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ONE
Elle
I thoughtthat this would be a lot more fun,I think as I huff and puff my way through the snow.
I’m out of breath and I can feel sweat beading on my forehead and more running down my back. The snow had looked so pretty, shining in the sun. I had felt like I was in a snow globe when I looked at it. That’s why I had bundled up and ventured outside even though it was barely ten degrees outside.
I turn and look over my shoulder, groaning when I realize that I can still see the cabin that I rented for the week.
“Jeez! I thought that I had gone a lot further than that,” I wheeze as I turn back around, pushing a few loose strands of pale blonde hair out of my eyes.
This trip to Alaska was meant to be relaxing and fun. I was going to explore the area, really bond with nature, and destress. When I saw the snow shoes next to the back door, I was excited at the idea of trying something new. I had thought that it would be easy, like walking, but with each step, I sink a little further into the snow.
I’m not even sure where I’m going. There’s a trail off to the right and I head that way. Maybe I can just head down that a little bit and see if I can spot any wildlife before I turn back and head to the cabin.
The cabin is a little more…rustic than I would have preferred, but I booked this trip on short notice. There weren’t a ton of options available, at least if you didn’t want to stay at the ski resort in town.
It was my first vacation in years, and while normally I would have picked somewhere a little less remote and freezing cold, I had chosen Aspen Ridge, Alaska for a reason.
I’ve been inside a lot the last few months. Ever since I started getting the weird, creepy, notes. In the beginning, I had thought that maybe it was a prank or something. I didn’t really have any friends who would think that stuff like that would be funny. I think that it was more just that I was hoping I didn’t need to panic about the letters. By the third note though, I knew that something was wrong and had gone to the police.
They had thought that it was a stalker, but they didn’t really have any solutions to that. They said to let them know if there were any other notes, but every time I went to the station and brought them a new note, I got more and more discouraged.
I had wished that my dad was still around. He would have known how to handle this. He would have made me move home with him. He would have promised to keep me safe, and I would have believed him.
A pang of sadness hits me, and I stop to swipe at a stray tear. My dad passed away eighteen months ago, but it still feels just as painful as the day that it happened. He was sick for a while before, so it wasn’t a total surprise when he passed. That didn’t make it any easier though.
I was just starting to get back to normal with my routine when this whole stalker thing happened. Maybe that’s why Ihaven’t moved on yet. I haven’t had proper time to grieve when I have to be focused on the stalker.
I’ve been on high alert for months, always looking over my shoulder and jumping at my own shadow. I knew that I couldn’t keep going like that. I had looked at moving but didn’t know where I would go. Besides, I didn’t want to leave my apartment and my life because of him. I didn’t want to give the stalker that power over me.
Tessa would have flipped if I had moved too. She’s my best friend and my co-author. We’ve been inseparable since we were kids, doing everything together.
This whole stalker mess has messed with every aspect of my life. I could barely work. I’m a romance author, and all of the stress was really killing my creativity. Getting away for a bit was actually Tessa and my publisher’s idea. I know that he was getting annoyed with me being behind on projects, but the idea sounded like a good one. So, instead of moving, I decided to take a trip. My hope is that I unwind a bit and go home with an entire Word document of new ideas for Tessa and me to work on.
“Almost… there,” I pant.
I keep my eyes on the tree line, hoping to spot a fox or something. Instead, a dark shadow catches my eye and I freeze. I’m close to the forest now, and I shift on the snowshoes, watching where the dark shadow seems frozen behind two trees.
“What is that?” I mumble as I move a step closer.
The shadow is a lot bigger than a fox, and for a moment, I wonder if it’s a polar bear or a moose. I mentally run through everything that I know about both animals, which isn’t a lot.
The shadow sways slightly, and the hairs on the back of neck stand up. I glance over my shoulder to the cabin, then back to the shadow.
I picked the most remote place that I could find so that my stalker wouldn’t be able to find me. I figured that no one in theirright mind would follow me all the way up here. Is it possible that they have though?
Fear spikes in my bloodstream, and I shuffle back a step and then another, keeping my eyes locked on the dark shadow. It doesn’t move, and I pray that my eyes are just playing tricks on me.
I turn, hurrying through the snow as fast as I can on the snowshoes. When a crunch sounds behind me, I jump.
I try to spin around, almost tripping on the snowshoes, and that’s when a pair of arms clamp around my waist.
“No!” I scream, my heart beating out of control in my chest.
I try to kick my leg back against him and we both go tumbling into the snow. He lands on top of me, knocking the air out of my lungs, and I struggle to turn around, to fight him.
It’s definitely a man. The size and weight of him gives that away, even if I can’t see his face.
