I forced myself to get up and back to action. “I’m just going to check all the windows,” I said. I moved around the cabin purposefully, opening the bathroom door to check that out. The windows there apparently had wooden shutters over them which had been slammed shut by the force of the snow, actually reinforcing the glass, I supposed.
But when I was done, I was sure. It wasn’t a big place – two windows on either side of the fireplace, one on the side with the table, one in the bathroom, and then the door. There was no other entrance or exit. No other way out.
We were trapped for sure – no exit until someone came and dug us out.
I came back quietly to Cade and sat beside him on the floor.
“There’s no way out, is there?” he asked. He was staring at the fire. His face and voice were dull and slack.
“Yeah,” I told him. I pointed upwards. “Diggers and shovels and heaters. We’re getting out of here, Red, trust me. We just need to wait.”
“Red?” he said, quirking an eyebrow at me. At least that got a reaction.
I shrugged. “Well?” I prompted. “Do your friends call you something else?”
“They call me Cade,” he said with a hint of amusement. Just a hint, but it was there. “I don’t get you sports bros and your insistence on giving everybody a nickname.”
“Everybody needs a nickname,” I protested. “It’s how you know you’re loved.”
“No, it’s not,” Cade scoffed.
“Course it is,” I said. “What does your Mom call you?”
Even in the flickering firelight, I could see Cade’s cheeks redden. “Cadey.”
“There you go,” I chuckled. “Cadey.”
“No,” he said immediately. “Absolutely not. Go back to Red.”
“Red, alright,” I grinned. We were getting somewhere. If you had a nickname for someone and they accepted it, you were halfway to being friends already.
“What do they call you on the team?”
“Thorny,” I said immediately. “Because my last name’s Thornton.”
“Thorny?” Cade raised an eyebrow at me again.
I cleared my throat. “Okay,” I said. “Sometimes they go for Horny.”
Cade laughed out loud, and I couldn’t help beaming in response. He was loosening up – forgetting about what had happened enough to relax just a little. That was all I had wanted to do. “You must have some kind of reputation to have gotten that nickname.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a single guy,” I shrugged loosely, trying to downplay it. “I can’t help it if I’m on the lookout for a girlfriend.” For some reason, the word girlfriend sounded weird on my tongue. Like I was awkward about saying it to Cade. I couldn’t explain why. Maybe the situation was just weird overall.
Cade’s chuckle faded out. “Well, you’re not the only one there.”
“For a boyfriend, though, right?” I nudged him with my shoulder, trying to be playful. The last thing I wanted was to somehow accidentally come off as homophobic again like I had with Xavi and Ace.
“Right,” Cade said, his voice dry again.
Shit – I’d lost him. I needed to cheer him back up. “Well, I’m glad I’m stuck in here with you,” I said, leaning back on my hands and sticking my legs out closer to the fire. If I just pretended like I was lounging around on vacation, like I should have been, maybe my brain would start to believe it.
“What is that?” Cade asked, his voice full of alarm.
“What?” I asked, immediately on red alert. I sat up straighter, tensing my muscles, ready to jump up if I needed to.
“The fireplace,” he said, pointing. I paused and watched and listened – and then I heard it, too.
A soft pattering noise.
