Page 55 of The Darkest Parts of Me

I walk into the coffee shop, book and sketchpad in hand. After a little while of reading, I soon find myself scanning the same sentence over and over again, so I pull out my sketchbook and pencils. I’m glad I grabbed them on my way out as an afterthought. I haven’t sketched or designed anything in months, so I’m surprised how quickly I lose myself in the blank sheets of paper. It helps distract me from replaying last night, and this morning, over and over in my head.

What does this mean for Renn and my relationship? We are friends, but more . . . so now what? Just as I’m about to finish with my second cup, my hands now smudged with residue from the pencils, Valery walks into the shop and spots me by the window.

“Maven, my dear. So good to see you!”

“Hey, Val. Good to see you too!” I gesture for her to sit across from me. “Do you want to join me?”

Her bright smile fades. “I wish I could, but I need to get back to the store. We are a bit busy at the moment. I think everyone is stocking up for the storm.” She must read the confusion on my face as she adds, “Did you not get the weather alert?”

I scan my phone and find no missed notifications. “I thought the storm had passed?”

“Oh, well, there’s another one on the way. It may even snow. It’s supposed to last a couple of days at least, if it doesn’t blow over again.”

The first snowfall of the year was never to be taken lightly around here, that much I knew. “Thanks for letting me know. I probably should be heading home soon if that’s the case,” I say, looking out the window.

“That would probably be for the best, dear. Are you going to be there all alone?” she says, raising her eyebrow.

“Yeah . . . probably.” I give her a narrowed look. “Why do you ask?”

Valery makes a face that I know all too well.

“I just happened to overhear someone earlier at the store mention that they saw Renn turning onto Spruce Road last night. Or at least they thought it was him. It’s hard to miss him, especially when he is riding that motorbike.”

I have to force myself to not roll my eyes. I highly doubt that she “overheard” the conversation; whoever had seen Renn turn down my road probably couldn’t wait to pass it along to Valery. Small towns are no good at keeping secrets, and gossip sometimes feels like a competition.

“I see. Well, yeah, Renn did come by last night. Just to check in.” Valery raises her eyebrow again, hinting she needs more details. “And . . . we might see each other later, I don’t know.” Val’s smile widens to a full, toothy grin, and I can’t help but roll my eyes this time. “We are just friends, Val.”

“Oh, of course. Of course,” she says with a wink. It’s pointless to try to convince Val of something if she already has her mind made up, so my only option is to get out of here before anything else can be said.

“Well, I guess I better head home,” I say, starting to gather up my belongings. She watches me as I stand, pulling me into a quick hug.

“Be safe, and call if you need anything.”

I squeeze her back, remembering that, while it’s a bit intrusive, she did it out of love, pretty much how everyone does anything in Solitude Ridge.

“I will, Val. Thank you.”

I pull up to the cabin and the storm hits. Perfect timing. It doesn’t gradually begin either, the hard pounding of rain is almost instant as it bounces off the roof and ground. I quickly run inside, trying to cover my hair as best I can without a hood or umbrella to shield me. The cabin has a standard heating system, but if the power goes out, the fire will keep me plenty warm and cozy. I prefer it, especially on cold, rainy evenings like this one. I can still read and sketch, but the ambiance would be perfect in the firelight and crackling of wood.

“Looks like we aren’t going for that walk then,” I say to myself, looking out the window.

After begrudgingly changing into some comfortable clothes, I make a simple dinner, and just as I’m about to sit down at the kitchen table, all the lights suddenly switch off. Everything goes deathly quiet, the kind of quiet when you know the power is going to be off for a while. I can just feel it in the air, which isn’t surprising with this storm. I pull my raincoat and boots on quickly to go out around the back of the house for some firewood, only to find none.

How did I miss that?

Without the fire to keep warm in a power outage, it could end up being a couple of extremely cold days, especially if it does end up snowing. I sigh, defeated, and run back inside. I pull out a lantern from a nearby closet, setting it on the table to eat the rest of my dinner.

I tap my finger against the table in thought. I do have the option of staying somewhere else until the storm passes, and I can’t help the tinge of excitement thinking about the possibility of going somewhere in particular. My cheeks heat at the thought, a little embarrassed with myself. I dig around in my bag, looking for my phone, and find I have no missed calls or messages. Renn is most likely still at the auto shop, and he could be there a few more hours. He said he’d call, so I guess I’ll have to be patient and finish my soup in a mood of boredom.

Soon, the lantern is the only source of light. I searched the supply closet to find more to spread throughout the cabin now that the normal mountain nighttime darkness is amplified, with the stars and moon nowhere to be seen. I try distracting myself with my books, snacks, and sketching, but it doesn’t help at all as I keep checking my phone every few minutes.

It’s a good thing I have a portable charger because I am draining the battery.

I figure I have three options. Tasha and Mina’s place is empty and probably still has power since Main Street has back up generators. Any other time, I would have liked having the bookshop all to myself, but not tonight. I could call Valery, or pretty much anyone else in town, but option three is where I land. I won’t deny this desire wishing I was somewhere else . . . with someone else. Plus, the storm hasn’t faltered in the slightest; the rain is still coming down just as much as it was when it first started. I guess my fourth option is to stay here in the freezing, pitch-black but . . . I could just call Renn, my third option. His place is much closer—another thing to add to my list of reasons to call him and not anyone else. Before I can talk myself out of it, I pick up the phone and tap his name.

In one ring, he answers.

“Mave, you okay?”

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