by R. R. Banks
"You invited him here?" I asked.
I managed to keep my voice steady, but I could feel the trembling in my throat and the pain in my jaw as I struggled to maintain it.
"We thought that it would be a nice surprise," Violet said. "You've been so tense recently and after your explosion last night...I thought that seeing Daniel again and hearing that he forgives you and still loves you would be just the thing that you need to have the most wonderful holiday season."
I felt like I had suddenly found myself in a movie. Nothing was real. Everyone around me was looking at me with wide eyes and urging smiles, but I could only feel horror filling my belly. I was so angry that I couldn't speak. I didn't know what I was supposed to say to any of them. In seconds the anger filled my belly until it ached, and I turned on my heel and rushed back into the bedroom that my mother had chosen for me as her opening salvo. I could hear Daniel reassure my parents and my sisters and then come after me, but I ignored him. I burst into the bedroom, grabbed my suitcase out from under the bed and began to shove clothes into it. I walked down the hall to the bathroom, grabbed my toiletries, and stalked back into my room, finding Daniel already standing there. I walked around him to the bed and forced the toiletry bag inside. Finally, I whipped around to face him.
"What do you think you're doing here?"
"Exactly what I said," Daniel said, the sweet, innocent smile that he had been wearing in the entryway gone now. "I'm here to see you, Charlie."
"Stop calling me that," I demanded. "I told you that I hate that."
"Why? It's what I've always called you."
"And I've always hated it."
As a final thought I grabbed the book that I had been reading when my mother called me and forced it into the corner of the suitcase, slamming the top down and pulling the zipper around.
"I can't believe that you have the balls to come here."
I was terrified, extremely aware that we were alone in the small room. But I wanted him to see my anger. I wanted him to see that I was stronger now and that he didn't have the same effect on me that he used to.
"I was invited."
"I don't know what you said to them, but I don't want you here."
I started to walk towards the door, but Daniel reached out and took my elbow, pulling me back into the room. Just that touch was enough to twist my stomach and make my throat tighten.
"Don't be that way, Charlie," he said. "Aren't you at all happy to see me?"
"No."
"Please, Charlie. Just give me a chance. I've told you how sorry I am."
His voice had changed. Gone was the hint of arrogance that had been there when I first came into the bedroom, replaced now by the slick tone that I had learned to recognize as being purely manipulative. This is how he had drawn me back in so many times before. He had stared at me with the eyes that he knew I had fallen in love with when I was just a young teenager. He would tell me that he was sorry, admit that everything he had done had been so wrong and that I didn't deserve any of it. He would beg for my forgiveness, promising me that everything is going to be different and that we were going to be so happy together. Sweeping, dramatic claims of love and devotion, extreme statements of not being able to survive without me were enough to pull me away from the anger, hurt, and sadness that I was feeling and draw me back to him. It happened countless times before. Too many times for me to remember each individually. They blended together until all I remembered was the sound of his voice and the cloying, repetitive words.
"Get away from me," I said.
I pushed past Daniel and stomped through the house toward the front door. My father tried to step in front of me, but I pulled my suitcase in front of me, creating a blockage that seemed to push him back.
"Where are you going?" my mother nearly shrieked from the living room as I pushed through the door and out into the beginning of the sunset.
"Madeline, I'm borrowing your car," I called by way of a response.
I knew Madeline well enough to know that she and William would have come in two separate cars. Several years older than her, William was already a highly sought-after surgeon and would often receive urgent calls requiring him to rush back to the hospital. After this had resulted in her sitting in the waiting room for several hours or calling one of us to come get her, Madeline learned to travel separately from her husband so that if he did get a call summoning him to the hospital, she could stay wherever they were and still be able to go wherever she needed to. I also knew her well enough to know that, despite warnings and urgings from all of us, Madeline always left her keys in her ignition.
I tossed my suitcase into the backseat and climbed behind the wheel, slamming the door closed just as Daniel rushed up to the side of the car. Squinting into the snow that was falling steadily, I slammed on the gas and sped away from the cabin. I quickly realized that I didn't know where I was going. I had been too busy staring at the passing trees and feeling the texture of the road change beneath me to pay attention to the twists and turns that we had taken as we arrived, and the snow was falling harder and faster with each passing moment, making it almost impossible to see in front of me. I found myself on a road that seemed to be spiraling upwards along the mountain and I knew that that wasn't what I wanted to be doing. I needed to get to the bottom of the mountain where I could make my way home. I promised myself that I would never again allow anyone to pick me up from my house to bring me anywhere. I was going to follow in Madeline's lead and always have my own car with me.
The snow outside seemed to have followed my mood, turning from a gradual fall to a raging storm in moments, and the windshield ahead of me was nearly solid white. I slowed the car until it was creeping along the road, pressing forward as far as I could until I could see the slight change in color along the side of the road that I was following that told me there was another access road. Confident that this was the road that would lead me down the mountain, I turned onto it and headed down.
