Rock Hard Neighbor

“Winding up the mountain, actually. The cabin should come into view any—”

I rounded the last bend in the mountain before my grandmother’s house came into view. I felt the breath leave my lungs as I pulled the rental car into the sparse gravel driveway. The pictures had been misleading at best and must’ve been taken when the light was just right.

Because this place was a wreck.

“Amanda? What’s wrong?”

“Uh, nothing,” I said. “Just memories,” I mumbled.

What the hell happened to my grandmother’s home?

“Are you sure?” Sarah asked.

“Positive. It’s all a bit much.”

“Okay. Because you sound worried,” she said.

“Well, you don’t worry about me. I’m going to see you in a few days, right? You’re still coming out?”

“Of course. I’ll be driving, though. I can’t afford to haul all this art stuff of yours onto an airplane.”

“You’re the best, you know that right?” I asked.

“Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

I shut off the car and got out before I approached the porch. The wood was splintering, and the facade of the house was faded. There was a cracked window that gazed into the living room, and it was easy to see how much dust had accumulated over the years.

It was like no one fucking touched the house after my grandmother went to the nursing home.

“I’m sure,” I said. “I only need some time to breathe and get settled.”

“So you can stay there?” Sarah asked.

“Yep,” I said. “I can. I’ll take some time to tidy up, and I’ll call you back.”

“You can shoot me a text if you want. I want to keep tabs on you. I still don’t know why you insisted on me coming out a few days after you, so I want to make sure you’re okay through all this.”

“I’m strong. I’ll be okay,” I said.

“I know you’re strong. But even strong people have their weak moments.”

“Thanks, Oprah. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Call or text soon. Otherwise, you might find me on your doorstep sooner than you expected.”

“Love you, Sarah.”

“Love you, too, Manda.”

I ended the call – then proceeded to blurt out every curse word known to man.

CHAPTER 2

Brian

I could do this shit all day.

Chop!

The ax felt solid in my hands as I brought it down onto a stump of wood. The methodical movements always calmed my mind. The wood splintered, and the ax stopped. The sounds of nature yielding to my strength made me feel powerful and strong in a world that had taken everything from me.

Chop!

The sun was bearing down on my back as the sounds of my niece drifted from the house. She and the nanny were running around, burning energy like a camp fire with driest of woods. Those were the only two sounds that could calm me, the sound of nature, and the sound of Lanie.

They gave me solace in a world where peace and harmony were a myth.

Chop!

Shoving the wood off to the side, I pulled a rag from my pocket. I’d been chopping wood for the past two hours, and I could drops of sweat running down my back. My muscles ached, and my body was roasting in the sun, even as the air around me dropped to a cool forty degrees. The mountains of North Carolina had fickle weather, and while its winters weren’t harsh, the temperatures at night easily plummeted to below ten degrees.

And we used our last supply of wood last night to burn for heat.

I heaved another stump of wood onto the bench before I heard something off in the distance. Out here, it was mostly the rustling of trees and the chirping of birds. Unless it was the nanny coming up the driveway to tend to Lanie, there were no other man-made sounds. No heavy machinery, no cars buzzing by. No ambulances with their sirens and no children laughing as they got off school buses.

The sudden sound of a car off in the distance caught my attention.

I shared this face of the mountain with another home, but it hadn’t been occupied in at least four years. I leaned against my ax as I listened to the noise of the car on the road, hoping the vehicle wouldn’t come any farther.

I hated meeting new people.

I purchased this cabin, assuming the house down the road would remain abandoned. That last thing I wanted was neighbors who felt the need to be friendly.

Whisking Lanie away to this secluded paradise was the best damn thing I could’ve done for both of us.

The sound of the car shut off, and I went back to chopping wood. I didn’t care who was coming to tend to the house. After being abandoned for so many years, it probably needed a lot of work. I checked up on it every now and again, seeing if there was a “for sale” sign in the yard. If anything, I thought I could purchase it so no one else could live up here alongside us.