Page 10 of Blizzard Babies
Charli is almost through the window when she disappears into a mass of snow, letting out a tiny shriek as she falls.
“Oh, shit,” I whisper, quickly unbuckling my seat belt even though I’m not sure how I can help in my condition.
“I’m okay!” We can hear her, but she hasn’t resurfaced yet.
“Charli!” Whitney is leaning forward anxiously.
“I’m okay.” Charli straightens up, and if our situation wasn’t so precarious, I would laugh. She’s covered in snow, even on her face, and she shakes her head. “The good news is we’re on flat, solid ground. The bad news is that we’re way, way down the hill from the highway. And I don’t see anything but trees and snow in any direction.”
“You should get back in the car,” I say firmly. “It’s way too cold out there and now you’re wet.”
“My coat’s waterproof,” she says. “I was thinking I should try to walk to the road.”
“No!” The three of us in the car shout in unison.
“Get back in the car,” Whitney says firmly. “You’re pregnant, Charli. Being cold and wet can’t be good for you.”
“Hey, thanks to the adrenaline, this is the first time in weeks I’m not nauseated!” she quips, swatting at the snow and making enough room for her to open the door of the SUV.
She slides behind the wheel and rolls the window back up.
“Now what?” she asks.
“I guess we wait,” I say, leaning back in the seat. “The car that spun out had to have seen us go over the side. I’m sure they’re calling for help.”
“Let’s hope so.” Whitney is still trying to get service on her phone.
“We’re good for now,” Charli says. “There’s plenty of gas, so we can run the heat, and there are blankets in the back if we need them.”
“The problem is going to be when I have to pee,” I mutter. “Which is going to be really soon.”
“The heat from the SUV is probably going to melt some of the snow immediately around us,” Sara says. “So that should make some room for you to get out and do what you have to do.”
“You want me to drop my pants in this weather?” I make a face. “Whose idea was it to move to fucking Alaska?”
“Probably Gage’s?” Whitney suggests, chuckling.
“The good news is my husband is extremely overprotective,” I say. “He’s going to worry when I don’t show up in the next half hour. Then he’s going to start calling, and when it goes straight to voicemail, he’s going to call in the cavalry.”
“I guess that’s good news,” Sara says.
“Gage is—” I cut off abruptly as a sharp pain hits me. “Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?” Sara asks quickly.
“Laurel?” Charli is looking at me with concern.
“I’ve been getting these Braxton-Hicks contractions all day,” I say. “But nothing like this. That one was a lot more… intense.”
“One of us needs to go find help,” Charli says firmly. “It should probably be me since I’m the least pregnant.”
“No.” Whitney shakes her head. “We have to stay together. In the car. Period. It’s bad out there and getting worse by the minute. We might have to turn the car off for a while to conserve gas because I think it’s going to be a long day and night if no one finds us.”
“Gage will be looking for us,” I say firmly.
“Yes, but how will he know where to look?” Sara asks.
“And if the storm coming through is as bad as they say, he may not be able to search, no matter how much he wants to,” Charli adds.
