Taking the right turn off the main road and heading to the cabin, I squint, trying to make out landmarks and avoid hitting any trees. The road is small, and with the amount of snow, only suitable to drive one car down the middle, having to do your best to push to the side to allow anyone to pass you. Luckily, no one else is on this road tonight.
After some slow work, I finally pull my car up outside the cabin, my headlights illuminating the building. It doesn’t look as vibrant as it did the last time we were here, but it looks just as welcoming and homey. I let out a relieved sigh as I turn the car off and tighten my coat around myself. I grab my box of supplies and drop it on the porch before going back for my bag.
Standing at the front door, I take a deep breath before sliding my key in and twisting it, listening to it unlock before I slowly open the door and step into the place I love so dearly and am losing in a couple of weeks.
TWO
SEBASTIAN
I’m an idiot.
Not only am I an idiot for falling for my best friend’s younger sister years ago, but now I think I’ve entered the realm of stupidity for what I’m willing to do for her.
When Walker called me and told me what was going on, I knew exactly what I was going to do before I even hung up.
Now, standing here with snow coming down behind me, a brisk wind in the air as I hold my jacket closed and knock, I’m wondering if my mother dropped me on my head as a child. That must be the only reason for my behaviour.
I wait anxiously, trying to hear noise on the other side of the door, but nothing.
I knock again, this time harder.
When the wind dies down for a second, I hear a squeak. I knock again.
I smile to myself as I hear Annalise talking to herself about her stupid brother. She eventually pulls open the door, a look of frustration on her face when her jaw drops, and then she promptly slams the door in my face.
Not the reaction I was expecting or hoping for. I knew she wasn’t going to run into my arms and say she was glad tosee me, but slamming the door in my face when it’s negative temperatures and snowing seems a little harsh.
I knock again, and she calls through the door, “Go away!”
“No can do, Lise.”
“Tell my brother I’m fine. He didn’t need to send you out here to check on me.”
I’m not about to tell her Walker didn’t send me. In fact, the man has no idea I packed a bag last night as soon as I got off the phone with him, had a quick four-hour nap, and then was in my car on my way to Whispering Pines. If Walker knew half the shit I’ve done in the last month, he’d cut my balls off and feed them to me before making my death slow and painful.
I knock again, and this time Annalise pulls the door open so forcefully I’m surprised she doesn’t let it go and make a dent in the damn wall.
“So nice to see you, too, Lise. It’s kind of cold out here. Want to maybe let me in so we can have this conversation somewhere warm?”
She looks me up and down as I exaggerate my teeth chattering and bounce on my toes. She rolls her eyes in a way that looks painful before stepping back and allowing me just enough room to slide past her and step into the living room.
I take in the space; it hasn’t changed much since I was here last time years ago. It still has that homey feeling, the couch facing the fireplace with a TV mounted above it. Blankets lie on almost every sitting surface in the room. A small dining table sits off to the side beside the kitchen.
A bedroom is off the dining area where Annalise and Walker used to sleep, and the stairs lead up to the master bedroom.
The place could use some airing out, seeing as it’s been so long since someone was here. It’s not a lot warmer inside, I notice, as Annalise wraps her sweater around her tighter. We’re protected from the wind, but I see there’s no wood beside thefireplace, and the chimney likely hasn’t been cleaned in some time.
Annalise pops a hip and sighs in frustration as she stares at me. Her nose does this cute little twitch it’s always done when she’s frustrated, and it takes everything in me not to bop her on the nose.
“Okay, you got yourself inside. Talk.”
I bite my lip to hold back my smile at her sass and attitude. “I’m here to make sure you’re okay. Roads are bad, figure you could use some help getting the chimney cleaned and some wood chopped.”
She gnaws on her lips, and I know it’s to fight off the thought that I’m right. As much as I know she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself, she’d probably choose to bundle up in excess clothing and blankets rather than try to clean the fireplace.
“I’m fine,” she says. “I can take care of myself.”
I nod and shove my hands in my pockets, rocking back on my heels. “So, you’re not worried about what little woodland creatures could have made a home inside the chimney in all the years since you’ve been here?”
