Mountain Rough

“Nothing. We have coffee if it won’t make you throw up.” I grabbed her arm again and turned her towards the bedroom.

“I need alcohol!” She started walking towards the bedroom, mostly because that was the direction I pointed her in.

“You need sleep.” I caught her before she ended up needing a dentist when she stumbled next to the door frame.

Yep, this is my college experience in a nutshell.

“HANNAH, WHAT THE HELL? You’re really not going with me to the resort?” I was practically in tears after Hannah broke the news to me. “I can’t go alone!”

“Brady’s dad is out of town and he has a lake house. That’s so much better than a resort in the mountains. Come on, you’re invited too.” She took my hand and started to plead with me. “The whole football team is going and the cheerleaders have to go.”

“But that’s nothing more than a big party with people we see every day. We were supposed to have a nice, relaxing vacation before the beach.” I tilted my head with disappointment clearly etched on my face. “You were excited about the resort!”

“Brady said it sucks.” She shrugged. “His family went there when he was a kid and he said the place is a shit hole.”

“He just wants to get in your panties, Hannah.” I shook my head back and forth. “Of course a resort is a shit hole to Brady Remington. His family is loaded and he’s the quarterback of a college football team in the south!”

“Look, I love you. You know that. I don’t mind that you’re introverted as fuck. It’s cute sometimes, but I have to go where the party is. Come with me. I promise you’ll have fun.” She squeezed my hand. “There’s no reason for you to have to go home for a week before we hit the beach.”

“I’m not going home for a week.” I shook my head and pulled my hand away. “If you don’t want to go to the resort with me, then I’ll just go on my own.”

“Seriously?” She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Remember what I said about the grandpa-bods. You’re not going to have fun by yourself.”

“I’m not going there to get laid. I think I can entertain myself if you don’t want to go with me.” I shrugged and stood up. “If it’s boring, I’ll just hang out in my cabin and eat ice cream for a week.”

“No, please don’t do that.” She shook her head back and forth rapidly. “We need to be hot for the beach.”

“Go have fun, Hannah.” I sighed angrily. “I’ll see you at the beach. I’m sure you’ll be able to get there on your own.”

Anger didn’t even begin to describe how I felt about my best friend’s decision. I was even considering whether she was worthy of that title after she decided to abandon me. The one thing that had been constant, no matter which direction we took on the weekend, was that we still looked out for each other. When her nerd didn’t come through with her assignment for Mr. King’s class, I stepped up and helped her write it. We stayed up all night and pulled a marathon session, barely getting it in on time. I was even willing to risk my GPA so she could pass the class. My paper turned out to be good enough, even without a final night of revisions, but I didn’t know that until I got it back.

You know what—forget Hannah. I’ll enjoy this on my own.

It was too late for me to find someone else to go with me, and I really didn’t even know who I would ask besides Hannah. I could have reached out to my mother, but I didn’t want her to know how pathetic I was. She was like a forty-year old version of Hannah, still partying on the weekends with two ex-husbands that had been left in the past and more boyfriends than I could count keeping her entertained in the present. Going with her would have been a disaster, and all those grandpa-bods Hannah mentioned would probably be good enough for a one-night-stands—if they were willing to spoil her first.

“Last chance, Hannah.” I walked into the living room and dropped my suitcase next to the door.

“I’m sorry, Mandy. I really am.” She grimaced and held up her bikini. “Do you think Brady will like this?”

“I’m sure you won’t be wearing it long enough for him to notice.” I grabbed my suitcase and slammed the door behind me.

It was a six hour drive to the resort, one that would have been much easier if I had someone to trade out with at the midway point. I fumed as I drove and it was hours before I finally settled down and switched the angry-rock music on my radio to something relaxing. When I finally got to the mountain path that led to the Blue Ridge Mountains, I couldn’t help but smile. The mountain was beautiful. It looked so peaceful. I rolled down my windows to enjoy the breeze and the fresh air. I grew up near Chicago, so I didn’t get to see much nature or smell anything other than the stench of the city. We were going to college near the East Coast, which was a lot nicer than Chicago, but it wasn’t very peaceful.

Yep, this is perfect. I’ll have no problem enjoying this alone.

It was a long ride up the mountain, but I didn’t mind because it was so beautiful to look at. I actually felt in tune with nature when I saw a sign indicating the resort was only a mile away. I could already see myself hiking through the woods, picnicking on a ledge overlooking the valley that surrounded the mountain. I wasn’t just ready to vacation there, I was ready to move in permanently. I made a vow that I would retire somewhere like that, long after I had married and raised lots of babies—while balancing a successful career and coaching Hannah through her latest divorce.

Chapter 2: Red

“Yeah, I don’t know if we can repair this.” The handyman I hired to help me fix up my family’s resort exhaled sharply as he looked at the empty pool. “It won’t be cheap. I’ll need to patch all the cracks and then we’ll need to call someone to come put in a new liner. The filtration system is fucked. It’s gotta be replaced completely. The heaters on the bottom are just flat out shot, and I’m not sure those can be repaired without ripping out part of the concrete.”

“Okay, then let’s start with someone we can repair faster. I’d like to get this place looking halfway decent before winter.” I put my hands on my hips and shook my head. “The pool won’t matter at that point if we can’t get the heat working.”

“I don’t know, Red.” He turned in a circle, looking at the resort. “I think you’d be better off just selling it. Your dad talked about it a couple of times before he passed.”

“Nah. I can’t get anything for the place in this state. I don’t think anyone wants this dump but me. Okay, I need to go make a phone call. Why don’t you work on Cabin A? It would be nice if we had one cabin up here that would pass inspection.” I pointed towards the cabin that was closest to the entrance of the resort.

“Sure thing, but honestly? I don’t think any of them are going to be up to code without a sizable investment except the one you’re staying in.” He shrugged and started walking towards Cabin A.