The Hot Guy in the Woods

by London Casey

  Osiris was right about one thing. When it stormed on the mountain, it was bad.

  The rain crashed against my windshield harder than my wipers could keep up with. The thunder cracked over and over. The lightning flashed.

  I went as slow as I possibly could without stopping. The good news was that there was just one road. It brought you up the mountain, and it took you down. That meant I had a scary drive down, but once I hit a real, paved road, I was golden.

  Up ahead, there was a small bend.

  The rain seemed to suddenly let up so I could see. Pounding one second, just an easy rain the next. I considered it fate helping me out for once. I felt like I was long overdue for fate to do something in my favor.

  That moment, everything hit me.

  What Thad did. All the things he said. All the lies he told. All the truths he told, too. The way my life spiraled and I hadn’t been able to reel it back in. Which wasn’t like me. And then him sending me some stupid fucking flower. Why? So that I would leave him and his family alone? I had done nothing to contact them or bother them since he left.

  I couldn’t believe I was starting to cry.

  Most of it was because of Osiris, though. My own dumb mind building up something that wasn’t real. I felt hopeless. I felt like everyone in town knew about me and my bullshit. So, anyone that saw me would know about Thad, naturally.

  Tears rolled down my cheeks as the rain rolled down my windshield. I leaned forward, gripping the wheel super tight. I saw at the bend there was a cut in the middle of the road from the rain. It was at a weird angle, the rain water cutting its down path across and down the mountain.

  To me it looked easy to get through. Just keep going, hold the wheel, bounce through the mud and the bumps. Simple, right?

  I cruised forward. I picked up a little more speed because I could. The rain wasn’t all that bad. The winds were starting to die down a little.

  I was going to get off the mountain. Go home. Drink wine. Watch a romance movie. Cry my eyes out. And tomorrow would be a restart for my life.

  My front tires hit the bump and I felt myself splash and sink. My car suddenly turned. I was almost sideways as I cut the wheel, hitting the gas, my tires spinning in the mud. I felt myself lurching to the left, and I pictured myself just dropping off the mountain. Falling into the trees, disappearing, never to be found again.

  “Shit,” I yelled.

  My car turned a little further, then stopped with a sudden jolt that sent my head to the left, smacking against the window. I thought for sure the window was going to break but it didn’t.

  The rain kept coming down.

  And I was trapped.

  I looked over to my phone. I would have to suck it up and call for help. Someone would have to come up here and get me. And help me get my car.

  But before that…

  I just needed to sit there and cry.

  9

  Leave it For Tomorrow

  (OSIRIS)

  I stood there for a few minutes before moving.

  The conversation had gone as well as I figured. What the hell was I supposed to do? Comfort her? Tell her it was going to be okay? She had no idea how damn lucky she was. She could have been gone for good.

  Just like…

  I walked from the kitchen to the porch. I grabbed my bottle of whiskey and put it to my lips. I tasted the wicked bitter taste on the rim of the bottle. Then I stopped. I put the bottle on the small table and walked to the railing. I leaned on it and looked around. The storm was passing. The worst of it was gone. That was good.

  I looked at the road and saw the ponds already formed. And they would keep forming. And there were parts where the water would push through hard and create little rivers. Some were deeper than others, but they were all dangerous. There wasn’t much traction because of the dirt and mud.

  It wasn’t my problem though.

  None of this was my problem.

  Lara was the one who’d ended up on my property. On that damn bench. She didn’t know that I always took walks to that bench when I couldn’t sleep. Because as hopeful as she had been by coming up to my cabin, I had been that hopeful by going to the bench. That something would happen. That I would find something.

  “Goddammit,” I growled.

  I went back inside and grabbed the keys to my truck.

  I put it in four-wheel drive and started to cruise down the road. I had these roads mastered. Rain, snow, ice, whatever, I could handle it. And shit, there were times when I even got stuck and needed to borrow equipment from Jerry to pull myself out of a ditch.

  So I couldn’t imagine what Lara was going through right now, stuck in a little car during a storm.

  I shouldn’t have let her leave the cabin.

  Hell, I shouldn’t have invited her in to begin with. It was a quick second of my mind putting its guard down, thinking it would be nice to have some company. But all she wanted to do was talk vaguely and stare out the window.

  Shit, sugar, if you were hurting, then either talk or go.

  I gritted my teeth as I picked up speed.

  There was a bend up ahead that was a real pain in the ass to deal with in the rain. It was where all the water wanted to cross over the road and head down the mountain. The angle was just right for it, too. And when it started to flood, it was deceptive.

  I didn’t even make it to the bend when I saw Lara’s car sitting there, sideways.

  She got lucky for a second time. If she had gone toward the left side of the road she could have been swept right off the mountain.

  I threw the truck into park and got out.

  I ran after the car, hoping to everything that she wasn’t crazy enough to get out and try to walk again.

  She was in the car, though.

  Right behind the steering wheel, her hands still holding it.

  I knocked on the window, and she turned her head.

  She was crying.

  I opened the door and touched her shoulder. “Hey, hey. You’re alright, Lara. You got lucky again.”

