Page 3 of Scarred Mountain Man
I walk towards my bedroom, grabbing a pair of jeans and an extra blanket, taking a quick detour to the bathroom to splash my face with water. I need to stay in control. I'll just show her the way and come back. We'll never cross paths again.
I put the blanket around her shoulders. "Let's go, grab my arm so you don't catch any more rain. My umbrella is not very big."
"It's fine."
I can tell she doesn't want to touch me. It shouldn't matter this much, it really shouldn't. So why does it feel like my chest is going to explode?
"It's not fine. You're drenched. Hold on to me. It's not far, you'll be back in no time. I'm not going to hurt you."
"At least tell me your name."
"Oliver. Want my social security number too?"
"That's a good idea actually." Her eyes get a whisper of a light and her lips curl up. It's strenuous, but it's a glimpse of a smile. I wonder what her real smile looks like. I wonder so many things about her.
She holds on to me, her hands are so cold I feel it seeping through my shirt, which makes me more worried. Despite asking for help, she didn't ask to come in, not for an extra sweater, not for anything.
She feels so unsafe with me she didn't ask for anything other than how to find her way back.
It makes me mad at myself.
Chapter 3 - Miranda
Being next to Oliver feels nice. He exudes warmth, which has made me lean more and more on him as we walk towards my rented cabin under the moonlight. He marks several trees with a piece of fabric, wrapping it on a branch, telling me it's to help me find my way to his place again. Just in case I need something. It makes me want to go there to ask for salt, for anything I forgot to buy.
But.
He clearly doesn’t want to be here. Okay, so calling him a murderer might not have been the best move, but I was hoping we’d get past that. Still, his energy tells me he'd rather be anywhere else than here with me. I guess I deserve that. To be fair, I don't think many people would take the time to do this. He must have figured out by now that I'm not from around here.
When I see my rented cabin, it feels like I've woken up from a bad dream. Finally, I’m here. I've lost track of time by now, and I'm just happy to be back to my precious food, which I'll devour right after I take a long bath. With the stress I've endured in the past few hours, a tub of ice cream is certainly called for.
He leaves me at the front door. A part of me still feels strangely attached to this man. I know nothing about him besides his name and where he lives, but I can't help but want to get to know him. It's probably the fact he's literally the only person around here, the only person I could rely on. It's normal to feel this connection, along with how attractive he looks. Maybe not for everyone, but I wish I could stare at him more carefully. His scars just make his face more dramatic, which perfectly fits the way he carries himself, that just makes me even more curious. I keep wanting to trace them, to feel them beneath my fingertips. Although I'm sure he just sees me as a random stupid girl who got lost in the woods. Just someone who interrupted his sleep, and that's making him escort her on this cold rainy night.
"Bye," I say. "Thank you. Your blanket, take it."
"Keep it. I don't need it."
I nod, take the key and turn it.
It's freezing. The cabin was cheap so I think it wouldn't be a problem not to have an air conditioner. I didn't think it'd get this cold in September. This first day is full of its challenges, that's for sure. I flip the light switch, but the lights don't turn on.
Did the power go out here too? I hesitate, but I'm already calling out Oliver before I get the chance to convince myself that I can fix this by myself. I realize I trust him. It always takes me so long to trust someone. Somehow, he found a corner to slip through because he already has it. It frightens me.
He arrives in the blink of an eye, eyes wide with concern. "What's wrong?"
"There's no power here either."
"That's it? I figured. The power that feeds the homes around here all comes from the same place."
"How long do you think it'll be?"
He shrugs. "Usually, a couple of days with this rain. We never went without power before, but now, ever since they remodeled some of the network to make it better," he signals this with air quotes, "it happens every time it rains just a bit more than usual. We've filed a complaint, but we've yet to get a response."
"I bought a lot of food! It's going to get ruined. I spent so much money."
There's one thing I hate more than anything: wasting food. I'm not even going to think about how much money is wasted. This was supposed to be a relaxing retreat. I'm soaked, with no food, no electricity and in a freezing cabin. Staying positive is proving to be a challenge. I sigh again.
"I've got a generator. I only use it for the essentials, like my fridge. I could store your food."
