, and after lowering the volume, Summer began twisting at the knob trying to possibly find a news channel.

  The ability to hear from the outside world had long since been denied to them, and Summer meticulously moved through each tick of the knob trying to listen for any words that would form out of the static. News from Europe. The chance of a coalition coming to fight back against the international law that had been broken with the attack on America. Aid for the survivors. At this point, Summer would take anything besides the starved existence of complete ignorance that she was currently in. Julian was rummaging through a shelf of old cassettes and CDs sitting against a wall as they listened to the changing frequencies of static.

  A human voice suddenly blared from the speakers and Summer hushed Julian as she ticked the knob slightly between the two directions trying to get a clearer signal. However, she soon removed her hand from the controls when she recognized the language being spoken. It was Chinese. Summer sat back on her knees and dejectedly listened to the authoritarian voice yell out in military fashion words she couldn’t understand. She sat there with her shoulders slumped until she angrily flippe
d the switch to turn off the radio. She looked up at Julian hopelessly.

  “It was worth a shot.” Julian offered after some silence. “I may have found something that is more encouraging, though.” He said, remembering the cassette he was holding in his hand. He grabbed a lantern and sat down next to Summer, handing her the tape that was still in its case.

  “Take it out.” He instructed, holding the light closer so she could see.

  Summer obediently opened the plastic case and saw a tape with three words scribbled on the label.

  “Summer Road Trip 2004.” Julian read for her. “This is your mix!” He opened the tape player and inserted the cassette excitedly.

  The sound was slow for a second, but then a smooth guitar and vocals started playing at normal speed. The tune was recognizably the classic Something Stupid by Sinatra.

  “It’s music.” Summer breathed in amazement.

  Julian smiled and pulled Summer to her feet.

  Summer hesitated as Julian grabbed her hands and stepped side to side with the beat.

  “I’m not really in the mood.” She protested, but Julian held onto her hands and spun her, causing an involuntary spurt of laughter as she went around. Julian twirled her again, but this time quickly threw her into a dip, causing another spill of laughter.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” She pretended to chide him.

  With a glint of mischief in his eye that reminded her of his irresistible insufferability when she first knew him in college, Julian pulled her up from the dip, but continued to lead her.

  “I’m dancing.” He beamed, but added, “Though I’ve always been lousy at it.”

  Summer’s own body could refute that claim as she found herself being smoothly whisked back and forth as Julian’s strong hands continued to guide her with the rhythm of the song. There was something alluring in the touch of his hands that directed her firmly so that it was clear and effortless to follow the movements of his body. Yet at the same time, they held the element of delicacy as his fingers traced along her arm and back when he turned her and brought her back to him. She tried ignoring the lyrics that spoke of falling too fast, yet Julian placed his large hands on her waist and she suddenly felt an electric thrill run up her spine. Her skin tingled with anticipation as she naturally wrapped her arms around his neck in response to his hands placed on her hips. She felt the heat rise to her face and quickly shifted her eyes away from his chiseled jawline and penetrating eyes.

  “I don’t think I’m very good at this either.” She offered, referring back to his original comment in an attempt to draw attention to anything other than her sudden awareness of how close their bodies were to each other.

  “You’re perfect.” He almost whispered, lifting her chin gently with the tip of his fingers and causing another shot of electricity to pulse through Summer’s veins.

  In a place that seemed a thousand miles away now, a humming sound came from the analog tape as the song finished and it continued to spin without a recording. Julian looked down at Summer, and she backed away, trying to control the sensory overload that was overwhelming her with each new barrier that they broke together. The distance that had pervaded their relationship at the beginning of their reunion seemed like it had been born in another life and tonight was the beginning of something terrifyingly, yet inescapably and exhilaratingly new. Her hair had come out of its ponytail and the long golden waves floated down past her shoulders, framing her face with near angelic grace. Summer tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked out the huge windows that covered the eastern wall of the living room.

  A full moon shone in the dark sky and provided extra light to the room. The tape clicked as it played the next recording, and the soft strains of a piano slowly filled the space around them. Summer turned back to Julian, who had stayed where she had left him.

  “It’s Clair De Lune.” She whispered, pointing at the stereo helplessly.

