by Adele Huxley
“Nothing new there,” Kayla laughed. She shifted to face me, resting her head on her hand. “What did you spend the money on, then? Obviously not clothes.”
“I haven’t spent it. Like I said, it’s for my dad. I’ve been letting it earn interest, which I even offered to give Rick. I thought more money might smooth things over with him...”
“How do you think he found you on Christmas?”
I took another sip of cocoa, the liquor and chocolate soothing my nerves. “I have no idea. It’s a small town, Bryan’s a local. Maybe he just asked around and figured out where the family cabin was.”
“Well, it sounds like he was getting out there just in time to save you,” Kayla said with a huff.
Just as I was about to defend Bryan, a loud pounding reverberated down the hall from the front door. We both looked at each other in surprise.
“It’s him,” I said. I could almost feel the urgency through the knock. “Can you please get rid of him? I really don’t want to do this right now.” I pulled the thick blankets up around my chin and wiggled further down into the bed.
“Gladly,” she said bouncing out of the bed. She left the bedroom door open and as much as I tried not to, I focused on her footsteps and the click of the front door. I couldn’t hear the actual words, just the murmur of conversation until Bryan shouted.
“Liz! I know you’re in there. Please, just let me explain and then I’ll go away if you want. Please!”
I threw my mug onto the side table and clamped my hands over my ears. His voice tore right through me. I wanted nothing more than to believe the lies he’d inevitably tell me, to try and forget any of this happened but I couldn’t. Was I seriously that bad a judge of character? First Rick, now him. Apparently I was.
Kayla’s voice rose to meet his and the shouting eventually stopped. The door slammed shut and Kayla’s bare feet slapped against the wood floor as she ran back to the bedroom. She dove under the covers with a shiver.
“He’s gone, it’s alright.”
“What did he say?”
“Does it matter?”
I snuggled into the pillow and sighed. “I suppose not, no. Do you wanna watch a movie or something? We could watch some cheesy New Year’s movie where everything works out in the end.”
“Ahh shit...” Kayla said as she sat up in bed.
I followed her eyes to the windows just as Bryan came into view. He lifted his gloved hand to touch the glass, scanning the room. He immediately saw the roaring fire and looked to the bed, our eyes connecting instantly. The agony in his expression weakened my resolve. Kayla shouting at my side was the only thing that stopped me from completely crumbling.
“Get the hell out of here, you creeper! I’m gonna call the police in two seconds if you don’t leave.”
Bryan opened the unlocked door and stepped in. “I don’t care. I don’t care what happens to me as long as I get to explain myself. I’ll go back to that cell but Liz, please.” He gripped the door.
“No, get the fuck out of here. Go,” Kayla yelled. She was on her knees at the edge of the bed screaming as loudly as she could. No matter what she yelled, his eyes stayed locked on mine.
I slid out of the bed and stood, the back of my legs pressed against the tall mattress. Kayla quieted at the movement, a tiny smile curling her lips, perhaps waiting for my outburst. When I spoke, my voice was low and so much more controlled than I’d expected. “I know what I heard back there. I know who you are now. I’m not sure—”
“Liz, you have to let me—” he said taking a few more steps inside.
“I don’t have to do a fucking thing,” I growled, holding up a finger that stopped him dead. “There’s not a whole lot you could say to me right now that would rebuild even a fraction of the trust I had for you. I appreciate you taking care of me but you can consider your service completed. I’d really prefer it if I never saw you again.”
The words came out short, clipped, hitting him like slaps across the face. His eyes pleaded with me just as much as his words but I couldn’t back down. I couldn’t let one more liar into my life. I came to Tellure Hollow to sort myself out and that’s exactly what I was going to do. What better day to start than the last day of the year?
“Please, Elizabeth—”
“No!” I screamed, my temper flaring. “You never get to call me that. Ever.” I took several steps towards him, aggressively enough he actually backed away and onto the deck. “Get out of my house. Just go.” As I edged closer, I felt myself weakening. Somehow it seemed fitting that I yelled at him the first time we met and last time I’d see him. I rested my hand on the door. With my lip quivering, I whispered, “I trusted you,” and slammed it shut.
