Page 26 of Snowed In with You

‘I’ll call Jonno, let him know what’s going on.’ She slid out of the booth after Nate and checked her phone – there were several missed calls and three unread messages from Jonno alongside the one from Marco, and her battery was down to twenty-six per cent. Presumably one of the other eight people still on this mountain had an iPhone charger, but she’d worry about that later. It was only just gone five o’clock – what the hell were they going to do for the rest of the evening? She couldn’t even get drunk, because she was already drunk.

‘Hey,’ she said to Jonno, who answered before she’d even heard it ring. ‘There’s been another avalanche, just wanted to let you know I’m still alive.’

‘Fucksake, Luce,’ he said with a huff of exasperation and relief. ‘Why didn’t you answer or reply to my messages?’

‘I haven’t even read them yet. We’ve been having a meeting about the fact we all have to stay in this bar for the night.’

‘We wondered if that might happen. There’s drama down here too – we’ve been told to leave the village as soon as possible. There’s insane amounts of snow coming, total freak weather apparently, and they’re going to close the road up the mountain.’

‘Shit,’ said Lucy, her mind racing. Everything felt like it was going at a hundred miles an hour, and she definitely wasn’t feeling entirely in control of things right now.

‘Yeah. Everyone’s packing up, we’ll be out of here within the hour.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘Geneva. Kristoff’s booking us a house on the lake. So we can still do all the work stuff tomorrow.’

Lucy gasped. ‘Wait, you’re fucking off to Geneva and leaving us here?’

‘I don’t have any choice,’ pleaded Jonno. ‘We’re being kicked out of Zermatt, all the hotel staff are being evacuated too. They’re expecting the worst snowstorms in decades, apparently. Avalanche warnings keep going off. We need to get out.’

‘And what about me?’ Lucy was aware her volume was rising and people were looking, even though she’d moved over to the space next to the wood burner.

‘I know, I’m sorry. Apparently you’re safe, because you’re so high up.’

Lucy took a deep breath, trying to put a lid on her growing panic. ‘I’d just got my head around staying here tonight, but nobody’s mentioned there’s worse weather coming. What if I’m trapped here for weeks?’

‘Oh God, don’t be such a drama queen. Look, I’ve checked with loads of people and those huts are built to be totally stormproof. You’re definitely not in the path of anything that could avalanche.’

Lucy smiled for what felt like the first time since she and Nate were playing board games. It was less than an hour ago, but it already felt like another century. ‘Wait, is avalanche a verb?’

‘Fuck off, Dictionary Corner. Drink the bar dry and take loads of videos; stick it on TikTok or Instagram or something. People live for this kind of thing.’

‘I don’t do social, you know that,’ said Lucy, grudgingly accepting that real-life, high-pressure situations where strangers were thrown together made the kind of content she would definitely watch. Maybe Nate would take a video, or one of the Dutch guys.

‘It’s going to be fine, Luce,’ said Jonno. ‘The storm should all be over by tomorrow, then hopefully you’ll be able to join us in Geneva.’

‘Yeah, OK.’ She tried to bring her stress levels under control, rationalising that Jonno didn’t have any choice but to leave. And even if he was allowed to stay in Zermatt, there would be nothing for him to do.

‘How’s Nate?’ asked Jonno.

‘He’s fine, I think.’ Lucy didn’t mention Nate’s anxiety challenges, because it wasn’t anyone else’s business. Presumably Sasha knew already that her boyfriend was prone to meltdown, and was probably pretty worried right now. ‘He’s on the phone. How are Kristoff and Sasha and the others?’

‘Revelling in organising manoeuvres – Sasha’s glued to her phone as we speak. It’s a good excuse for them to take charge and rally the troops. Spirit of Dunkirk and all that.’

‘About twenty thousand troops died in Dunkirk, J.’ She glanced at Nate, wondering if he was talking to Sasha. He was walking back and forth by their table, his left hand raking through his hair.

‘OK, bad example. Do you want me to call your parents or anything? Let them know you’re OK?’

‘No, I’ll do it,’ said Lucy, wondering if there was any way she could avoid it. Would an avalanche in Switzerland make the news, if nobody had died? She had no idea, but she’d definitely told her dad the name of the place she was travelling to, so they might get wind of something. It felt wrong to add to their emotional burden, today of all days, but it also didn’t feel right to say nothing at all.

‘I’ll message you when I’m in Geneva,’ said Jonno. ‘Let me know if you need anything.’

‘Well, right now I’d like a helicopter and a hot bath,’ said Lucy.

‘I can provide neither of those things,’ said Jonno. ‘I am, as ever, totally useless.’

‘Mmm, but I love you anyway.’