Page 17 of Home Between Homes

His head popped back up. “I slipped. But let’s try it again.”

We made three more attempts, each of which ended with both of us slipping. Jack pointed into the car to signal that we should regroup for a moment.

I sat back in my seat, now covered in snow, pulled the door shut behind me, and rolled up the window.

My heart was racing. “This isn’t working.” My voice broke as I spoke. “What are we supposed to do now?” My eyes didn’t know where to focus. My vision was so blurred that I had to brace myself against the steering wheel. I tried to take a deep breath, but the air was so cold I couldn’t breathe. My gasp was futile. I was suffocating.

Jack’s hand on my cheek pulled me out of it. Even though it was red from the cold, it felt warm. “Noah,” he said softly, making me focus my eyes on him. “Breathe like this for a moment.” He cupped his hands over his mouth and nose.

I gasped again but followed his example. With my hands over my mouth and nose, I tried to breathe, and finally, some air found its way into my lungs.

“Keep breathing,” Jack said, doing it with me, his eyes locked on mine. “I’m here with you.”

I took another breath, deeper and easier than the last.

“You’re doing great.”

“Sorry,” I whispered.

“It’s okay.” Jack put his hand on my shoulder. “Thisisscary, but we will survive. I promise. I got you into this, and I will get you home.”

How could he be so calm at a time like this?

He looked through the windshield and pointed to the end of the road. I squinted my eyes to see through the big white wall in front of us, and after a second, I could make out the faint shape of a house.

“We’re not that far. Once we get there, the buildings should protect us a little more from the blizzard, and we should be able to make it to the McCormac’s house. It’s closer than mine, and we’ll be safe there.”

“You’re suggesting wewalk?” My head shook on its own as my whole body tried to fight the idea of going back out there.

“The blizzard will continue for at least another twenty-four hours if not more. We have no food, water, or blankets, and the engine will eventually die. As hard as it is, I don’t want to freeze to death. Let’s take our chances before conditions get even worse.”

I pulled my eyebrows together so hard that they cramped.

“And we can’t leave Maggie alone,” he added. “I know Seastone like the back of my hand. We can shorten our route if we ignore everything and walk through some backyards.”

I took a deep breath. I didn’t feel good about leaving the car, but I didn’t see any other solution. And he was right about Maggie. “Okay. I’m with you.” My voice was a little more stable when I said it, even though my whole body was shaking.

The Christmas music faded as I turned off the engine.

“We got this,” Jack said. It didn’t feel easy to believe him, but I didn’t have another choice.

I pushed the door against the wind and squeezed myself through the narrow gap. While Jack made his way to the front of the car, slipping again as he climbed out of the ditch, I locked it up.

The cold had enough practice now to find its way under my jacket, under my sweater, under my skin in seconds. I covered my mouth and nose with my scarf and pulled my beanie down over my eyes as far as I could without blocking my vision. The visibility shortened. Whereas a minute ago, I could see the faint outlines of buildings in the distance, now I couldn’t even see beyond Jack’s back.

“Let’s go,” he shouted so loudly that the muscles in his neck tightened, but the howling drowned it out so that all I could hear was a faint whisper.

I took six steps for what should have taken two to get to him. “I can’t see,” I yelled back.

“Take it.” He held out his hand toward me. “So we don’t lose each other.”

Without questioning his guidance, I did as he said. He wasn’t wearing gloves, unlike me, but his grip was firm and reassuring.

Things got easier from there. Even though the conditions seemed to get worse, the feeling that I wasn’t alone in this gave me the strength to push through.

We made our way down the road, slowly but steadily. Jack walked ahead of me, holding his free arm up to shield his face. I wrapped my fingers around his hand as tightly as I could, hoping to give him at least some of the protection the gloves provided. I don’t know how long it took us to reach the houses we had seen from afar. It felt like an eternity, though it was probably only fifteen minutes.

Once we were surrounded by buildings, it was easier to see. And it was reassuring that Jack hadn’t lied about taking the shortest route. We trudged through backyards. Some windowswe passed were dark, while others had a warm, inviting orange glow behind them. We walked through doors in fences that looked locked, but Jack knew they were open. We made our way through a small grove behind someone’s house, eventually reaching a familiar-looking porch at the end of the relentless white void. The refuge we had longed for. We were there at last.

---