by Bella King
This trip up to the mountains with my family sounded like the perfect escape from all that. It was what I needed to ease my brain and let go of all the horrors that the past months had held. I looked forward to the day I was able to get the fuck out of this place forever, but a break was good enough until then.
I like my family well enough, so they weren’t the reason that I usually didn’t like to go skiing. I was actually more terrified of flying off a cliff and dying out there in the cold alone. I didn’t have to ski when we went, but my parents convinced me to do it every time.
Last time we went I nearly ran into a tree. I could imagine my rips cracking against the wide pines and bleeding out in the snow while people rushed past me down the slopes. It was a terrible pseudo-fantasy, but it was one that I clung to every time I rode down the slopes.
This time, I was going to stay in the cabin and write instead. I kept a journal and it had been a long time since I had put anything in it. There was a lot of trauma to unpack onto those pages, and my hands were itching to get to writing everything down now that some time had passed.
I wouldn’t be able to use my phone at all in the mountains. I thought it was stupid that even now, they couldn’t put proper cell towers out there. You would think that with all the rich people that spent time at the ski resort that they would have some way of keeping in touch with civilization, but apparently that was too much to ask.
Again, my mother had an explanation for that, as she usually did for everything. I didn’t always want to hear her explanations though. I was fine with acting like the people that ran the place were just stupid.
She had said something about it being too dangerous for workers to install and maintain the towers and that’s why they weren’t built, but it was my theory that they wanted to overcharge people for rides from the resort to the nearest town to communicate with the world. It was like a hundred bucks per person, which I found ridiculous.
It wasn’t my money that was being flushed down the drain though. My parents had plenty of it and didn’t mind dishing out for a week in the mountains freezing their asses off and pretending like skiing is a fun sport instead of a death trap.
All complaints aside, this was the first time when that nightmare sounded better than the nightmare at Crimson High, so as I packed my bags for the trip, I had a little smile on my face. I was going to be away from it all, if only for a short week.
Chapter 3
“Amy, come downstairs already. We’re waiting,” My mom called up the staircase to my bedroom.
Jesus, it was five in the morning and the sun wasn’t even up yet. How did she expect me to be ready at this hour?
I was still in bed, my crisp white sheets in a tangled mess around my bare legs. I slept naked most of the time and kept the blankets tucked between my legs for comfort. When you’re a side sleeper it’s nice to keep something between your knees.
My bleary eyes glanced at the clock. The red blinking lights all looked like zeros to me, but I knew this wasn’t the case. I blinked. Still zeros. What?
I opened my eyes wider and sat up. The clock remained at zero. The power must have gone out last night, which meant that my clothes I put in before bed might not be dry.
I jumped out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a wrinkly t-shirt, rushing out of my room to the laundry room. It smelled like fabric softener and heat in there. I opened the dryer door to find a pile of wet clothes in it. Shit.
I sighed heavily. It wasn’t anything terribly important for skiing, but mostly pajamas. I didn’t want to sleep naked at the resort because it was something I only did at home in the comfort of my own bed. Who knew how many people had slept in the resort bed before me, spilling various bodily fluids into the mattress? You couldn’t just wash that shit out.
A T-shirt and panties it was, then. At least that would keep me from freezing to death in the cabin. They were heated but always a bit colder than my room at home.
I started the dryer up again, knowing that my clothes wouldn’t be done before I left. I wasn’t going to let them get dingey by sitting wet for a week though.
I went back to my room, rummaging around my closet for something to wear. I had packed most of my nice clothes, and the only thing clean that I could find was a Crimson High t-shirt that I got my first year there. It was a bit tight on me now, but it would do in a pinch.
My mom called me from downstairs again.
“Wait a sec,” I yelled, giving up on taking a shower that morning. It was a good thing I took one in the evening otherwise I would have been a stinking mess until we got to the resort.
My parents eventually coaxed me out of my room and put me in their hundred thousand dollar SUV to drive to the town outside the resort. It would be two hours of staring out the window at highway signs as they flew by until we got there.
My mom insisted on playing Christmas music on the way there even though it was a solid month until Christmas. That’s too early if you ask me, but if you were to ask my mom she would say that Christmas started when Halloween ended. Need I remind her that Thanksgiving also exists?
My dad was in the front reading a book while the music played. I don’t know how he’s managed to get to that level of zen that he can read with music playing. I can never do that. I was just sitting in the back seat enjoying the last few hours with my phone until I had no reception.
As much as I didn’t like mobile games, I had downloaded a few to play while we were at the resort to play anyway. If I could kill a few hours of boredom with my phone, then why not?
We were about halfway through the car trip when my dad put down his book and turned his head back toward me. “Hey Amy, do you know if the Cadwells are going to be at the resort this year?”
“The Cadwells?” I asked, a little surprised. That would be Anthony and Grace Cadwell.
“Well, uh, I don’t know if you know this dad, but Grace is a jail,” I replied, putting down my phone.