  “No I didn’t. Lucky would have been falling off this fucking mountain.”

  “Why the hell would you say that?” I growled.

  “I have nowhere to go, Syi. Okay? And I came up here to hide. You’re right. Fine. You win. You saved me. You win.”

  I sighed.

  The rain smacked against my head, my face, my clothes.

  “Come on,” I said. “You’re coming back to my cabin.”

  “Why? So you could yell at me? You want to know about me? Fine.”

  I put a hand to her shoulder. “No, sugar. I don’t want to hear a thing right now. I want you warm, safe, and for fuck’s sake, stop trying to leave.”

  She sucked in a breath. “Fine. I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, real sorry,” I said.

  Lara climbed out of her car. She had a small bag and nothing else. Her clothes were getting soaked. She had a small cut on the left side of her head.

  I shook my head, holding back what I wanted to say. I didn’t want to scare her away again. I didn’t need this on my hands. On my mind. I had enough to deal with already.

  “Hold on to me,” I said. “This shit is slippery.”

  Lara grabbed my arm with two hands and clung tight. Each time she lost her footing, her nails dug into my arm a little. I gritted my teeth, hating that it felt kind of nice to have someone touching me. That I could actually save someone.

  I took her to my truck and opened the passenger door.

  She sat there, her hair soaked, matted down. Her face was wet with rain and tears, small black streaks from her makeup ran down her cheeks. She shivered and started to rub her arms.

  “Syi…”

  “Not now,” I said before I slammed the door.

  I then stood at the front of my truck for a few seconds. Her car was good and stuck. The tires were halfway buried and there was no use in trying to get out until the rain was gone and things dried up a little.

  Which would
be tomorrow.

  Which meant Lara was going to have another sleepover at my cabin.

  I rubbed my forehead and climbed into my truck. I had to go in reverse the entire way back home. I didn’t want to run the risk of trying to turn around. Even with four-wheel drive, that didn’t promise a thing up on this mountain.

  When I stopped the truck, I looked over at Lara. She was huddled up, shaking from the rain. Maybe shaking with regret or fear of me.

  “Go inside,” I said. “You can grab a hot shower. I’ll give you something to wear.”

  She nodded. “I never meant…”

  “I know,” I said. “Nobody ever means. But shit happens. Just don’t argue with me anymore, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said.

  She opened the door to the truck and got out. I watched her walk to my cabin and enter it.

  That was a vision I’d had for a long time. But it was the wrong fucking person. This woman that kept crashing into my life. She was obviously brokenhearted over something.

  Was that such a bad thing, though? Having someone that understood what that felt like?

  I turned the truck off and went back inside myself.

  It was still raining. A nice, steady rain, the only thunder rumbling far off in the distance. The worst of the storm was gone. But then I looked toward the bathroom and shook my head. Maybe the worst of the storm was just beginning.

  I went into the kitchen and grabbed the tea kettle. I filled it with water and put it on the burner, but I didn’t turn it on yet. I grabbed two mugs and two tea bags. Hopefully a hot shower, hot mug of tea, and even a fire would help sooth Lara.

  I went up the stairs to the loft area and refused to look at the desk. I went to the closet and opened it. I grabbed an old flannel that smelled of me and dust. I had some PJ bottoms too, but they were far too big for Lara. I grabbed a pair with a set of strings so she could try and tie them. I didn’t need her walking around my cabin half-naked or with just the bottom of a flannel covering up certain areas.

  The thought of it, though, made me tighten my grip on the clothes in my hands. I shut my eyes and exhaled slowly. I tried really hard not to think about her that way. But it was almost an instinctive need. Something wild and feral in the pit of my soul that wanted escape and release.

  That could and would happen, but not with Lara.

  She needed to calm down and then get her ass out of my cabin and off the mountain tomorrow. And then stay the hell away.

  I took another long breath and then walked back downstairs.

  I went toward the bathroom and saw the door was half open.

  Lara stood there, fully clothed. She had a washcloth in her hand, trying to dab her head.

  I cleared my throat, and she looked at me in the reflection.

  She grabbed the door and opened it the rest of the way.

  The shower was already running.

  “Brought you these,” I said. “Not sure what will work or not. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I put water on for tea. You need to warm up and settle down. It’s going to be okay here. You can crash on the couch like you did before. I’ll call my boss tomorrow, and we’ll get some equipment to get your car out of there. You can’t do anything with it tonight, though. The more it rains, the worse it’ll be.”

  Lara nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

  “I’ll take care of that cut too when you get out of the shower,” I said.

  My voice was suddenly kind, gentle, inviting. A sharp contrast from the cocky dick that chased her out of the cabin into a fucking storm.

  Yeah, I felt guilty about that.

  I backed away, and she shut the door.

  But she didn’t lock it.

  Fuck, it left me with this impossible feeling of temptation.

  I kept my mind and hands busy.

  I built a small fire in the fireplace. I got pillows and blankets for the couch. I went into the kitchen and paced like a caged lion. I was angry that Lara was here again. But in a way, I was relieved. I’d have a night where I wasn’t alone. But I had to face it, I was still alone.

