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“What the hell!” I shout. “Tell me why I rented a damn minivan then?”
“Let’s just go. I don’t want to be driving in the dark. I’ve heard too many deer stories.” Ellery climbs into the passenger seat.
“So, I’m the driver?” I point at myself.
“As if the captain would have it any other way.” She slams the door.
I grunt and talk to myself the whole way around the van. “What happened to ‘I’m the captain of the ER department’?”
I start the van, then put on my seat belt and ease into the traffic. It’s going to be hell to get up to Wisconsin now that we’ve waited so long to leave. When we’re stopped in traffic two minutes into our journey, I sigh, and Ellery looks over at me.
“Can we just not?” She puts in her earbuds and turns her head away from me to look out the window.
What the hell has happened to us?
I use the opportunity to listen to my music, following the directions on the GPS. I forgot how much fun it was to sing along to music while cruising around. It’s been a while since I’ve done it. I can’t roll down the windows because it’s grown colder now, but it’s still relaxing.
“I have to pee,” she says, taking out her earbuds.
We pull off at the next exit and stop at a gas station. Each of us grabs some snacks, and when we get back in the van, I’m reminded of the trips we used to take. One of us always got licorice, and the other got chips. Somehow without us talking about it, it always happened.
She climbs in the car, and she’s got licorice and chips. So much for us sharing, I guess. I look at my licorice in the center console, and she must be thinking the same thing as me. “You can have some of my chips if you’d like.”
“No, I’m fine.” I start the van and continue on our way.
She puts in her earbuds, and again, I’m left alone with my music.
Her perfume fills the car, and I don’t even mind. She’s usually not one to wear it, at least when it comes to work. Maybe she wears it all the time now. How the hell would I know?
These past three weeks have been complete torture. I’ve picked up the phone more than once to call her but never followed through.
I glance at her as I exit the freeway. We have another twenty-minute drive off the highway to get to the cabin.
How can she be that mad at me for punching Bradley? I must be missing something. I’ve done other stupid things throughout our friendship, and she never stopped talking to me for this long. Then again, I was quick to apologize for those. In this instance, I honestly don’t think I did anything wrong.
A text comes through, and Ellery pulls it up on her phone. “Miles says they hit traffic, and Damon sent the code for us to get in the cabin. Said there should be essentials for eating.”
“Great.”
Ten minutes later, we pull up in front of a cabin. It’s nicely tucked away in the woods. I can see the neighbor, but they aren’t super close. I park the van in the driveway and turn off the ignition. I examine the house for a minute and wonder where the hell four bedrooms and four baths could possibly be because it doesn’t look that big.
Ellery exits the van and shuts the door before opening up the back and taking out her luggage. She wheels it up to the door and uses the code to get in. It’s decorated much like I’d expect from a Wisconsin cabin. A big deer head on the wall, a stone fireplace, and wood floors. Other than that, it’s like a log cabin.
“Are we sure this is it? I don’t see how there could be four bedrooms,” she says.
I follow her into the kitchen and find a note on the counter. She picks it up and opens it while I look in the fridge to see that it’s stocked and even has a bottle of champagne.
“I think this was for someone else.” I show her the bottle of champagne, and she frowns and glances back down at the note.
“‘Ellery and Cooper,’” she says with a pissed-off expression. The fact that the letter is just to us cements my assumption that this is a one-bedroom cabin with probably one bed. “‘We love you both and apologize for tricking you, but to be blunt, you two need to get your shit together. As your oldest friend, I’m telling you, the two of you mean a helluva lot more to each other than just a best friend. I get that you’re scared. I was scared. Miles was scared. Both Damon and Adeline were scared. Everyone who risks their heart is scared. And I get it, I understand that you guys don’t want to risk your friendship. But where is your friendship now? You guys are lying to yourselves and it’s hurting you. Don’t even get me started on this ridiculous fight you guys are in. So, you have all weekend to figure it out. I know what I’m hoping for, but I’ll take you two making up at the very least…’”
We hear the sound of a car engine, and I look out the window to see the minivan pulling away.
Ellery groans but keeps reading. “‘You’re by yourselves with two nights to find your way back to one another. Use the time wisely. And please be honest with yourselves. We love you. Bryce and the gang.’” She drops the letter on the counter. “Isn’t this great?” She picks up her phone and presumably dials Bryce. “Her voicemail.”
She hangs up and sits down in the chair.
I peruse the rest of the cabin, and sure enough, there’s one bed, one bath.