“Oh, I know that,” he said. “But they had mentioned coming before all that happened and I was wondering if they were still coming. You know, Grace may have done some pretty shady stuff at school, but the Cadwells are a good family.”
“You mean a rich family?” I asked, not believing my dad at all. “They kind of suck.”
My dad chuckled. “High school drama doesn’t transfer over to the real world Amy. I know Mr. Cadwell is a major investor at the ski resort. I just wanted to see if we could get a better deal next year.”
I frowned at him. “Murder isn’t high school drama,” I said, not believing that he could breeze over the fact so easily.
“Well what the Cadwell’s daughter did was very bad. I think she had a mental problem, you know?”
“I guess you would have to. Not everyone believes that she is responsible for all that stuff at school.”
“That’s true. I believe the Cadwells are still trying to get the case thrown out. She has a brother that still goes to Crimson High, doesn’t she?” My dad inquired.
Fuck, that would be Anthony. I swear if I had to spend a week with that asshole, I would slit my throat with a ski.
“Uh, yeah,” I replied.
“What was his name again?” My dad asked.
“Anthony,” I replied through my teeth. I was already wishing he would shut up about that family. I didn’t know why getting a discount was worth associating with people like that. My dad was a different breed.
“It must be hard for him, with his sister and everything,” my dad continued.
“Must be,” I said. If only he knew how much of a prick Anthony was. He was like that long before anything happened to his sister. He wasn’t the product of a bad environment. No, he was just a rich boy who knew that he could get away with more than most people could.
I was in a similar position, with parents who actively sought out ways to spend their money, but I didn’t let it spoil me rotten. I was just a normal young woman at a not-so-normal high school.
My dad tu
rned back to the front. “Well, if you see any of them, please let me know. I’d like to get to know Mr. Cadwell better.”
I sighed. “Sure dad.”
I prayed that Anthony wouldn’t be there. I could imagine him littering the snow with cigarettes and blatantly breaking the rules on the ski slope, putting everyone in danger. I pictured him with a can of beer in one hand and his phone in the other, taking videos of people as they toppled down the slope. It would be typical of him.
I pushed that out of my head and returned to my daydream about how life would be when I left Crimson High. I had lost my only close friend, Alice, to some bizarre murder case and now I was going to have to deal with Anthony harassing me just because I knew his sister before she got locked up.
Crimson University wasn’t looking so great at the moment. There was a rival school not far from ours that also had a university. It was called Greywood Academy and I could probably get in there instead. I would have to talk to my parents about that though.
I sat through the rest of the ride silently, trying to block the jingling Christmas tunes from permeating my skull and making their permanent home on loop there.
Chapter 4
When we got to the town outside the ski resort, my mom parked the car while my dad and I went to the resort reception building to pay for a ride there. They had special snow vans with treads instead of tires that would be taking us up. They looked a bit like tanks.
Those vans seated seven people, so usually there would be more people riding with my parents and I. My aunt and Uncle were coming with their kids, but they had arrived early, otherwise we would have ridden up with them. This time it would be the roll of the dice that decided who we would be paired with.
“Would you look who it is,” my dad exclaimed as we entered the reception building.
My heart sunk as reality came crashing down just a little to hard on me.
It was the Cadwell family.
God, this couldn’t be happening. I tried to hide my face so I wouldn’t be recognized, but the minute Anthony spotted me his stupid handsome face lit up.
My dad walked up toward his dad and introduced himself, while Anthony came up to me with a sly grin.
“I thought your family was too poor for skiing,” Anthony teased.
“Are you stupid?” I asked him, “I go to Crimson High School, the same as you. Everyone there had money.”
Anthony pushed out his bottom lip, looking genuinely cute but annoying at the same time. “I thought maybe they just let you in because they felt bad for you or something. I mean, Alice got in and I know her family is broke.”
“Her family isn’t broke,” I said with an irritated laugh. “They’re just not as rich as you are.”
“You’re damn right they’re not,” Anthony replied smugly. He looked back at our parents talking. “Looks like you’re riding up with us.”
I groaned. “I hope not.”
Anthony frowned. “Hey, what got your panties in a bunch? You don’t like me or something?”
“Just leave me alone, okay?” I said, trying to avoid the topic.
“No, really. I want to know. Do you not like me or something? Is this about the homework?” Anthony probed.
I knew he wasn’t that clueless, but he was acting like it. I gave him the benefit of the doubt on this one. “Just chill, okay? I don’t hate you.”
Anthony grinned triumphantly. “We’re going to have a good time together, Amy. Just you wait. I brought vodka.”
“I don’t drink,” I lied.
Anthony laughed. “That’s not what I heard. I heard that you get a little wild when you’re drunk.”
Where had he heard that? Maybe it was true, but it was only because I was inexperienced. I didn’t want him knowing that about me. “Do you believe everything people tell you?” I asked, folding my arms in front of me.
“I don’t which is why I want to find out,” Anthony replied, flashing me a winning smile. His teeth were super white. Way too white for how much he smoked all the time. He probably had a good dentist.
