Page 4 of The Wrong Drive

“It’s okay,” I say, once again putting the truck in park once I clear the gate. “Do you want me to shut and lock it?”

“Yeah, if you can. Like I said, you never know who might show up. Better to make it harder for someone to get in.”

“Yeah, I’m locking it,” I mutter, my mind humming with a repeat of all the true crime documentaries I’ve watched. I climb out once again into the elements, bracing against the wind. I shut the gate and then click the master lock shut all the way, no longer leaving it dummy locked. I return to the truck and pickthe phone up as I shut the door. “Okay, well the chain is locked now.”

“Wait, what?”

“What?” I repeat it back to him, confused. “You just said to lock it, right? You never know who might show up…?”

“Honey…” Adam’s voice trails off in a way that makes me instantly nervous. “There’s no chain lock on the gate—just a slide on the inside. The Master Lock broke the last time my parents were here, and they just haven’t relaced it.”

I pause. “So… There’s not a Master Lock with a chain?”

“No…”

“So then what the fuck did I just do?” I exasperate. “I justlockedmyself in—wherever the hell I am.”

“Share your location with me,” Adam’s voice picks up a concerned tone. “I need to see where you are. I know most of the people around here…But there’s no one close to us with a black gate. You had to have gotten turned around or something. Maybe you entered the address wrong.”

My heart jumps with panic as the wind howls around the truck, rocking it. I reach for my phone and try to share my location with Adam, but the screen freezes. “It’s not working.”

“It’s probably the weather,” Adam says, his voice still calm. “Just drive up and tell them you got turned around. I can meet you there—wherever you are.”

I have no idea if anyone is even going tobethere when I pull up. I don’t even know if thisisa house. “I might as well just go home,” I blurt out as I squeeze my eyes shut, fear thrumming through my body.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Adam snaps. “Why would you leave? We’ve had this planned since summer, and for the record, you’d never make it out of here with the blizzard coming in.”

“Catie told me what you told Aaron,” I throw it out there, irritation, hurt, and frustration beating in my chest as I smash the gas and start the slight ascent into the trees.

“What are you talking about?”

“He said you told him this isn’t going anywhere—and that this whole two-week holiday alone is for everyone tothinkyou’re trying to make things work with me.” I want to rip my hair out, knowing this is aterribletime to do this.I should’ve stayed quiet.

Because Adam sure as hell is.

I glance in the rearview as the lump grows in my throat. I can’t see the gate anymore, and I feel like I’ve been swallowed by the trees. My front tires bust through drifts as I continue, and as I careen forward, I finally spin out.

“I guess you’re not going to say anything to that,” I mutter, as I shift into four-wheel drive. “Cool.”

“There’s no point being like that,” Adam hits back. “I was drunk, and things have been a wreck between us. Iamtrying. You can’t listen to anything my brother says.”

“Yeah, well, maybe it’s time to just throw the towel in,” I huff, rolling my eyes.God forbid heeverbe the problem.

“Great. Whatever. Just call me when you know wherever the fuck you are. As soon as this shit clears, we’ll go our separate ways. Isn’t that what you want, Em?” I can hear the hurt in his voice as he hangs up the phone, and I toss it into the passenger seat…

Right as my truck gets stuck.

Chapter 2

Emersyn

You haveto be kidding me. I throw it into reverse, my anger causing a lead foot against the gas. It jerks backwards, and then hangs again, the tires spinning. I put it back in drive and try to send it forward, but I only bury it further in the drift of powdery snow.

I glance around, my heart throbbing in my temple. “Fuck!” I shout at the steering wheel, punching it with the bottom of my fist. I push my hair out of my face, and then force myself to take a deep breath. I squint into the whirling of vicious white flakes, making out what Ithinkmight be a cabin about two hundred yards ahead. It’s impossible to tell for sure.

For all I know, it might just be an optical illusion. I sweep up my phone and call Adam once again as I cut the engine and shove the door open.Please answer.

“I’m getting around to come and get you, even if you want a break,” he snaps with greeting. “I’m just waiting on you to tell me where the hell you are.”

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