Page 7 of Pucking Snowed In With My Ex

“Go away, Cal. I don’t want your help,” she said, going to the back of her car and pushing on it.

“What do you think you’re going to accomplish by doing that?” I pulled my hood up to ward off the steadily increasing wind.

“I’m trying to leave,” she yelled, her eyes angry as tears streamed down her face and froze on her cheeks.

“This is crazy, you can’t drive in this. Even if you could get out of the driveway, there is no way you’re making it home.”

“I can’t stay here,” she said, trying to rock the car as she turned and put her back against the trunk. It didn’t move an inch.

I sucked in a deep breath and grabbed her arms.

“Stop it. You’re not going anywhere.” I so badly wanted to kiss the snowflakes from her eyelashes.

“Just go away, Cal. If I can’t get out, I’ll sleep in my car, but I’m not….” Whatever she was going to say next was stopped as we both looked up at the sound of a loud creaking the trees swaying dangerously. There was a snap, and I grabbed Skye’s arm and ran, dragging her behind me as we plunged through the snow.

Whomp. Crunch.

I turned around, holding Skye tight, and stared at the massive branch lying across the roof of her car.

“Oh my God,” Skye cried as she held her hands out. “My car.”

“Forget the stupid car. That was almost you,” I said and pulled her into a hug as the shock wore off and the fear of what almost happened settled in.

“I can’t stay here,” she cried into my chest, making me feel like an ass.

“Well, no one is going anywhere now. I’ll see if I can get your bag, but it looks like you’re officially snowed in whether you want to be or not.”

I should’ve just told her to leave when she first arrived. This was not good. I’d never stopped loving her, and this wouldn’t help the bitterness or longing I’d felt every day since I left for Wayward Academy. No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t force some emotions down.

CHAPTER FOUR

SKYE

As I suspected, I couldn’t sleep. It was four-thirty in the morning, and there hadn’t been a sound in over an hour. Walking over to the fireplace that had burned down to coals, I tossed on more logs, loving the extra heat it gave off. The smell of pine burning was divine and reminded me of Christmas.

Callum hadn’t bothered to decorate, but I had nothing better to do and went on the hunt for the boxes of decorations. I trod down the stairs to the basement and tiptoed past the three bedrooms to the storage room at the far end of the large cottage. This place was bigger than most people’s everyday homes. Eight bedrooms, ten bathrooms with a hot tub, full bar, games room, and all the amenities you could ever want made it a hell of a retreat.

I’d only been here once for a party, but I’d helped Hales decorate and knew where they kept all the boxes. I hated that I missed Cal or anything to do with him, but this place felt like home. Home…shit. I needed to figure out how to get home and hoped that Hales really was planning on coming up, or maybe that was a ruse. If I had to ride home with Cal for three hours….

Yanking the top off the large Rubbermaid container, I smiled as I spotted the white lights. Setting it aside, I pulled the next tote, looked inside, and continued until I had a dozen ready to take upstairs. Grabbing the last bins, I turned around and almost dropped the box as I stared into Alex’s smiling face.

He leaned casually against the door with only a pair of joggers on and his arms crossed over his chest. To anyone else, he was relaxed, but not to me. My hands tightened on the bin. I should’ve fucking known this would happen. He was bound to hunt me down in the house at some point. I needed to stay with the group cause a guy like Alex wouldn’t be able to resist rubbing what happened in my face.

“You’re looking good, Skye. What do you say we pick up where we left off? You’re not with Cal anymore. Nothing is stopping us.” He bit his bottom lip, and I could remember the girls in school fawning all over him and this exact expression. All I wanted to do was throw up in my mouth.

“Don’t give me that. You and I both know what happened that night,” I said, and his eyes darkened.

“What I recall is you being very intoxicated. I’m not sure how you could remember much of anything clearly,” Alex said, and even though he hadn’t stepped into the room, it felt like he was taking up the entire space. Even though I knew there wasn’t one, my eyes darted around the room for an escape route.

“Why am I not shocked to find the two of you alone,” Cal said, and Alex’s face shifted in a blink to the dopey, fun-loving friend. I wanted him to burn in hell. “You planning on fucking my friend in my house this time?”

“Hey man, nothing was going on,” Alex said and looked down.

The anger coursing through my body was so intense that my arms shook, holding the container. I turned my stare to Cal and met his glare.

“Did you get hit in the head with a hockey stick one too many times?” His brows drew together. “I’m pretty sure it is you two idiots standing in the doorway while I’m trying to work. So unless you plan on helping decorate or carry a bin upstairs, you can wipe the pissy look off your face and get the hell out of my way.”

I walked towards the two of them, my heart running as fast as a jackrabbit on steroids in my chest. “Move, both of you,” I said when they didn’t get out of the way.