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Mason looks lost in his thoughts as he leads our ragtag group. I’m worried he’s wondering just what Wyatt meant yesterday when he threw his words back in his face. Both men need to be sure of what they want where Audrey and Merritt are concerned. They may not be mine to worry about, but I will. Maybe Hank will give me updates from time to time. Either way, Mason is going to take a hard fall when he finds out about Brenna and he’s going to take Audrey right down with him.
Wyatt looks like he just found out that the sky is really purple, and hippos rule the universe. Or more likely, he just realized that not only is little Merritt a woman he’s now attracted to, but worse, he’s in love with her and he just royally fucked it up. I actually feel sorry for him too. But he’s going to have to learn to talk to Merritt like an equal and not a child, or he’s no equal to her.
We walk along for another hour. The snow is glistening on the hillside and the sun is shining high in the sky. I hear a twig snap in the distance. Everyone turns at the same time to look in the direction it came from and there’s nothing. It’s the silence all around us that has my bones chilling.
And then the roar comes.
“Run!” Mason shouts.
But we all know you can’t outrun an avalanche, even though we try.
As the rolling waves of snow overcome us, I grab Merritt and tuck her into me. If I can get her out of this alive, I will. I wrap myself around her like a protective ball as we’re bounced around.
We finally stop and I realize the snow is settled all around us. She looks up at me with wide eyes. “You saved me.”
“We’re not saved yet.”
“Can we get out of here?”
“If we’re smart about it but let’s not use up all the oxygen yet.”
She nods. I turn my head away from her face and spit. It lands over my shoulder, and she looks both gross and confused. Gravity is the same all around. We were tossed and turned in the avalanche and are actually laying on our sides. If we were to dig in the wrong direction, we’d die. We have no idea how deep down we are, only that it’s cold and we have to get out as soon as possible.
I use my hands to claw at the snow and she turns to do the same. Until out hands burn with the cold through our gloves.
“I’m scared,” she whispers, and it breaks my heart. I’ll do anything to get her out, even if it takes my very last breath.
“Then let’s get you out of here.”
She nods and we go back to digging. We dig and we break, and we dig and we break, conserving as much oxygen as we can. I don’t look to see how long we’ve been down here. It will only upset her. I can see that she’s getting sleepy and it’s not from being tired. Her brain hasn’t been conditioned to use less like mine has. Her teeth chatter and she tries to shake it off.
We have to get out of here.
Watching her renews my efforts to get us free. Finally, I hear voices. I think they’re looking for us.
“Court!” someone shouts. “Merritt!”
“We’re over here!” I shout as I dig faster.
Chapter 14
Zelda
SECOND CHANCES
A knock on the door wakes me from where I fell asleep on the hard floor last night and my body protests as I stand up to answer it. I’m too old for bad nights of crying on the hard floor. I’m too old to let things hit me that hard period.
Maybe he came back? Maybe we can talk things out this morning and move on? I hate that things ended the way they did. I’d do anything to take back the words I said to him last night. I knew it was wrong then but now it’s so much worse. How could I have let that happen? How could I have behaved that way? I’m such an idiot.
A knock sounds again, and I pull open the heavy door. Pops stands on my porch with a heavy look on his face and I know whatever he says next will be awful. He takes a look around and sees the dishes left on the table, the remnants of a romantic dinner that should have ended with us snuggled around each other and not with me crying myself to sleep on the floor. It’s been a long time since I let myself sink that low. But now isn’t the time to wallow in those feelings because I can tell by the look on Pops’s face that something is really wrong.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Maybe you should sit down—” he tries to steer me towards the sofa but I dig my heels in.
“Just tell me.”
“I really think—”
