Page 16 of Home Between Homes

“I’m surprised you told her about it.”

“I didn’t. She’s good at reading booksandpeople.”

“She definitely is.”

Jack eyed me.

I smiled at him.

He stared at my lips for a moment before his eyes moved up to meet mine as he also gifted me a smile.

“Well, she got my taste in books right,” I said to show him where I stood on all of this. That must have been obvious enough for him to get the hint.

Jack gulped and looked back at the street. “That’s... good.”

The moment could have been sweet, romantic, and right out of one of Mrs. Candice’s books, had we not been reminded a few seconds later how stupid it is to not look at the road in a situation like ours.

With a loud rumble, the car lost its grip and juddered.

I tightened my grip on the wheel and tried to steer us back onto the pavement, but it was too late. We both held our breath as the car slid into the ditch. Fortunately, I was only going fifteen miles per hour, so we came to a stop after five seconds. My heart was pounding like crazy. “Fuck,” I yelled. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but this is bad.”

The car was now leaning to the right. Luckily, it was the back wheels that had slid into the ditch, which should make it easier to get out somehow.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“I don’t suppose you have any chains we can put around the tires?”

“Do I even need to answer this question?” My vision became blurry as I looked at the navigation system. It took me two triesto see that we were about a mile from Jack’s house. “Fuck, sorry. I should have been more careful.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. We can make it. What happens if you give it a little gas?”

I put my foot on the pedal and pushed, but it only made the car slide further into the ditch. I slammed on the brakes, and ten seconds later, we came to a stop.

Jack pulled out his phone. “Let me call Dany.”

“He didn’t come an hour ago when things were much better. Do you really think he can do anything for us now?”

“True.” He turned his head as if help would magically appear out of nowhere. “What if I go outside and push?”

The itch at the back of my neck flared up again. I didn’t want to admit it, but his suggestion was our best chance. “It’s probably better if we both push. I saw a video online where they suggest putting the seat belt around your chest?—”

Jack’s hand rushed to my shoulder as if he had just had a brainwave. “I saw that too! That’s not a bad idea. Good thinking.” He unbuckled and grabbed the door handle.

The itch on my neck got worse, and I had to blink twice to clear my blurry eyes, but I had to pull myself together. I reached for the handle as well.

We took a deep breath, nodded at each other to show that we were ready, and then opened the doors.

My door hardly moved even though I was leaning on it with all my weight. The wind was so strong that I could barely get it open enough to squeeze through. The snow was now like tiny, icy needles trying to pierce the small part of my cheeks not protected by my scarf. I squinted my eyes. The ground crunched under my boots, and all I could hear was the howling of the blizzard.

I rolled down the window to reach the steering wheel from the outside, just as I remembered from the video. I pulled on theseatbelt until it was long enough to wrap around my shoulder. “Please, let this work,” I muttered to myself as I buckled the belt into the door. I searched for Jack, who was doing the same on the other side. “Ready?” I called to him.

Even though his voice was faint, I could hear him yell, “Yes!”

“One, two, three,” I shouted, forcing my feet into the ground. The car lurched forward for a moment, but then the snow gave way. I slid to my knees, and if it hadn’t been for the seat belt, I would have hit the ground head-first.

My hands automatically gripped the door and pulled me back to my feet with all their might. Jack’s head was no longer sticking out from behind the car. “Jack?” I yelled. “Jack!”

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