  Julian nodded, but his eyes were like fire as he watched her standing there, bathed in the moonlight. She had never looked more beautiful than tonight. Unadorned, yet ravishing, as her eyes shimmered with the light of the moon and her wide-eyed expression only accentuated the ripeness of her lips and elegance in the curves of her figure. She felt a slight tremble ripple through her body as the melody of the tender delay between the piano chords seemed to be pulling her to him. She took a step forward, but Julian remained perfectly still, his eyes never moving from hers, locked in the certainty of what would happen next. She came closer even as her heart pounded in her ears, and it felt like her only experience in life had been staring into those brilliant blue eyes that were devouring the sight of her. He gently pulled her closer with his hand around her lower back. Summer’s eyes shifted as she searched his face and she tried to smile, but instead, her lips merely quivered. He brought up his other hand and placed it on the back of her head, intertwining it with her hair that shimmered like gold in the light of the moon. Slowly, Julian got closer until she felt the softness of his lips on hers. He pressed in a little harder, and Summer’s muscles loosened as the moment of surprise turned to pleasure with her realized desire.

  Now she was sure they could never go back to the way they were before and it wasn’t something that she regretted. Feeling her body pressed against his, renewed the electrification that shot through her veins and exposed the hidden passion of the man whom she had never dared show her own to before tonight. She could feel the bulge of his arms as he pulled her tighter into him and kissed her with a strength that would have caused her to step back if he wasn’t holding her so firmly. Summer’s mind no longer thought words as she felt his lips on her mouth, but her body was consumed with a burning euphoria that made time seem to stand still in reverence of this moment.

  A creak sounded from the hallway, and Summer pulled away, staring into the darkness behind Julian. She looked back at him with concern, but he seemed hardly worried with a light smile of wonder gracing his face.

  “That was—”

  “Shh!” Summer pressed her finger against his lips and looked back into the hallway.

  “Who’s there?” She called into the darkness. No one answered.

  “Old houses creak sometimes.” Julian kissed her finger and then took it in his hand. “It’s late, though. Let’s grab the food and go.”

  “What about everything else?” Summer gestured upstairs.

  “We’ll have to come back for it. There’s no way we could carry everything with just the two of us.”

  “Right.” Summer agreed and hurried to the kitchen to get the food they had found. She and Julian carried it outside and closed the front door behind them. The air was crisp, and Summer’s skin tingled as it adjusted from the warmer temperature of the cabin. Summer was about to go down the stairs when Julian caught her arm and pulled her back to him. She looked up at him breathlessly.

  “What?” She asked once again meeting those bright ocean eyes.

  “You didn’t let me finish what I was saying.” He paused, but Summer waited, content to be close to him as he still held her arm.

  “I was starting to say that that was better than I had ever imagined it.”

  Summer blinked.

  “You’ve imagined that happening before?”

  Julian tipped his head and kissed her forehead, lingering with his lips pressed against her skin.

  “Ever since the night when we caught the pheasants, my imagination has had a hard time thinking of anything else.”

  Summer didn’t answer, but let herself simply feel the moment. Together, they headed back to camp with the case of tuna and boxes of crackers. The trek back to camp felt much quicker than when they had first made it, and Summer regretted having to leave the frozen dream with Julian’s warm body and her alone. She craved to have more of him, yet when they entered the circle of light that the fire was giving off, the first thing Summer noticed was t
he apprehension that was in Michael’s eyes when he saw them come up together.

  “Where have you been?” Bridger appeared from what seemed like thin air. His face looked wild with anger.

  Summer suddenly realized their mistake by both showing up at the same time, and she held up the boxes of food weakly.

  “We found a cabin with food inside.”

  Bridger whacked the proffered box onto the ground furiously.

  “I bet you did! You’ve been gone for hours. How dare you leave without telling me! Your mother’s been worried sick.”

  Julian stepped forward instinctively to challenge Bridger’s aggression, but Summer put her hand on his chest to hold him back.

  “I’m sorry.” She apologized hastily. “But we brought back food and other things that would be helpful to us. I’ll show you the way back, and we can get better clothes and maybe even find more food.”

  Bridger stewed over this while shifting his eyes between Summer and Julian. Summer picked up a can of tuna from the box Julian was holding and offered it to Bridger.

  “When was the last time you ate meat that you hadn’t caught yourself?” She smiled at him innocently as he took the can.

  “I don’t like the two of you going off together.”

  “I was setting up traps when I met Julian, who happened to be chopping wood in the area near the cabin. Trust me, it was an anomaly that we ran into each other.”

  “Well, I don’t want it happening again.”

  “It won’t,” Summer promised sweetly. “I can show you the way to the cabin tomorrow when we have better light.”

  Bridger grunted and popped the tab to open the can of tuna while he walked back over to the fire.

  Summer darted a look at Julian. He had remained silent during her impromptu explanation of their absence, but as they followed Bridger, the secret squeeze of his hand over hers told her that Julian knew they would go off together again.

  Chapter 19