~~~
The rest of the day Dex and I stayed mum about the footprints, which was easy since Mitch took off after our lunch of dehydrated soup, mumbling something about spotting deer in the area. That gave Dex and I a whole lot of time to do nothing.
Well, I did nothing, except flip through about 20 old Reader’s Digests that were left on the bookshelf. Dex took a nap in the bedroom. For a brief instant I wondered if us having time alone together would result in seduction of some sort. It was incredibly romantic, when you thought about it. Both of us were alone in a cabin in the woods, a light snow falling outside, a roaring fire with that God damn rug that I could not stop thinking about having sex on. I had a short fantasy of him inviting me to bed with him, or perhaps taking me right there on the floor. If we were together like that, there would be no downtime for us. We’d never be bored.
But we weren’t together like that and we weren’t together at all and that was a good thing. Whatever I had now with Dex was strained at times and weird at best, but we were managing. I’d probably manage better if I wasn’t so horny, if I wasn’t so tempted to just jump him half the time. And if I hadn’t found out that his tattoo was about me. That definitely threw me for another loop, adding another layer of confusion to our relationship dip.
I have to admit, I was a bit worried about myself, afraid I would do something stupid again, like try and give him a blowjob. It was one thing to avoid getting drunk around him, but sometimes I feared I would just kiss him out of the blue. Then what would happen? We’d have sex, most definitely. But then what? What did that lead to between us except for douchecanoe maneuvers and heartache?
Well, and a tattoo.
That damn tattoo. Dex saw the light.
He saw me.
I shook my head of the thoughts, trying to ease away the slow squeezing of my chest and the warmth between my legs. Funny how part of you could be so emotionally confused, yet the other part just wanted to get the fuck off.
I flipped the pages of the musty-smelling digest, turning my thoughts to Ada and wondering how she was holding up with my parents. I missed them all to be honest with you. Ada the most, but I also missed my father’s snide comments when he watched the news at night, or the way my mom prettied herself in the hall mirror before stepping outside. Silly, stupid things, but I missed them just the same. I had to remind myself that things wouldn’t have stayed easy had I remained behind. They would have been watching me like crazy, waiting for me to go crazy. Like poor Pippa.
The thought of her also added an extra pang to my insides. I wondered where she was right now, if she was watching me. I wondered about the Thin Veil and how close it was to me. If I looked hard enough for it, could I see it? And if I could, would I go through it? I went in somewhat normal and came out with some weird ability for Ada – and maybe others – to hear my thoughts. What would happen if I went through again?
My eyes gazed around the cabin, growing a bit sleepy from the approaching twilight and the heat of the flames. Pippa no longer scared me and I hoped that one day she would show herself to me again. I still had questions and I knew none of this, the hardships she faced, was going to bypass me completely.
I must have fallen asleep in my chair because the next thing I knew I was waking up to hear Dex and Mitch laughing over the clatter of plates and cutlery.
I raised my head, a stream of drool latching onto my shoulder, and looked behind me at the kitchen area. The two of them were chopping up some small dead animal and they even seemed to be getting along. I didn’t like that one bit.
I wiped my chin and got up, weak from the nap and not surprised to see it was pitch black outside.
Dex was the first to notice my presence.
“Sleeping beauty is awake,” he said with a smirk.
I rested my elbow on the chair and watched them from a distance. “What are you guys doing?”
“Wow, you really were out like a light,” Dex commented. “You sure you didn’t get into Mitch’s bourbon? I feel like I could take you on tonight, if you did.”
He waggled his brows suggestively. I responded with a wry look and was pleased to see Mitch was eyeing Dex with careful disdain, like he never considered him a threat until that moment. Perhaps I shouldn’t have felt smug over that, but I wanted Mitch to know his creepy game wouldn’t go very far.
I nodded at the animal. “What is that?”
Mitch slowly pried his hawk eyes off of Dex and went back to slicing and dicing.
“Hare,” he growled and whacked a cleaver down hard. “And grouse.”
Oh, yum. I quickly thought about reverting to vegetarianism.
“We’ve got a grill going on outside,” Dex said, washing his hands with a bottle of water and hand sanitizer. “I have no doubt it’ll be tastier than it looks.”
I nodded absently and made my way over to the door, getting my coat off the peg and piling on my scarf and hat. That was the most annoying thing about being where we were: every time I wanted to use the bathroom, I had to brave the elements. I felt like the younger brother in A Christmas Story.
