Or maybe I’m being a total psycho. I don’t know. Most people just call or text when they want to see someone these days, they don’t just show up.
But whatever. I keep going, letting myself push those negative thoughts away. If he’s busy, I can just hike back and it’s not like I’ve wasted anything. I think he’s the kind of man that’ll tell me to fuck off if I crossed some kind of boundary.
I reach the hand-painted sign about the dogs and smile to myself as I walk past it. When I was younger, I was so afraid of that sign, but now it just looks funny to me.
I crunch along over the leaves and soon spot the cabin up ahead. It looks quiet and as I approach, I notice that the truck isn’t parked out front. I check to make sure it’s not there, and sure enough, it’s gone.
Disappointed, I turn to leave, but stop. I turn back to the cabin and frown, staring at the front door.
It’s standing slightly ajar.
I walk toward it. I can’t imagine he would’ve left his front door open. I mean, he’s pretty secluded out here, but still. That’s begging for problems, and not even just human problems. Bears or other animals could sneak inside and do a bunch of damage.
I head over, thinking I’ll just shut it, or maybe call in first and see if he’s home. I walk up the steps and poke my head in the crack. “Hello?” I call out.
There’s no answer. My eyes take half a second to adjust and slowly his living room comes into view.
“Holy shit,” I say and take a fast step back, jerking my head away.
My heart’s racing and pounding hard. I look around and feel prickles on my neck like someone’s watching. I push the door open a crack more. “Hello? Anyone?”
No answer.
I step inside. The living room is trashed. The couch is ripped open, the stuffing thrown around. The coffee table is smashed, all the pictures are broken and thrown around. I step through the rubble of his television and find the kitchen in a similar condition. All the plates are broken, the appliances destroyed, the refrigerator door dented and hanging by a single hinge. It looks like someone took a sledge hammer to all the cabinet doors.
I hear a noise outside. I stand in the middle of the kitchen, heart beating wild. I feel like I might pass out as I take big, gulping breaths of air. I walk fast back through the living room and to the front door just in time to see Max’s truck pull up and park.
He climbs out of the driver’s seat, a smile on his lips when he spots me. “Hey,” he calls out. “Delia.”
I hold up a hand. My body’s trembling. He gets out and walks around to the back. He takes Tab out of her seat and puts her down on the ground. She skips over to me, her hair flying in the breeze. “Hi,” she says.
“Hi.” I stare at them as they approach. Max’s smile turns into a confused frown as he puts a hand on Tab’s head and looks at me.
“What’s going on, Delia? You look upset.”
“Your door was open.”
He tenses. I see it happen. He keeps his hand on Tab and he stares at me for a long moment. “You found it open?”
“Yeah. And Max…”
“Come here,” he says.
I walk down the steps. He pulls me over to him. “Watch Tab,” he says. “Keep her right here.”
“Daddy,” Tab says.
“Stay with Delia, Tab.” He turns away and walks up the steps and into the house.
I kneel down next to Tab. “Hi, honey,” I say. “Did you have fun with your daddy? Where did you two go?”
“Store,” she says. “Grocery store.”
“Oh, wow. Did you get anything fun?”
“Cookies.” She grins at me and says something I can’t understand. She runs off and kicks at the leaves around the front property. She doesn’t go far, just runs in circles, kicking the leaves and laughing, babbling in her high-pitched toddler voice.
I stand up and watch her, fear still lodged in my chest. Max comes out a minute later and lingers on the steps. “You should go,” he says.
I turn back to him in surprise. “Go? Max, someone broke into your house. They ripped it to shreds.”
“Daddy?” Tab stops running around and looks at him.
“It’s okay, sweetie. Keep playing.”
She goes back to running and kicking. He walks over to me and takes my arm, steering me away from the girl.
“You need to leave,” he hisses. “This is going to be hard enough with Tab.”
“You have to call the police,” I say. “Why aren’t you calling the police?”
He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. Just go, okay? Just leave. It’s not safe here for you.”
“What are you talking about?”