Chapter 1
Lulu
And then she faaaa-aaalllllls, into the pit of lu-u-u-u-u-ve...
The music blasts in my ears as I tromp through the forest, but I can barely hear it over the sound of my heartbeat. Fat raindrops fall all around me with increased urgency. Pine needles crunch under my feet and the ground is getting more uneven with every step I take. I pause, turning in a full circle, wondering if the exposed tree roots mean I'm going deeper into the forest or getting closer to a main road. All I know is that I'm far away from where I parked.
As raindrops fall faster, I gaze up at the dark gray clouds with all the worry of someone who knows how bad an early summer storm can get in the mountains.
Curse my poor planning.
I'm trying my best not to panic, but I am completely lost and on the verge of tears. I'm in that zone where I'm hyper-aware of every sound and terrified, but I’m also completely turned on. It's animalistic. I've always had a fantasy about being chased through the woods and caught by someone who could reallymake me happy. My fear has driven me past the point of logic and into a panic-fueled horny fantasy. It's a coping mechanism, I'm sure. I've certainly never been chased before, but I squeeze my thighs together from the thought.
Get a grip, girl.I refuse to give in to the sheer hysteria clawing at my insides like a demon who spied the Winchesters, so instead, I turn up the music and pretend like it's guiding me back to salvation. Even though I'm without a doubt completely and utterly fucked. And not in the good way.
Just this morning, my sister, Hadley Marie, pronounced me the most laid-back person she's ever met in her life. When we met up for breakfast, she gushed about how chill I am, which is crazy to me in this moment, because my go-with-the-flow, laissez faire attitude has me stranded in the damn woods without a freaking map. I didn't even bring a coat.
"Damn it." I check my phone for the millionth time, hoping the service bars have magically appeared. Nope. Just a bunch of notifications from the chat I have with my brother and sister that came in a few hours ago. I'm taking my sister's wedding pictures next week. She and my new brother-in-law eloped this past Christmas after a whirlwind romance, and they are having a big make-up reception complete with a gorgeous wedding dress to celebrate with family and friends. Our brother Dean is even flying in for it.
I want to give my little sister a bridal photoshoot like none other. I've spent most of my photography career on assignment, traveling the world to capture incredible moments. I returned home a few months ago, and I'm trying to reconnect with my family, who all took a backseat to my work for the past decade. I trekked into the forest like I know what I'm doing, looking for a magical location, which I couldn't find, and now I'm on the verge of a break-down, or about to become bear food—maybe both.
As the sky opens and the rain begins to pour, I glance around and find a small rock overhang that I can hide underneath. Blowing on my hands, I hunker down, my eyes scanning the tree line looking for any sign that I'm invading the hidey-hole of something with big teeth. When the paranoia threatens to consume me, I open my phone to read the messages from my siblings, hoping to calm myself down enough to figure out my next move.
Dean
We booked a cabin at The Hollywood—we'll get in on Wednesday night.
Hadley Marie
Yay! I'm bummed Flint and Hale can't make it.
Dean
I'm not. I get Whitney all to myself for three whole days.
Hadley Marie
LOL. You're going to love Whitney, Lulu.
Dean
Do you actually check your phone these days, Luey?
A pang of sadness hits me. My brother and sister are building lives with people they love. Dean is an artist. He lives in The Smokey Mountains and shares his girlfriend with his best friends in a new-age, love-is-love kind of way that I'm all for. Hadley Marie is a librarian and one of my favorite people inthe entire world. She and her husband, Archer, are so madly in love it's obvious every time they look at each other. But it's not jealousy that makes me sad. I don't need to be married or even dating someone right now, even though it would be lovely to find the person I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with. No. It's the fact that I missed all these beginnings for them.
Traveling the world was incredible, and I wouldn't be who I am now if not for those experiences, but I sometimes wonder why I didn't come back more often. A long weekend here, a few days there, to see what everybody was up to. I flitted from assignment to assignment, traveling in between for pleasure, and somehow, I let it consume my whole identity.
No, ma'am. We are going to save the existential crisis until we get out of this physical crisis first, m'kay?
Suddenly, the rain lightens to a soft misting and the sun shines through the canopy of the forest, calling to me like a beacon. I inch forward gazing up at the sky, but a tinkling of metal sounds to my right, and I edge back quickly. Squinting into the thick trees, I take a hesitant step forward again as a small ball of fur bounds toward me. I pick up a rock just in case, although I'm a vegetarian, so I'm secretly hoping I can scare it enough that I won't have to hurt anything. My heart pounds as it gets closer, and then, a fluffy, tan and white puppy comes into view.
Oh. My. God. Did I die? Because puppies are my idea of heaven.
I bend down, scooping the soggy pup into my arms as she licks my cheek happily. She's soaked and trembling.
"Hello, little one. Are you lost too?" She nuzzles against my shoulder, and I laugh. "Well, now that you've been found. It's got to be my turn, right?"
As if on cue, the puppy and I both jerk our heads up at the sound of the deep, masculine voice calling, "Cleo!"