I flung the curtains closed behind me, not willing to let him see me crumple to the floor. Kayla rushed to my side and held me as I cried. Not long after, the party outside began counting down from ten.
After the fireworks had died down and the party moved into town, I grew more and more anxious. Noah and Rick were due back any time and I was sure Bryan was lurking around outside somewhere. I sat in the house with Kayla flinching at every sound. Waiting for the inevitable to come crashing down was agony. We’d watched movies until the early morning hours, Kayla eventually falling asleep on the sofa beside me. I looked at her with envy. I felt like I was never going to be able to sleep again.
I paced around the kitchen, the rhythmic steps calming my thoughts. I toed the lines of the tile and traced the path of my life. How had things come to this? Where was the way out? Stupidly, I’d thought Bryan was my ticket to freedom, that somehow he’d save me. You thought he was more than that, I chastised myself. Don’t diminish what he meant to you. A part of me wondered if it wasn’t a matter of right place, wrong time. I’d been so terrified when Rick had shown up, I’d clung to whatever strength I could find. Bryan might’ve been the lucky guy to help carry my baggage.
As I walked circles around and around that dim kitchen, I began to weave together a plan. Rick was pissed off but even he wasn’t immune to my...wiles. He’d come to collect what I owed him, probably slap me around a bit to teach me a lesson, but mainly he was here to make money. If I kept my head on straight, used Kayla to my advantage, maybe I’d be able to come out relatively unscathed. But no matter which way I twisted the situation, everything came back to one point.
I’d have to sleep with Rick.
Every time the thought popped into my mind my step faltered, like a hand holding me back. What would that make me? It wasn’t just that I was giving him my virginity...it was in exchange for money. I’d made the con artist joke with Kayla earlier without thinking, but it was true. If I went through with it, wouldn’t that make me a full-fledged prostitute? The idea hung in my mind as I searched for ways around it, ways to delay it yet again until I could come up with another plan.
“I wish I’d just slept with Bryan,” I muttered to myself, kicking a scrap of paper along with my toe. At the same time, I was glad I hadn’t. Everything I’d read about him seemed like the complete opposite of the person he’d showed me. His dad was an abusive, controlling coach who drove him to the brink. His fiancee talked about his angry outbursts, the arguments, the womanizing. Not to mention the fact I felt completely intimidated by how beautiful she was. I didn’t have the strength or the patience to figure out fact from fiction, not with a viper coming straight for me.
I sank into the other sofa and wrapped myself in a plaid blanket. The living room was bathed in a silvery moonlight, reflected by the snow outside. The huge lit tree glowed, casting gorgeous shadows across the ceiling and walls. If I ignored everything that’d happened, every horrible thing I’d seen and heard, it finally felt like Christmas...just a week later than I’d hoped.
____________
A few hours later, the sound of the front door shutting pulled me from my sleep. From my vantage, I could see Noah and Rick both stumbling in from a long night out. Instantly awake, I realized in that drunken state, Rick would be the m
ost pliable. Whatever charms I had left, I could try to use on him.
I smoothed my hair down and tried to settle the flutter in my stomach. I had to face my demon directly or it would chase me for the rest of my life. This could go horribly wrong but hopefully right.
“This was one of the best New Years of my life,” Noah slurred. They clamored into the kitchen, ransacking the cupboards and fridge for food. “Steve, you really know how to drink,” he laughed. They were making so much noise, I couldn’t believe Kayla was able to sleep through it.
“Oh, he knows how to party,” I said stepping from the shadows.
As drunk as he was, Rick’s eyes focused on me straight away. There was anger there but a whole lot of lust. He knew I was still his, so to speak, and that made me desirable still. There was no doubt in my mind if I hadn’t declared my virginity, he’d have no qualms with beating me for the hell of it.