“Come on you two. We’re riding together,” my dad said, waving for Anthony and I to come over.
I sighed and shook my head at the wicked smile that stretched across Anthony’s face. I was having a perfectly good vacation ruined already. All I had wanted was to get away from school for a while, but school had a way of creeping into my personal life.
I attempted to sit in the back seat away from Anthony, but he scooted in right beside me, pushing me against the window as he took up more room than he needed.
“Why are you spreading your legs like that? You don’t need all that room,” I said, shoving his leg away from me.
“Big cock,” Anthony mouthed to me as everyone else climbed into the car after us.
The van was full, and I didn’t have much room back there with Anthony. He chose to sit right beside me even though there was a free seat to his right. My parents sat in the row in front of us and his dad sat shotgun to the driver.
I looked out the window, ignoring Anthony as he tried to talk to me in the van. It was a thirty-minute drive to the resort.
“Hey, Amy,” Anthony said, poking my thigh.
I didn’t react.
“Amy,” he said again, this time in a lighter and more playful voice.
I still didn’t say anything.
Anthony poked higher up on my thigh and inside of my leg. That was too close for comfort, sending a jolt through my body. Of course he would have the balls to touch me like that with other people in the car.
I swiped his hand away and turned to him. “What?”
“That got your attention. I’ll remember that next time,” Anthony mused. “I just wanted to ask which cabin your family is staying in.”
“I don’t know.”
My dad called back from the front. “Cabin six. Same as you guys.”
My jaw dropped in disbelief.
Anthony saw this and smirked. “We’re going to have a great time,” He said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket.
“No smoking in the car,” His dad called back, sensing what Anthony was about to do without even seeing him.
Anthony rolled his eyes and tucked the pack back into his jacket pocket. “Lame.”
“You can’t go thirty minutes without smoking?” I asked, annoyed by him already.
“I can but I don’t want to,” Anthony replied. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”
I shook my head. There was no use explaining anything to him. He only believed what he wanted to believe.
I sat in silence while Anthony incessantly drummed on the pack of cigarettes in his pocket until we arrived at the ski resort.
Chapter 5
The van door slid open loudly and Anthony jumped out onto the pavement. Breathing in deep lungfuls of crisp mountain air before habitually popping a cig into his mouth and lighting it up. A few puffs of smoke into the cold air and he seemed more relaxed.
I climbed out behind him while my parents took our luggage from the trunk. The air was frigid, but not unpleasantly so. The coolness relieved my hot skin after being crammed beside Mr. Leg Spreader for the entire trip up the mountain.
I placed my hands on my hips and scoped out the area. It was mostly how I remembered it, aside from a few new signs and fresh yellow railings added along the walkways. I suppose that would keep me from breaking my neck. God knows it got icy out here during the winter.
For some reason my dad always insisted on carrying my mom and I’s luggage for us, which I suppose was nice, but Anthony saw it differently as we made our way to the cabin.
“Too weak to carry your bag?” Anthony asked, flicking his cigarette into the snow and hoisting his bag over one of his broad shoulders.
“No, my dad is a gentleman,” I responded.
Anthony huffed. “I could carry it.”
“You’re not a gentleman,” I countered. The last thing I wanted was for Anthony to get ahold of my bags. There was
a lot of private stuff in there, including my vibrator.
“Yo, Mr. -” Anthony paused. “What’s your dad’s name?”
“James,” I replied, regretting telling him the moment the name left my lips.
“Yo, James,” Anthony called, jogging up my dad as he struggled with my mom and I’s bags. “Let me help you with that. Amy wants me to take her bags for her.”
“No, I don’t,” I yelled from behind them, but my protest wasn’t acknowledged.
My dad handed Anthony my bag and thanked him. I thought it rude that Anthony didn’t use my dad’s last name, but then again, I hadn’t told it to him. I didn’t want him to know our family name. I was certain he would use it to find out where I lived or something like that.
I rolled my eyes as Anthony walked back to me triumphantly, slinging my bag violently over the shoulder opposite his bag.
“Be careful with that,” I said, noticing how he used only one finger hooked into the strap.
“Say what?” Anthony said, turned slightly and letting my luggage drop behind him onto the cold, wet sidewalk.
“You’re going to break something,” I yelped, reaching for my bag, but not before Anthony was able to snatch it up again.
“Sorry,” Anthony replied, slinging it back over his shoulder, but he didn’t sound sorry.
“Why are you such an ass?” I asked.
For some reason, my dad hadn’t been listening to anything I said until I said that. His head snapped back and he glared at me.
I sighed. I’m sure my dad wanted to keep good relations with the Cadwell family due to their status and association with the ski resort. I didn’t think it was worth it, but I didn’t want my parents to get pissed at me for ruining one of my dad’s business deals.
I kept my mouth shut the rest of the way to the cabin but snatched my bag back from Anthony the minute we were inside.