When I came back, Mitch was standing over a grill he had set up by the door, turning over the grouse on the hot coals. The smell it gave off was delicious and the steam and heat formed thick clouds in the cold night air above.
“He seems to think you’re his woman,” he said under his breath. His tone made my back feel like snow had dribbled down it.
I clamped my mouth shut, trying not to say anything as I walked to the door but just as I closed my hand around the knob, I said in a haughty voice, “He can think any damn thing he wants.”
I wondered how much of that I actually meant.
To my surprise, the packet of mashed potatoes and grilled grouse was actually tasty. Much better than the canned crap we had been eating. I begrudgingly told Mitch that. He just glared at me, which I preferred to his other look. Dex seemed to pick up on the strain between us but he was happily stuffing his face and didn’t say anything.
The three of us retired to the living room after dinner – and by that, I mean we moved a couple of feet and plunked ourselves down, me on the rug, face to the fire, and Dex and Mitch on the armchairs. Mitch had finished off the old bottle of bourbon and had brought out another, albeit cheaper, version. This time Dex and I did partake in a glass each, both of which Dex iced with a clump of fresh snow. It was delicious and though I was keeping myself in check, I was grateful for the simple act of drinking. It gave us something to do instead of just staring at each other, and despite being sluggish from the heavy meal, I knew it would be quite a while before I was ready for bed. My mind was racing and that vague threat of the beast – or someone pretending to be the beast – was sitting at the back of my head.
I had taken my last sip of bourbon and was debating whether I should ask Mitch for another or not when the dim cabin was suddenly aglow with a blinding bright light.
“The motion detectors,” Dex announced excitedly, quickly getting out of the chair and heading to the windows. Mitch did the same, while I rolled over and scooped the camera off of the table.
Even with a heavy sweater on, I could feel my hairs standing straight up on my arms. I was scared of being scared, as stupid as that sounded, and made sure I was right beside Dex, my shoulder rubbing against his.
“Turn it on,” he hissed at me, not taking his eyes off of the scene outside.
I did as he said and kept the camera focused out the window. I held it still while my own eyes came off the viewfinder and scanned the scene. There was nothing outside that I could see. It had stopped snowing for the moment and the trees were still. We all stared until the fog from inside steamed up the glass and no amount of rubbing would clear the view.
Mitch slipped on his boots and a jacket and picked up his shotgun that was resting behind the door.
“Let me check this out,” he barked, the crazy excitement showing in his eyes. He opened the door and bolted out into the night. I gave Dex the camera while I quickly got dressed for the elements and soon we were outside too, our boots making no noise on the fresh powder. It was colder than normal and when I looked up to the sky I saw only a few thick clouds hanging lazily near the moon. Everything was still and I couldn’t hear much except the beating of my heart and Dex’s ragged breath beside me, the air freezing in thin clouds near his face.
Everything was illuminated by the cold lights, bathing us in an otherworldly blue glow. Dex’s face took on a sickly pallor against his dark hair and eyes.
“You still filming?” he whispered as he searched the darkness beyond the light.
“Yes sir,” I answered, though I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be filming. What had tripped the lights?
“Maybe we should go check on the llamas?” Dex asked.
“Why?”
He cocked a brow at me. “Because we’d look like quite the idiots if we’re freaking out because Twatwaffle got loose.”
Fair enough. Still, I wanted to know where Mitch went.
“Mitch?” I called out softly. I didn’t want to yell and attract attention to myself, even though it was pretty obvious that if there was something out there, it knew about us. It could have easily been watching us from the trees and we wouldn’t have a clue. I hoped to God I wouldn’t see glints of red in the darkness.
Dex tugged at my arm. “Come on. I’m sure he’s finding something new to kill.”
“I just hope it’s not us,” I said under my breath but I let Dex lead me around the other side of the cabin toward the corral where the llamas were kept.
We were halfway between the cabin and the pen, amongst a border of low bushes, when we were suddenly engulfed in darkness. The motion detectors went out and the cloud had settled over the moon.
“Shit,” Dex swore. “I knew I should have brought a flashlight.”
I turned and looked back at the cabin. The light from inside was barely visible, this side of the cabin having no windows.
I chewed on my cold lip, feeling the moisture evaporate in the dry air.
“Do you have that light for the camera?” I asked.
“Inside,” he said with sigh. “Well, fuck, let’s just run back and-“