ONE
ANNALISE
Put your big girl panties on, it’s just a building.
No matter how many times I repeat those words to myself, I still can’t get over the fact my parents are selling our cabin in Whispering Pines. That place holds so many memories of my childhood, and even though we haven’t spent Christmas there in seven years, I can’t seem to let it go.
When my parents and brother first sat me down and told me they had to sell the cabin to cover a debt from an investment deal gone wrong, I was speechless. I sat in shock, staring at them, unable to say anything as my mind immediately raced to images of packing up the cabin and watching a new family move their stuff in.
I left my parents’ place without saying a word, and now I’m home, throwing things into bags as I get ready for my impromptu trip to Whispering Pines.
I wait until I’m outside the city before I pull up my brother Walker’s contact and call him through the speakers of my car. He answers after three rings.
“Lise, you okay?” His worried voice fills my car.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to let you know I’m heading out of town until the new year.”
I gnaw my lip, waiting for his response.
“What do you mean you’re going out of town?”
“I mean, I’m heading to Whispering Pines.”
He sighs. My brother is the stereotypical overprotective type. That’s why I’ve learned to do something before telling him. Otherwise, he’ll do everything he can to stop me. Hence, my waiting until I’m out of the city to call him to tell him about my trip.
“Lise, it’s snowing. You can’t be driving through the mountains by yourself to visit some cabin.”
I tighten my grip on the steering wheel, trying to keep my emotions in check. As much as I know my brother is saying this from a place of love, his inability to realize what the cabin means to me and recognize all the memories it holds pisses me off.
Our family used to spend all our Christmases there growing up. We’d leave the city the day after school got out and wouldn’t come back until after the new year. We baked cookies as a family, had snowball fights, Dad would chop wood, and then we’d all curl up in front of the fire to watch a Christmas movie.
I don’t think about the last Christmas we spent there, not wanting those memories to taint all the good ones. I need my lastmemories at the cabin to be good. There’s no way I’m letting my brother change my mind.
“Walk, I’m already on the road. You guys said we have the cabin until the end of the year. I’m going to enjoy it until we turn the keys over.”
Walker swears under his breath. “Lise, if it’s already snowing here, you know it’s going to be worse closer to Whispering Pines. Turn around and come home. We can head there next week when I have some time,” he says, but I’m shaking my head before he even finishes.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll send you a message when I get there.”
Even though I can’t see my brother, I know he’s pinching the bridge of his nose as he dips his head, frustrated with my actions once again.
“Lise,” he starts, but I cut him off, not in the mood for another one of his big brother lectures.
“Walk, I’m about to lose service. I’ll let you know when I get there. Bye.”
I hang up, and my shoulders sag as I release a breath. I know I’m going to hear about this later, but at this point, I’m doing what I want. Walker could show up at the cabin for all I care. He will have to drag me out kicking and screaming, looking like he’s kidnapping me like some psycho, because he would in fact be kidnapping me.
Maybe his grumpy, boring ass could use the fun of a trip to the cabin, but it would take a miracle to drag him away from his job at this point.
I turn my music up, blaring it as I listen to the new Alex Warren album, and make my way into the mountains towards Whispering Pines. The snow is light right now, but I know the farther away from the city I get, the more it’ll come down.
The highway darkens the closer I get to town. There are very few streetlights and next to no one venturing out in this weather.The cabin is on the outskirts of town; the highway will take me through town before I venture off onto more back roads. I’m glad I left when I did, because I’m now watching the snow pile higher and don’t think my car would have made it if I came any later.
I have snow tires and a set of chains in my trunk. You can’t take these highways at this time of year without the right tires, and how to put chains on was one of the first things Dad taught me when I was a teenager and we were making our way up here.
As I enter town, I can’t help my smile as I take in the festive decorations on all the stores and the wreaths hanging from the streetlights. Lights are wrapped around poles, twinkling in the dark, and coloured garlands decorate windows, while greenery is hung over doors.
Anyone who drives through here could mistake it for a scene from a Hallmark movie. It’s late now, but earlier, you’d find people bundled in jackets milling about, popping into stores to buy Christmas gifts, and even groups of carolers. I used to always convince my family to come into town for at least one day while we were here, wanting to bask in the joy of the town.
