Page 32 of Abdominal Snowman

They Were Roommates

Sage was disturbed from sleep by the steady buzzing of her phone. With a groan, she shoved her hand beneath her pillow and wrapped her fingers around the offending object. Without even glancing at the screen, she swiped to answer the call and shoved the phone between her cheek and the pillow.

“Hello?” she answered sluggishly. She hadn’t even opened her eyes yet.

“Hello, hope I didn’t wake you. I’m hoping to reach Ms. Burnsby,” a masculine voice replied.

Blinking her eyes open, Sage frowned at the unknown caller, and sat up. “This is she.”

“Oh good. I’m so glad I could reach you. This is your SnowBnB host, Brian?”

Sage face-palmed as she realized she never even made it to the cabin in the first place. “Oh! Good morning, how are you?” Why did she suddenly feel like she was in the principal’s office?

He chuckled. “Probably better than you’re about to be.”

“Oh no,” she said teasingly, but her stomach dropped.

Throwing her legs over the side, she stood and tilted her head to hold the phone against her shoulder as she tugged on a pair of sweatpants with her oversized shirt.

“First, is everything alright? I noticed you never checked in.”

Sage closed her eyes slowly. “I had a bit of an accident in the mountains, and have been staying with a… friend,” she said. It wasn’t a total lie.

Chewing her lip, she went downstairs, seeking the man behind the sounds of ceramic in the kitchen.

“Oh! I am so sorry to hear that. But I guess fate works in mysterious ways.” He chuckled. “The storm caused some pipes to burst in the cabin, so I hope that friend can put you up for a few more days.”

She came to a stop just past the fireplace, halting at the tinny words. “What?”

“Yeah, the kitchen got a little wet, and I’ve got to get that all taken care of and the pipes fixed up before I can properly host anyone. I’m so sorry to cancel your reservation like this. All jokes aside, I’ll be processing a full refund for your voucher and there are some bed-and-breakfasts in town. Would you like me to reserve one for you, for the trouble?”

Soren finally turned and faced her, two mugs in his hand. One of the coffees was considerably paler than the other, and her stomach tightened like the population of butterflies had tripled.

Sage lifted a hand and pointed at her phone. “Can you hear this?” she mouthed.

His lips twitched guiltily before he nodded. “Sorry,” he responded silently while shrugging.

She rolled her eyes before her gaze fell to the floor and she chewed her lip. What did she do?

Brian could get her a local inn, but… did she even have a choice? She glanced outside at the falling flakes and the growing piles of snow. The storm still hadn’t eased up, despite what the weatherman had promised. She doubted she could even get down the mountain.

A finger snap sounded, and she glanced up just in time to see Soren lower his hand. He shrugged again. “You could stay here,” he suggested quietly.

Her heart skipped at the suggestion, and she processed slowly, the blue of his gaze freezing her where she was.

Yes, he was a monster by definition. But he’d saved her life, made her dinner, and… and whatever last night had been. And now he was suggesting she stay until the storm was over.

But it wasn’t like he was going to hurt her… right?

What was he going to do? He had so many chances to hurt her thus far, and instead… he’d saved her. And now he stood in the kitchen, a mug of coffee already prepared for her.

And more importantly… Sage just wanted to know what would happen if she said…

“Okay.”

His eyes widened slightly in surprise as Brian continued, “Alright, I can book you with my friend Jennifer—”

Sage shook her head and dropped her gaze from Soren’s to focus on the phone call. “Sorry, uh, I was agreeing to something else,” she said, stopping Brian midsentence. “I will just stay with my… friend until all is well. I appreciate the offer though.”