CHAPTER SEVEN

GWEN POV

As soon as I was outside of the big city, I felt my body relax. I took a deep, slow breath and looked at everything around me.

If you ever wanted to see different kinds of weather and nature in one area, this was the perfect place to come. In the summer, all the hills and trees were bright green and full of life. Then, in the fall, the area turned into a beautiful explosion of red, orange, and yellow as the leaves changed color. Now, in the heart of winter, the trees were bare, and the snow made the whole view look like a perfect painting.

Nearly two hours later, I drove into a town that looked exactly like a picture on a postcard. It made me think of the cozy stories I read in novels. I smiled a little and wondered if anyone actually lived a life that was so perfect all the time.

After I drove out of the town and into a wooded area, I knew I was close to the cabin. I reached for my phone on the dashboard and pressed the button to start the GPS again. I needed it for the very last part of the trip. I slowly drove through the quiet countryside, enjoying all the beauty.

It had snowed a lot more here than it had back in the city. The white snow on the trees sparkled in the last bright light of the setting sun. It was only a little past three in the afternoon, but the winter days here were very short. The sun would probably be completely gone by a little after four o’clock.

I realized I didn’t want to be driving in this area when it was dark. I looked at my phone because it hadn't told me to turn for a long time. My screen showed a message: "Phone Offline."

“Oh, that’s not good,” I thought to myself.

I tapped the screen a few times, making sure to keep my eyes on the road. But the phone showed me that there was simply no cell service in this spot.

I kept driving up the narrow road, looking for a place where I could safely pull over and maybe send a text to April. Usually, even when my phone couldn't make a voice call, I could still send a text message.

Up ahead on the right, I saw a wide, clear-looking driveway entrance. I pulled my car off the road and stopped there. I took my phone out of its holder and quickly typed a message to her.

‘No GPS. Can you text me directions from town?’

I waited for a moment. Instead of a "Sent" notification, I got a message: "Text failed to send."

“Dammit,” I whispered.

I scrolled through my old texts with April, hoping she had written down step-by-step directions for me before. But all she had ever given me was the street address.

“She must know there’s no phone service out here,” I thought, feeling a wave of worry. “Why would she give me an address and expect me to use GPS if it doesn't work out here?”

I sat back in my car seat, trying to figure out why April would do something like that. April was sweet, always happy, and she was smart, too. But she wasn't always the best at thinking ahead about problems. When life is always easy for you, you don't usually have to worry about things going wrong.

I breathed out a big sigh and looked back up the road. Maybe this small section was just a "dead zone" for phone service.

I pulled back onto the road and started driving again. I hoped that if I just kept going, I would hit a section where my phone would work again.

Luck was finally on my side! As I drove up and over the top of a small hill, my phone’s GPS suddenly spoke to me.

"In 500 feet, turn left."

At the exact same moment, a new text message popped up on the screen.

I made the left turn and then pushed the button to have the phone read the message to me out loud.

April (Text Message): “I’m so sorry, Gwen! I’m still stuck at Cole’s place. I’m not going to be able to make it to the cabin. You go and enjoy yourself! Drink lots of wine and use the hot tub. My dad will stay out of your way, so use this time as a good break.”

My eyes went wide. She had to be joking.

I was absolutely not going to spend Christmas alone with her father. What were the chances that he would even be at the cabin if she wasn't there?

And being stuck in a house alone with a man I barely knew would be so awkward and uncomfortable.

I poked the call button on my screen, ready to give her a piece of my mind about this surprise change of plans.

But of course, the moment I did that, I drove into another area with no cell service.

“This is a sign,” I told myself. “A clear sign for me to turn around right now and go home.”

The road was too narrow, though. It was so small that there wasn't even a white line in the middle to divide it. Even though a snowplow had cleared the road, huge piles of snow were stacked up on the sides. It was impossible to turn my car around without the real risk of another car coming over the hill or around the corner and crashing right into me.

My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. I stared up the road, looking hard for any safe place to turn my car around.

Finally, I saw something that looked like a smaller side road, or maybe a wide entrance to a long driveway. I was so eager to start my new plan of going home that I pressed the gas pedal a little harder than I should have.

As I got close to the driveway, my wheels slipped a little bit, and then the whole car began to slide.

Black ice.

I remembered what my father had always told me. He said that if you hit black ice, you should hold the steering wheel straight and firm. You must take your foot off the gas pedal, and never touch the brakes.

But sadly, my first reaction took over. While I held the steering wheel as tightly as I could, I also slammed my foot onto the brake pedal.

Immediately, my car began to spin around very fast, doing a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, just as if I was making a U-turn. But then it kept sliding. It slid off the edge of the road, and the front wheels went down into the snowy ditch.

With a final bump, the car came to a stop.

I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I was perfectly fine, not hurt at all. Then, a wave of pure frustration hit me.

“Did I do something bad to deserve this whole trip turning into a disaster?”

My car was tilted sideways in the ditch, but it wasn’t so deep that I couldn't drive out of it. I slowly pressed the gas pedal, but my wheels just spun wildly in the snow.

“Okay, this is not good,” I muttered.

I tried to open my door, the one on the driver’s side. But the car was tilted so much that the door was too heavy for me to hold open while I climbed out.

So, I climbed across the passenger seat and got out on that side. My car had all-wheel drive, which helps in the snow, but it wouldn't do any good if the wheels couldn't find anything solid to grip on.

I looked all around me. I was hoping to see a pile of sand, or dirt, or rocks, or even some small wooden boards—anything I could put under the tires to help me get out. But the fresh snowfall had covered everything completely.

I stood there on the side of the quiet, empty road, wondering what to do next. New snow began to fall softly, and the sun started its final, quick drop below the horizon. The light was fading fast.

“Don’t panic, Gwen!” I breathed, the sound shaking in the cold air. But the tears were already coming, hot streaks cutting paths through the fine layer of snow dusting my cheeks. The sun was gone.