“Fuck off, you cheap piece of—” Noah started.
“Shut your mouth,” Rick said calmly, his eyes still on mine.
I stepped closer, swishing a little, trying to look as sexy as I could in sweatpants and a baggy shirt. “Do you think we could go talk?” I tilted my head a little. Even closer. I could smell the booze and sweat leaking from his skin. I barely suppressed a gag as I came within reach.
“Rick, this piece of trash doesn’t deserve even a second of your time,” Noah whined. I heard Kayla stir behind me but I pressed on.
“I think we have a lot to talk about,” I nodded, encouraging him to nod along with me.
Still he didn’t budge, he just looked at me with those sharp eyes, as if trying to read the very essence of my soul. It was unnerving. Between the exhausting day and the early hour, I couldn’t control myself.
“Come on, Rick. You’ve spent the last few weeks chasing me and here I am! Isn’t this what you wanted?” My heart pounded. I was really poking the bear now. I expected something...a reaction of some sort, but there he stood, the very picture of stoic. A few heartbeats more and I huffed. “Whatever.”
I strutted past him, flicking my hair over my shoulder with a flash of arrogance. Inside I was shaking with fear but I couldn’t let him see it. As I walked past, his hand shot out and grabbed my arm, fingers digging into my muscle with surprising strength.
“Fine,” was all he said before dragging me to my room.
“Will you pick up the pace? Last I checked, they ain’t adding hours to the day, you know,” Walt grumbled. I’d been staring off into the distance again.
“I thought you said the quality of the work always mattered more than how long it took?” I threw back at him, shaking the fog away.
“Slow, fast, I don’t really give a shit at this point. Just keep working.” That actually pulled a chuckle from me. The old man was grumpy at the best of times, but he was right. I’d really been slacking off the past few weeks, not to mention all the times my mind drifted back to Liz.
With a sigh, I returned to the snowboard I’d been sharpening. Like some type of pain addict, I started to pick at another raw wound, something I’d been doing a lot.
“I’ve decided since you won’t let me pay you back directly for bailing me out, I’m going to start doing it in ways you won’t know.”
Walt peered at me above the rims of his glasses. “Oh yeah? And how exactly are you going to sneak ten grand into my bank account? I’ve lost all my teeth, twice. Tooth fairy ain’t come ‘round my house in a long time.”
I laughed again, which felt good. “I figure since you’re such a cheap sonofabitch, all I’ll have to do is strategically drop bills here and there around the store or out on the street and you won’t be able to resist stopping to grab them.”
He smiled and pulled off his glasses, wiping them with a handkerchief. “That might just work, you know. You gonna do that for everyone that pitched in to get you out? ‘Cause they don’t want your money either.”
I dropped the diamond sharpener to the table with a clatter. “Will you please let me pay you guys back? It’s the one thing I actually have a little control over and I’d—”
“Son, we’ve been over this,” he said looking at me straight on. “You’re a good kid and all, but this wasn’t ever about you. We don’t want your money. We want to show those bastards up there that townies stick together. Those Richards need to see what the mountain means to us.”
I groaned at that. I was so tired of being the poster boy. The Olympic hopeful, the face of tragedy, the delicious example of a downward spiral. Now I found myself at the intersection of the locals and the rich. Me, a person with a foot in each of those worlds. I instantly regretted bringing it up. Hungover and irritable was not the way I wanted to listen to some of Walt’s rants about the new owners.
Picking up a black marker, I traced along the metal of the edge so I knew where I’d sharpened, an old trick my dad had showed me when I was younger. Walt took a loud sip of his coffee and slammed the mug down on the table, some sloshing over the side. The noise tore through my skull.
“What that man did over New Year’s was a fucking disgrace. I haven’t seen something that flagrant in my entire life.”
“I know,” I said trying to placate him.
“No, you don’t know,” he snapped. “That parade has been a tradition in this town for decades. Do you have any idea what that means?” He stood and paced around the shop, gesturing as if he were standing on a stage speaking to a crowd, trying to rile them up. Great, I’ve really set him off this time.
