by Isabel Fox
“Anyone else think that’s enough sledding for now?” Amber finally asked, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. “Clearly Cassie and Brooklyn can’t be trusted to control a sled by themselves.”
“Hey, we were doing just fine until that tree popped up out of nowhere,” Brooklyn responded sassily.
“Nah, I’m with Amber,” Jenna said. “It’s freezing. Let’s go inside and pick one of the movies to watch.”
The six of us started the long climb back up the hill and across the field to our house. Everyone tossed their heavy jackets and snow covered boots in the laundry nook. Briefly I bent down and started to straighten the boots, intent on getting the snow off them before it could melt into a giant puddle, but Amber shot me a look and I decided to leave them. For now, anyway.
Amber and Seth had apparently spent most of the afternoon cooking. Every inch of the counter and table space was covered with pots of soup, ham and cheese sandwiches, cookies, homemade pretzels, and an entire cooler filled to bursting with beer. Everyone filled their plates and bowls before trooping into the living room. James had brought over an air mattress and set it in front of the couch. Amber had then covered the couch and mattress with blankets and pillows, including the ones off my bed. She had also taken the dozens of strands of fairy lights from her own room and strung them haphazardly around the living room. To finish off the ambient effects, she had lit no fewer than six candles of varying scents. The effect was essentially a cozy, grown up pillow fort.
“You okay?” James asked, noticing me staring without moving. I looked up, snapping out of my daze.
“I’m great,” I answered, shooting him a genuine smile. I was great. This evening was turning out to be exactly what I needed.
“Well, come on, then. Let’s grab a spot before there’s no room left,” James suggested, leading the way.
Several minutes later, when everyone was finally situated and Jenna and Brooklyn had solved the “who gets the giant fluffy pillow” debate (which Amber had solved by claiming the pillow as her own), we all settled in to eat and watch a movie Seth had picked out. It was some comedy that I would have never chosen on my own, but it was surprisingly funny nonetheless. I laughed until my abs hurt.
After everyone had eaten, James and I collected the bowls and plates and started the process of washing up.
“Hey,” he said, bumping me with his hip as we stood side by side at the sink. I glanced up, my suds covered hands still on the fork I was scrubbing.
“You look beautiful,” he said, bending down and planting a warm kiss on my lips.
“Thank you. You too,” I replied, somewhat dazed. I wondered if I would ever stop feeling drunk every time James kissed me. I kind of hoped not.
“I generally prefer “dashingly handsome” over beautiful, but I’ll take it,” James said with a laugh. I blushed slightly, realizing my mistake.
“You know what I mean,” I replied, flicking some sudsy bubbles from my fingers to his arm.
“Cassie,” James said seriously. “Don’t start something you’re not prepared to finish.”
“Oh, I’m prepared,” I retorted, scooping up a big handful of bubbles and gently smacking them directly on James’s head. A devilish smile spread across his face.
“It’s on,” he declared, and before I could react he had heaved an entire bowl full of water and suds at me, soaking the front of my shirt. I squealed in shock, gaping open mouthed at James as he tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh.
“Oh my god,” he snorted, taking in the sight of my drenched self. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize there was that much water in the bowl. I thought it was mostly suds. Here, let me get you a towel.”
As he turned away, I took the opportunity to return the favor by sending a cascade of soapy dishwater down his back. He turned around, his expression a mix between amazement and delight.
Things quickly devolved into an all out water fight. James sloshed water at me straight from the sink, drenching my hair. I retaliated by clapping my suds filled hands on either side of his face, leaving him with a Santa Claus-esque beard. I had just turned to grab the bottle of dish soap to make some more ammo when my feet slid out from under me. James tried to catch me, but instead found himself falling to the ground with me. We hit with a loud thunk.
Amber stuck her head around the door and surveyed the scene, which consisted of James and I collapsed on the floor in front of the sink, both of us drenched and sitting in a puddle of soapy water.
“Oh, good. I was really hoping you guys weren’t just going at it in the middle of the kitchen,” she said matter of factly before shutting the door. “Guys, it’s okay, they’re just being idiots,” we heard her address the rest of the group, which dissolved us into peals of laughter again.
When I finally caught my breath, I looked over at James.
“I love you,” I said. As soon as the words left my mouth, I froze. I might have already been aware of the fact that I was in love with James, but we’d only been dating for a week. Wasn’t saying “I love you” that soon getting dangerously close to stage 5 clinger territory?
But James grinned back at me, a clump of bubbles still clinging to his chin.
“I love you, too,” he said before planting another kiss on my lips. When we broke apart, I sighed contentedly. James wrapped his damp arms around me.
“Whatcha thinking?” he asked.
“That I’m really glad you’re here, I’m glad Amber organized all this, and if this water ruins my cashmere sweater I’m going to kill you.”
38
“Cassie, help!” Parker begged, hurrying behind the front desk with a panicked look on his face. “Susan’s going to kill me!”
