“Hello?” Sammi’s voice said into the phone. “Desiree, is that you?”
“Sammi, thank God.”
“Desiree, what’s going on? Why didn’t you call me from your phone?”
“Sammi,” I said, trying to keep my voice level, “I need you to stay calm.”
“Stay calm? Oh shit. What the fuck happened? Where are you? I’ll send Dad right now,” she said, her voice rising higher with each new beat.
“Sammi, please, I need you to stay calm,” I said. “I’m worried enough as it is. Just listen.”
“Listening,” she said. “Listening and texting. I can do both.”
I sighed.
“They found Aiden’s place,” I said. “This morning. Before dawn. We escaped, but they almost had me, Sammi. They almost had me. We trekked through the mountain to one of Aiden’s friends’ places further up. We are safe right now, but it’s only a matter of time before they come here too.”
“Desiree,” Sammi said, “I need you to listen to me now. As your best friend, and as someone who loves you like a sister, you need to let me send Dad and his men. I will not take no for an answer. I will spam this number until someone tells me where to send them. Okay?”
“I really don’t want you to put your dad in danger too, Sammi.”
“Desiree, I swear to God. Dad is going to be just fine. I am worried about you. And he’ll be pissed as hell at both of us if I keep him out of it now. Now tell me where you are so I can get them on the road,” she said.
“Thank you,” I muttered, feeling the words fall out of my mouth, tears following them.
“It’s going to be okay.” Sammi’s voice was lower now. I could tell she was holding back tears too. “You just stay safe until Dad can get there. Then you listen to him, and he will make sure everything is ok.”
“Let me get Aiden. I don’t know the address,” I said.
I held the phone to my chest as I walked back into the living room.
“Sammi’s Dad and his men want to know how to get to us,” I said.
“Now we’re talking,” Brett said. “Backup is never a bad idea.”
Aiden nodded and stood, crossing over to the desk where a pad and paper were. Jotting down the address, Aiden handed it to me, and our eyes met for a silent moment. I could tell he didn’t like the idea of involving someone else either, but he knew it was what needed to happen. It was cold decision making, and I wondered how many times he’d had to separate his feelings to make the right choice before. How many of his nightmares were based on decisions like that? I might never find out the answer to that question.
It was decided that after a few hours, the coast was at least clear enough for Brett to go into town on his own and get some supplies. He was well stocked for one person to make it through a few weeks up in the mountain, but adding two people was not on his list.
With Brett gone, it left Aiden and me alone. Our only plan was to keep the television low and snap it off if we heard someone arrive. There was a shotgun in the living room, and if someone showed up that wasn’t Brett, the instruction was for me to take the revolver, for Aiden to take the shotgun, and for us to try to find a way to survive.
We sat in the living room, Aiden in a chair that allowed him to casually watch the television while also keeping an eye on the driveway leading to Brett’s cabin. There was a giant rock wall surrounding the cabin on three sides, the driveway coming up beside it and woods in the front. We’d come up through the trees, but if the men coming to kill me were to arrive, they would probably come up the driveway.
“This isn’t new to you,” I said in the silence between us. “This kind of situation, I mean.” Aiden didn’t say anything, just kept looking out the window. “Hello?”
“No,” he said. “It isn’t new.”
I nodded.
“Can you tell me about it?” I asked. “How it went before?”
“No, I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said simply.
“Why not? You survived this kind of thing before. How? I need to know so I can do it too.”
“You don’t understand,” he said. “I survived. Other people didn’t. You don’t understand, and you can’t. So, leave it alone.”
“I can understand a lot more than you think I can. We are in the thick of this because of me. So, whatever you have to say, I can handle it. Tell me.”
“I’m telling you no.”
“Why are you still pushing me away? I want to know you better, Aiden. I want to know who you are. Considering I’m putting my life in your hands, you would think I deserve at least that.”