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He'd never take me seriously.
I turn away from the road and bend at the waist. Wrapping both hands around my right thigh, I pull as I lean back.
No luck.
The rumbling gets closer and I look back to see a big truck with a plow turn up the driveway. I can't even see the windshield over the plow. Does that mean the driver can't see me?
My mouth goes dry and adrenaline rushes through me. This cannot be how I die.
I try pulling on my other leg, but the snow underneath is heavier than the snow on top and I can't move it.
The snowplow is getting closer. I yell and scream at the top of my voice, but the plow just keeps rolling closer.
My stomach flips and adrenaline rushes through me so heavily I shake. There's nothing left. It's flight or fight and I've never been the kind of woman who runs away when things get hard.
I lean to the right, then use momentum to throw myself and all my weight to the left. I fall over into the snow, but my feet are still stuck.
And now I'm on the ground and less visible to the snowplow. When I try to push myself up, my hands sink into the snow and the rest of my body sinks lower.
The snow plow has almost reached me and I'm not going to make it. There's no escaping this cold, wet, miserable white stuff.
In one last act of desperation, I claw at the snow like I'm moving through thick water, trying to pull my body out of the way. My panic rises and my heart beats so hard against my ribs that pain explodes in my chest. I can't breathe with snow in my face and snow up my nose, but I have to keep fighting. There's no chance I'll be successful, but I have to try. I will fight until my last breath.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Xavier
Ithrow open the door and leap from the truck. I have no idea why anyone would try to walk up the Reindeer Farm driveway without snowshoes through nearly two feet of snow, but I'm pretty sure they're high or driven mad by hypothermia. Why else would they try to burrow under the snow like an ermine?
The person is flailing around in the snow, face and most of their head buried, a small, neon-pink backpack the most visible part of them. My heart drops. Is it a kid? I grab one arm and pull, but they fight like I'm attacking them.
"Calm down. I'm trying to help you."
They only fight harder, the other arm swinging up and around to punch me right in the eye.
It's not a hard punch, but it stings and makes my eye water. It also makes me loosen my grip and take a step back. I'm tempted to leave them to their snowy fate, but I'm the acting mayor of this town and I'm not having anyone die on my watch, especially not a kid.
I pop my hands on my hips and watch as the person continues to squirm in the snow, only managing to push themselves deeper. Clearly, they're panicking and doing the exact opposite of what they should.
"Are you trying to dig your way to the North Pole? Or would you like my help?"
They still and say something that's muffled by the snow.
"I'm going to help you up now, okay? Please don't punch me again."
Another muffled sound. The person is small, so I bend over, careful to keep my face out of the line of fire and pick the person up bodily by the waist.
I try to set them on their feet, but their legs won't hold them. Their face is covered in snow and probably freezing, so I wrap one arm around their waist, pull them close into my side, and use my free gloved hand to gently wipe the snow away.
Cherry blinks up at me, her chin quivering, her eyes watery. "I thought… I was… going… to die." Her teeth are chattering so much she can barely speak. Then she bursts into tears.
All the anger and fear that had built up, giving me the intention of yelling at her for doing something so incredibly idiotic, evaporates into just plain fear and empathy.
I know what it's like to think I'm not going to make it. There was the time I went snowshoeing with Murphy and Liam and we got lost on one of the coldest days of the year. Or the time I swerved to miss a deer and hit a tree. Or the time I went rock climbing with Alice, against my better judgment, and fell. The ropes caught me and I was only ten feet off the ground, but it felt like near death to me and it was the last time I will ever go rock climbing.
I lift Cherry in my arms and carry her to the passenger side of my truck. I set her inside, close the door, and hurry to my side. As soon as I'm in, I blast the heat as high as it'll go.
She's still crying, but more quietly now.
