where are you
where are you
where are
I SHIFTED AS THE cabin came into view. My back hurt, my front hurt, everything hurt, and I fell to my hands and knees, gagging, a thin line of spittle hanging from my lip before dropping into the snow. I was so fucking cold, my teeth chattering, and my eyelids were stuck, gummy and heavy.
I crawled toward the cabin.
I made it to the door before my arms could give out.
I pushed it open.
The fire was dead.
It was cold.
I found the blanket left on the floor.
I threw it over myself, curling up into a ball on the floor.
“Kelly,” I moaned as I shivered. “Kelly, help me. Kelly, please. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t mean it.”
But he never came.
heartbeat
Gavin didn’t come back that night.
The sky darkened.
The promised snow never fell.
When I could move without feeling like I was dying, I built a fire, my hands shaking. It took a long time before I started to feel warm.
I stood gingerly. The pain was lessening, but it still had its teeth in me.
I went to the window.
The glass was frosted.
I slept, but it was broken. Kelly was there, standing off in the distance. No matter how much I tried to run toward him, I never got any closer.
I SAT UP WITH A GASP.
It was morning.
The fire was out again.
I heard—
I smelled—
I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and went to the window, sure there would be someone standing outside the cabin.
There wasn’t.
Only the trees.