It was Thursday afternoon, and I’d already been at work for several hours. My warm, happy feelings leftover from the fun of the previous night were rapidly dissipating. We only had a handful of guests, but that just meant that Susan had more time to fuss over a variety of increasingly petty things. Already she had yelled at me for not starting the linen inventory immediately upon arriving, had chastised Amanda for taking too long to enter a canceled reservation, and told Cara that her hair looked like a drunken toddler had done it before sending her to fix it. I was now doing my best to just stay out of her way and praying for the end of my shift.
I gave Parker a weary look. “I’ll try,” I told him. “But Susan’s in one of her moods. There’s probably nothing to be done. Quick question, would you prefer burial or cremation?”
“She told me I got the wrong blankets out of the linen closet. She said I should get the blue wool ones, but there are no blue wool ones. If I come back with the wrong ones again she’s going to freak.”
Hopping off my stool, I followed Parker to the linen closet, a large, low ceilinged nook under the stairs. I had to stoop to go in, and I couldn’t imagine how Parker had ever fit in here. Craning my neck, I managed to spot the edge of a blue blanket on one of the upper shelves. I managed to pull the whole stack down intact, and I passed them out to Paker.
“There,” I said as I climbed out of the nook, straightening and rolling my neck until it let out a satisfying pop. “You probably couldn’t even move enough to see them.”
“Thanks, Cassie, you’re a lifesaver,” Parker said, adjusting his hold on the blankets. “It’s been kind of rough without Drew the last few days.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” I replied, frowning. Amanda had informed me shortly after I arrived that Drew had been a no call, no show for the second time that week. It wasn’t like him, and I was more than a little concerned, what with his strange behavior earlier in the week. Amanda had tried calling him twice since I had been there, but her calls went straight to his voicemail. I had offered to email Drew’s roommate, Ashton, but Amanda had suggested we give him one more chance to show up. In the meantime, poor Parker was flying solo again.
“Anyway, thanks again for the help,” Parker said, turning and hurrying off to deliver the correct blankets to Susan.
I returned to the front desk, idly clicking through the reservation book. We had several cancellations due to the weather, but the few guests we had seemed absolutely dazzled by the snow. Two guests, an older couple who were here on a second honeymoon, were cozied up in front of the fire, sipping wine. I longingly imagined doing that with James. Preferably in front of a different fire though. One that Susan was not within 100 yards of. A family with two young kids were waiting on dinner in the dining room, having spend most of the afternoon building a snowman village in the back garden, and the children were arguing energetically about who’s snowman was better.
Another couple had gone out earlier to give their newly purchased snow shoes a try. What was their name? Whitmore? Whitman? Something like that.
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than Amanda came careening into the front hall, a panicked look on her face.
“Cassie, have you seen the Whitmans?” she panted, her dark blonde hair escaping from her haphazard ponytail.
“Uh, the couple from 2A? They went snowshoeing, or something like that,” I offered. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“They left at noon. Noon! And they’re still not back,” Amanda explained. She flung one arm at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room to point out the time, which was just past five.
“Oh. Well, I’m not exactly a snowshoeing expert. Is that...a normal length for an excursion?” I wondered. Amanda shook her head.
“No way. They’ve gotten lost out there, or something, and now they’re going to die of hypothermia. And it’s all my fault!”
I couldn’t remember the last time I saw Amanda this openly distressed. Maybe the time that Susan had forgotten to put out a cigarette and started a small fire on the back deck, but that had been over a year ago. Coming out from behind the desk, I tried to comfort her.
“It’s okay. They might be a little turned around, but I’m sure they’re fine,” I told her, trying my best to make my voice soothing.
“But it’s getting dark! What are we going to do if they don’t make it back soon? It’ll be even harder for them to find their way back, or for us to find them!”
“Does Susan know?” I asked. That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because Amanda burst into tears.
“God, no! I have to find them before she realizes they’re gone, or she’ll tell the Walkers, and they’ll have to fire me! Cassie, what do we do?” Amanda hiccupped. I leaned back slightly, more than a little surprised by Amanda’s uncharacteristic distress. Maybe that’s what working in such close proximity to Susan all day long did to you after awhile, I thought. I made a note to reevaluate my career prospects.
“First of all, even if something did happen to the Whitmans, the Walkers wouldn’t blame you for that. It’s not your fault. Second, how about this,” I suggested, thinking on the fly. “What if I go look for them? I’ve got James’s SUV so I’ll be okay. I can drive up and down Meadow View, loop around Orchard, and make my way back this way. If they were lost, they’d probably try to make it to the road, right?”
Amanda sniffled, then nodded. “Probably. I hope.”
“It’s settled, then. You stay here and keep Susan busy. Tell her Bergdorf's is having a sale or something. If Susan notices I’m gone, just tell her I went to...I don’t know, get more coffee grounds or something,” I told her.
“That sounds believable,” Amanda said. “If anything would get you out driving in the middle of a snow storm, coffee would.”
“Right,” I grinned. “Okay. I’ll grab my coat and just slip out the back door.”
“Don’t forget your phone! If you have any problems, just call me!” Amanda said. I gave her a thumbs up as I tucked my phone into the pocket of my peacoat. Then, holding my bag against my body so I wouldn’t make enough noise to attract Susan’s attention as I slipped by her office, I carefully made my way out to the back parking lot.