  I listened, and when I heard the water get shut off, I turned on the burner for the tea.

  I walked through the cabin slowly, trying to figure out how much time it would take Lara to dry off and get dressed.

  I gently rapped my knuckles against the door.

  She opened it and stood there in the flannel and nothing else. Her hair was a wet mess of curls, dangling down her shoulders and her back.

  She had a towel in her hand. My mind got hung up on that towel, thinking of all the places it had just been. Along with the water in my shower.

  “Want me to patch that up?” I asked, pointing to the cut on her forehead.

  “Sure.”

  I entered the bathroom. It was warm and steamy. The mirror was fogged up. I opened the door of the medicine cabinet and took out a small medical kit. Just the basic stuff. Bandages, gauzes, antibacterial stuff. Anything more serious either Jerry had on site or you’d wrap it up with a towel and just head to an urgent care or ER.

  Lara leaned against the sink.

  I towered over her.

  “Jump up on the sink,” I said.

  “Huh?”

  I put my hands to her hips. I didn’t mean to do that. It just…happened. Like it was second nature. We looked at each other for a second, and Lara put her hands to mine.

  I lifted her and put her on the edge of the sink so she was higher.

  She let out a shuddering gasp.

  My heart jumped a little.

  She smelled fantastic. She looked beautiful without any makeup on. Her natural skin, wet hair, a sense of honesty and worry in her eyes.

  I took my hands from her hips and grabbed the medical kit.

  “What happened?”

  “When the car stopped, I hit my head on the window.”

  “Shit,” I whispered. “Do you feel okay?”

  “No.”

  “Lara, you know what I mean. Are you dizzy? How’s your balance?”

  “I’m okay. I’m not concussed.”

  “Okay. Turn your head.”

  She turned her head. From the side…she was…

  I took out a cotton ball and sprayed some antibacterial stuff on it. I touched her head, and she sucked in a breath and jumped.

  “Ah,” she gasped.

  I felt a jolt through my body.

  “You good?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Just stings.”

  “That means it’s cleaning out the bacteria.”

  “Yeah, right,” Lara said with a smirk.

  “What?”

  “My grandmother used to say that too. It’s a lie. Just trying to justify the pain.”

  “Isn’t that what we all do with pain?” I asked. “Justify it?”

  Lara turned her head and looked at me. We were way too close. Inches separated our lips, and I hated myself a little for noticing that.

  “That’s right,” she whispered. “We justify it, Syi. We get drunk. We walk through the woods to escape it. We get lost. Then get found. We run. We comeback. We…”

  My right hand moved forward and touched her face. My thumb then eased along her bottom lip. I was supposed to be putting a bandage to the cut on her head, not trying to give myself three reasons why I shouldn’t kiss her right then.

  I felt my lip curl. I knew I looked mean and nasty. That was just my heart taking control. I couldn’t help it.

  I finally forced myself to look down for a second to catch my breath.

  When I did, I saw the way the flannel shirt had folded and moved between her legs. Showing her bare legs, her knees. The shirt covering up the rest of her legs, halfway up.

  I shuddered and looked up at her again.

  She was right there.

  “Syi, I didn’t mean to do any of this to you. Someone hurt me really bad.”

  I nodded. “It’ll be okay.”

  “Will it,
though?”

  After a pause, I shook my head. “Probably not.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Yeah. Fuck.”

  There was silence. Too much silence, not enough space between us.

  I inched even closer.

  It was all need. A deep and wild need. We could share each other’s pain. Each other’s bodies. Just for a little bit. Just to…ease…

  Lara touched my arms. Her hands were so small compared to my body.

  I liked that.

  I was close enough to taste her breath. She was breathing heavy, nervous, trying to hide it. Her lips parted even more and she sighed, which was more than I could possibly take.

  That’s when the tea kettle started to wail from the kitchen.

  The warning echoed through the cabin, suddenly bringing me back to my senses.

  I quickly backed away and grabbed the medical kit.

  “Here,” I said. “You can get the rest.”

  “Syi,” Lara said. “Wait.”

  I turned around and got the hell out of the bathroom.

  Halfway through the cabin, I stopped and shook my head.

  I could slip, but I could not fall.

  10

  A Small Light

  (LARA)

  I couldn’t breathe in the bathroom. I couldn’t breathe anywhere, actually. When Syi got within a few feet’s radius it was like all my air was stolen. Not to mention how close we’d been to kissing. That was crazy. Too crazy.

  I put a bandage on the cut on my head and forced myself to step into the pajama bottoms he gave me. Bad enough I was wearing his shirt which was so huge on me. Luckily for me my bra and panties didn’t get soaked when I was in the rain. I had my clothes hung over the shower curtain rod.

  I managed to get the drawstring of the pants tied semi-tightly. I looked like a total fool as I walked through the cabin with these baggy clothes hanging from me. Not to mention they smelled like him. And every time I took a breath and smelled Syi, my heart raced a little.

  He had pillows and blankets on the couch. And two mugs of tea.

  Syi appeared from the porch, holding a bottle of whiskey. He twisted off the cap and poured quite a bit into his tea.