I knew that I shouldn't. I knew that the snow and ice were covering the road and making every narrow inch more treacherous. But the anger that was flowing through me was enough to take away all reason and I pressed steadily on the gas, increasing my speed and pushing me faster until I felt the car leave my control and become at the mercy of the slick surface of the road. I hadn't been listening to the radio that afternoon at the cabin or the evening when I climbed into Madeline's car and sped away. If I had, I might have heard the warnings about the storm. If I had, I might have heard that the storm had already taken down a tree that was now laying across the road ahead of me.
My foot pressed hard against the brake pedal, trying desperately to get the car back under my control. I fought to hold the wheel straight so that it didn't turn wildly and so that I had some chance of moving down the road in a direct path rather than weaving. Ahead of me the snow was falling in a thick blanket, the individual flakes almost imperceptible in the sky. Suddenly I could see something dark looming across the road. It completely blocked my way and there was nothing that I could do. In the brief instant that I had, I considered my options, then took a breath and turned the wheel as hard as I could. The back of the car swung around, smashing into the tree. The jolt caused my head to snap forward into the steering wheel and I felt a sharp pain go through my forehead, then everything went still.
Chapter Four
Micah
The radio set up in my living room was pouring out a never-ending stream of warnings. What had been the occasional reminder that severe weather might be on its way had become forceful demands for attention, telling the few of us that were on the mountain to be prepared for the worst, and telling those who might have interest in coming up to stay away. There hadn't been weather this severe this early in the season in years, and though I had dedicated myself to being as prepared as possible and knew that I was going to be able to weather the storm just fine, I found myself wondering about the people in the cabin below me. The smoke from the chimney had continued
since I first noticed it, telling me that they were keeping a fire burning at all times. It was likely their idea of creating holiday ambiance, not realizing how important their fireplace and stove would be as the temperatures continued to drop and the electricity was at risk of going out. I hoped that they were either better prepared than I thought that they would be, or that they were already putting in calls to the rangers who would put plans into place to rescue them if necessary.
I had been hearing the warnings about a tree that had come down across the access road and my curiosity was getting the better of me. From the description of the place where it had fallen, it seemed that it wasn't too far from my lodge. Considering that I was the only one who lived this far up on the mountain, that meant that it shouldn't cause problems for anyone lower down. While this was a benefit to them, it also meant that the motivation to get the tree off of the road wasn't very high and it would likely remain low on the priority list throughout the storm. That didn't really matter much to me. I had everything that I needed and would have no need to head down the mountain anytime soon. Having a day without going out into the woods to work, however, was starting to create cabin fever and I needed to get out for a little while. Going to see the tree seemed like the ideal excuse. I strapped on my snowshoes, lured Scout away from the wood stove with the promise of playing, and headed out.
The snow was more intense than I had expected it to be, but my stubbornness wouldn't allow me to turn back around. Being in the thickest part of the woods provided some protection from the snow and I was able to move more quickly without the flakes stinging on my skin. Scout romped around me happily, occasionally dropping into a deeper drift and sinking until he was almost out of sight, then bounding out again. I tossed a stick ahead of me and watched as he ran toward it, sniffed it, then promptly lost interest. We were nearly to the access road when I heard the sound of gears grinding and a sickening crunch. I knew that sound. It was all too familiar to me. The pain in my leg pulsed as if in acknowledgment, and I shook it hard, trying to force away the sensation and the thoughts that it brought with it.
Calling Scout to me, I increased my pace, pushing through the snow toward the road and the sound of the crash. I dreaded what I was going to see when I came over the ridge and looked down at the tree. The sound had been deep and crushing, enough to tell me that it was serious and the damage could be severe. I stepped up onto the top of the ridge and looked down. The snow blowing in the wind was still too much for me to be able to see clearly, but I could make out the hint of the road weaving through. I hurried down toward the road, my snowshoes preventing me from maintaining as fast of a pace as I would have wanted to, and soon saw the road ahead of me. The narrow passage was bordered on one side by the sharp rocks of the mountain and on the other by a sheer drop. The sound of the crunching had made my stomach drop, making me think that the car might have tumbled over the edge. As I approached the road, however, I saw that that wasn't the case.
The massive tree blocked the entire road, the width of its trunk so expansive that it rose up from the ground over the top of the car. I noticed that it wasn't the front of the car that had smashed into the tree, but rather the back, crushing the little white sedan's trunk into its backseat, but leaving the front fairly unscathed except for a small impact from swinging around after hitting. The angle was strange, and I wondered if the driver had positioned the car that way intentionally. If they had, it was a smart move. Though the car was now a permanent Christmas ornament on the massive tree, turning around prevented the front end from flattening. As it was, the driver's side of the car seemed to have gotten through whatever had brought the car to rest in this position without damage. I walked toward it, wondering who could be driving and why they were up this high on the mountain, using a road that only I ever used. As I got close to the car, however, and was able to see into the driver's side window, the relief I had felt disappeared.
