Page 12 of A World Without You
THREE
Wednesday, November 22nd
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“WHAT IN THE HELL, OLIVIA? You’re going to freeze to death!”
I startle awake—horn blaring, and the owner of the lodge, Charles Swanson, rapping on my driver’s side window with his kind eyes and crooked mustache.
“I’m fine! I’m fine!” I shout through the glass window, frosted with fresh snow. I look around the car to find signs of Colin, but he’s nowhere to be found. I check the mirror. No hickeys either. No long hair, and it certainly isn’t as dark as it was yesterday.
Or...in that dream.Oh my god, that dream.
I let out a deranged giggle—I had asex dreamabout Colin. I haven’t had one of those since I was nineteen.
But this one was so real. The smell of his skin, the taste of his kiss. Every freckle, every vein. All of it a recent memory on my fingertips.
I flip the visor back up, crack my neck, and turn the ignition. The car roars to life, and I roll down the window.
“Rough night,” I tell Charles who hasn’t stopped scowling at me with deranged concern.
Charles rears back, gray eyebrows cinched. “You drunk?”
I shake my head. “No, just needed to go for a drive. Fell asleep watching the snow fall.” The lie comes easily. I’ve always worked well under pressure.
He nods slowly, clearly taking in the scene and the information. My vehicle is crooked on the side of the road, blanketed with a white dusting of snow. Knowing the temperatures fell below freezing makes me wonder how I didn’t freeze to death last night while I slept on my steering wheel.
“You still leaving today?” he asks, his gaze wandering the frosted brush along the side of the road.
I nod. I gave him my notice before I even told my husband. The thing about having Charles as a boss is that he’s great about keeping secrets, but he’s also observant. He wasn’t surprised by the divorce.
“I’m going home,” I answer.
“For Thanksgiving or...?” His voice trails as he waits for clarification.
“Forever,” I answer, and he nods.