James’s SUV was covered in snow, and I was grateful he had sprung for the edition with all the bells and whistles. With the heated windshield, it was only a few minutes before I was making my way slowly down the snow covered driveway.
Shivering slightly, I turned on the radio but kept the volume down low. As I made my way down Mountain View Road, a large portion of which bordered the Walker’s property, I peered into the blinding, blowing snow for any sign of the missing Whitmans.
There was no one else on the snow covered road, but the plows must have been through this part of town fairly recently since the snow didn’t seem as deep as it had when I had come in to work. Between that and the four wheel drive capabilities of the SUV, I wasn’t too concerned about getting stuck. I was more worried that maybe Amanda was right, and the Whitmans were well and truly lost. We’d find them sometime next month, when the snow finally melted.
Shaking my head, I tried to clear the less than pleasant image from my brain. I turned off of Meadow View and on to Orchard, which no longer ran next to the Walker’s land but would take me by the woods nearby. I figured the Whitmans might have sought shelter from the wind in the thick grove of pine trees.
My cell phone rang, and I pulled it from my pocket without looking away from the road.
“Hey, Amanda?” I said, assuming that’s who was on the other end. I hoped she was calling to tell me the Whitmans had turned up on their own, cold and tired but unharmed. I waited, but there was no response on the other end. “Amanda?” I tried again.
“Um, no,” the voice on the other end, an unfamiliar male one, finally replied. The blood in my veins went cold, and I slowed the SUV to a crawl.
“Who is this?” I demanded.
“A friend,” the voice replied more quickly this time. I still couldn’t place it, but I had no doubt that it was Unknown.
“Cassie, I’m worried about you,” Unknown continued. “Should you really be out driving in this horrible weather?”
For a moment, I couldn’t do anything. My mouth went dry. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest, my blood pulsing in my ears. I looked around, struggling to see the headlights of another car, a shadowy figure on the side of the road, anything other than the falling snow.
I hit the end call button, took a deep breath, and turned the car around, swinging wide. I glanced quickly at my phone and found the inn’s number before placing the call, all the while driving as fast as I dared.
Amanda answered a second later, her voice breathless.
“Cassie, I was just getting ready to call you! The Whitmans showed up, they’re fine! You can come back now-”
“Amanda, listen to me,” I interrupted. “He’s out here. My stalker. I don’t know where, but he’s here somewhere. He just called, and asked me if I should be out driving. I’m coming back right now.”
“Oh, my God. What? Cassie, you have to get back here. Right now!”
“That’s what I just said!” I exclaimed, gripping the wheel tightly as the snow suddenly blew harder against the windshield. “I’m on my way, okay? I’m only-shit!”
A dark shape appeared on the road just in front of me. It was a car, parked in the middle of the road and blocking my path.
In the seconds that followed, I did everything they tell you to not do when driving in the snow. I braked abruptly, yanked on the steering wheel, and swerved to avoid the car. This resulted in my sliding out of control and careening towards the snowy ditch on the side of the road. Everything happened so quickly I barely had time to react. There was a loud crunching sound, and then everything was black.
When I opened my eyes sometime later, my head was pounding and for a minute my vision was blurry. I blinked a few times and things cleared up somewhat. Pressing my fingers to my throbbing temple, I was surprised when I touched something warm and wet. Holding my hand in front of my face, I was slightly alarmed to see that my fingers were covered in blood.
With a start, everything came flooding back to me. The phone call to Amanda, and a car in the road I had swerved to avoid. I wondered what had happened to them and hoped they wer
e okay. There seemed to be something else I should remember, but I couldn’t call it to mind. God, my head hurt. Reaching down, I tried to fumble around to undo my seatbelt before a sharp, stabbing pain in my side took my breath away.
“Ow,” I said audibly when the pain had subsided to a dull but constant ache. I tried again, moving slower this time. As I did, my hand grazed an unfamiliar white fabric, and it took me a shockingly long time to realize it was a deflated airbag.
“Oh, right,” I said aloud. “Airbags. Because I crashed James’s car. That’s not good.” I reached for the seat belt buckle again and tried to undo it, but it was stuck tight. Tugging on it only made my head hurt more, so I sat back for a moment and closed my eyes.
A second later, though, there was a pounding on the window.
“Cassie?” a male voice called. “Cassie, are you okay? Can you hear me?”
“Yeah,” I croaked, my voice surprisingly hoarse. “Help!”
“Hang on, Cassie! I’ll get you out,” the voice said, muffled through the glass. I could hear the faint sound of footsteps crunching in the snow. I wondered idly who it was that had found me. The driver of the car I had almost hit? Then, with alarming suddenness, I remembered the thing that had been escaping me: the call from Unknown.
“No,” I breathed. There was no way. It couldn’t be.
Summoning up some strength, I tried yet again to undo my seatbelt. Again, it remained stubbornly stuck. I tried to look around for my cell phone, but any time I tried to focus on something more than a foot or so away my vision blurred and the pain in my head increased tenfold.
I closed my eyes again, hoping that when I opened them again I would be able to see and move without feeling nauseous. I must have passed out, though, because when I finally opened them not only did I not feel any better, but I was no longer in the car.