Because of the angle of the car and the fact that it was the back that had crashed into the tree, I had assumed that whoever had been driving had either gotten out and tried to continue on foot, or would be sitting in the front seat already on their phone trying to find a rescuer. Instead, I saw that there was someone behind the wheel and they were draped over the steering wheel, limp and silent. I grasped the handle of the driver's side door and pulled. It wouldn't budge. It was a new model car, something that had likely been driven off the lot within the last few months, which meant that the locks had engaged automatically when the driver started moving. I brushed the snow off of the window and leaned close to the glass, resting my face against my cupped hands to get a better view of the inside of the car. I could see the driver better now and recognized that it was a woman. She was resting on the steering wheel, her head leaned against the top and her hands wrapped around each side. The tightness of the grip around the wheel told me that despite her appearance, she wasn't unconscious. I knocked lightly on the window, not wanting to scare her, but needing her to unlock the door so that I could check on her.
The woman inside jumped when she heard me knock and turned to look at me.
"Unlock the door!" I shouted through the window.
The wind around me had picked up and was starting to wail. She shook her head and I knocked on the window again.
"Unlock the door!" I repeated. "You need to get out of the car."
She looked around as if she had forgotten that she was in the car at all and had no idea what had happened. Seeming to recognize the severity of the situation, she sat up slowly and reached for the lock button. I heard it click and pulled the handle again. As soon as I opened the door, Scout rushed forward, wriggling around me to look into the car at the woman. She didn't recoil from him, even when he hopped up so that his cold, wet paws landed in her lap. I had intended on making him wear boots, but every time that I had tried, he freaked out, shaking his feet and trying his hardest not to keep any of his paws on the ground. He had jumped up and landed with his face in the snow so many times that I eventually gave up and just added drying his paws when we got inside out of routine.
The woman reached down and stroked his head, leaning down slightly to look at him.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
The woman lifted her head and looked at me. My eyes met hers and I felt a flicker of something in the back of my mind. It felt like recognition, but I couldn't quite bring myself to know what it was about her that was familiar, or who she might be. I asked her again and she gave a slow nod. It was as though all of her movements were stretched out, like she was moving through water.
"I think so," she said.
"Come on," I said, patting Scout's side to get him away from her and then reaching into the car for her. "We need to get you out of the car."
She wasn't wearing a seatbelt, making it easy for me to scoop her up and help her climb out. When she turned to face me fully I noticed a cut on her forehead. It wasn't serious, just enough to create a small trickle of blood, and it seemed to be her only injury. She was fully on her feet, but suddenly her legs seemed to give out beneath her and she slumped against me. I grabbed onto her, holding her tightly against me with one arm while I reached around to close the door with the other. The woman didn't seem to be capable of walking through the growing storm on her own, so I scooped her into my arms and carried her up the ridge and into the woods. Under the protection of the trees I was less concerned about her, but the soft moans coming from her made me wonder if her injury was more serious than I had originally thought. I knew that she needed to get out of the cold and snow, and it would be a while before any type of rescue would be able to get to her. The only choice I had was to bring her to the lodge and keep her warm and safe.
I carried the woman into the house and brought her to the back hallway and into the guest room. This was one of the features of the lodge that I had included when designing it because the builder insisted that guest rooms were just something that homes had, but had never actually been used. Now I
was glad that I had it as I stretched the woman out across the comforter and looked down at her. Her face was peaceful and comfortable now, and her breath was even. It no longer looked like she had passed out, but rather that she was asleep. Scout tromped into the room after me and looked up at the bed as if questioning me about the woman. I looked down at him.
"She's going to need us to take care of her for a while," I told Scout. "I'm going to go back to her car and see if I can find anything that she might need. You stay here and watch over her."
As if he fully understood what I had told him, Scout jumped up on the end of the bed and curled into a ball close to the woman's feet. He rested his head on his paws as if to fall asleep, but kept his eyes open, staring at her. I hurried back through the lodge and stepped out on the porch, taking a moment to stamp the snow off of my feet and shake it off of my arms. I knew that more would take its place in a matter of minutes, but I figured I shouldn't give it a head start. I made my way back through the woods, my progress slower this time because of the dusk that had settled through the woods. The combination of the darkness of the evening and the snow that was still swirling through the air made it harder for me to get through the trees and I reached into the pocket of my heavy coat to pull out the flashlight that I always kept there. The beam did little to slice through the thick blackness of the woods, but I shined it on the snow ahead of me so that at least I could see if there were any obstacles that would cause me to trip. I was relieved when I made it to the edge of the ridge and could carefully ease my way back down onto the road.
I opened the car and was thankful for the overhead dome light that popped on. I looked around the cabin of the car, trying to find any personal belongings that the woman might have had with her. That strange tickle of recognition was still in the back of my mind and I dug through my memories, trying to figure out why I felt like I knew her, what was familiar about her. I hadn't had much opportunity to look at her, but somehow the curve of her face seemed to me like I had seen it before. A sudden thought came to my mind. It was more like a flash than a true memory. I seemed to remember the woman, her face younger and softer, in the halls of my high school many years before. That girl had been quiet and shy, seeming to exist just on the edge of the popular crowd that I all but ruled. My place in the crowd had been earned by my position on the football team, secured even before freshman year had begun. Hers was different. That girl, whose name I couldn't seem to bring to my tongue, was able to move through the most popular group in the school thanks to the wealth of her family. I wondered if it could be possible that this woman could be the same girl who I was remembering. And if it was, how did she end up on the mountain, so close to my lodge?