“I know, Walt but it’s done—” I repeated. I’d actually been just as shocked when I heard it, but more pressing things had happened that night.
The New Year’s Eve parade in Tellure Hollow was a famous tradition. Hundreds of people would meet at the top of the mountain an hour before midnight and light their torches. Holding them high as they descended the mountain, the rest of the town could see the specks of light flying down the slopes. I remembered it from when I was a kid, like hundreds of fireflies all floating down the snow.
Once the skiers reached the bottom, the parade would kick off. The local high school marching band, floats from various organizations. Hell, they even crowned a winter princess and perched her on the back of a convertible so she could wave to the crowd. But not this year. Mr. Richards had declared the mountain off-limits, citing a potential fire hazard as the reason. The parade had carried on, but hardly anyone turned up to watch. The move was probably one of the most demoralizing things he could’ve done. If his goal was to ostracize the town to the point of no return, he’d done a damn good job of it.
“No! You think you know but how could you? Your parents, they moved you all over the map. You have no roots. That man came in—no, that fucking family came in and just ran right through all ours. Stole the mountain from under us and is now systematically ripping this town apart at the seams.”
I dropped the marker on the table and stretched, just wanting him to finish. I understood and sympathized, but honestly, in my fog of self-pity, I didn’t care about much else but myself. Harsh but true. “Alright, I get it, Walt. I do.”
He grew earnest, placing his hands on the work bench in front of me. “We can’t take your money, son. It’s a matter of pride. Your blood might be from here but people still just see you as...” he trailed off.
“The Blizzard, yeah, I know. Guess I can’t escape that, huh?” I said shaking my head.
“No son, and you shouldn’t try, either.”
____________
My hangover had mostly dissipated by the time I got home. The sun had long set and the house was dark. I cracked open a can of beer to hopefully rid myself of the final headache, maybe get an early start on the night. Self-medication is the best medication, right? I grabbed an extra because I knew I’d need it. I leaned against the counter and stared at my ski bag. I hadn’t been able to find the drive to get up to the mountain since the time I’d given Liz her first lesson. Furthest I seemed able to push my truck was to the Gritty Cask.
/> God, Liz...I’d messed up. Bad. The fact she wouldn’t even hear me out was what wrecked me the most. Even if she never spoke to me again, all I wanted was the chance to at least tell her my side of the story. Then she could hate me as much as she wanted.
It sounds a little stalker-ish, but I’d been keeping an eye on her, making sure she was as safe as possible. I’d even gone so far as to enlist people around her to help. Her roommate Morgan was a sweetheart and more than willing to help. Emily at the rental shop had a pretty big crush on me, which I could use to my advantage, although that one did leave me feeling a little guilty. One of Dale’s friends was a liftie and had told me she was out on the mountain now most days. Pretty girl like Liz, every guy knew who she was.
I took another sip of my beer and sat on the sofa, nearly in the dark. I switched on one of the last friends I had. A few days after our fight, I’d been poking through the cupboards in search of any form of alcohol I could use to drown my feelings. That’s when I’d stumbled across what I thought was a radio, but in fact, was a police scanner. With no TV or Internet, it was the closest thing to entertainment I had in the place. It felt nice to have voices in the house, as odd as that might sound.
Liz was as safe as I could ensure. As much as I disliked Kayla, I hoped she’d at least protect Liz from any real danger. Noah didn’t really bother me. Wealthy, entitled, but ultimately harmless. No, Rick was the real issue. He was the true danger, possibly more than we’d first thought. A few days after New Year’s, Officer Dylan had stopped by my house. Embarrassingly, he’d actually found me in quite a state.
“The guy checks out. He has a birth certificate, social security number, even a passport with stamps on it,” he’d said while standing in my doorway.
I’d been so drunk I’d had to hold myself up on the door frame. “Well, you can buy all those things, can’t you?”
