Page 70 of The Lodge

I’m still on his lap, sitting back now, arms loosely draped around his neck. “I want this,” I say. “I wantyou. But… your life… we can’t…”

Tyler nods, like he gets what I mean but haven’t quite managed to say.

He presses his forehead against mine, his hands still resting lightly at my hips. I slide off his lap and tuck myself into his warm, strong body; he wraps an arm around me and pulls me even closer, his breath hot in my hair as I curl into him.

We stay like this, quiet, for a long time.

He never gives me an answer because there isn’t one.

WJKS—URGENT WEATHER ALERT

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR ENTIRE VIEWING AREA

Residents of upstate Vermont should take special notice of what’s shaping up to be a record-breaking snowstorm: all models agree that the sizable blizzard could dump as much as thirty inches of snow in some locations, which would shatter local records.

Friday currently looks like the most likely day for intensification, though one model predicts that the storm could ramp up as early as Thursday morning.

Please stay weather aware as you plan for this unprecedented winter storm event. Resources and more information regarding how to prepare can be foundhere.

21

For the next two days, all anyone can talk about is the weather. The local meteorologists have waited their entire careers for a storm like the one that’s supposed to hit later this week, predicted to bea blizzard to end all blizzardsandan absolute monster—which has led to people dubbing it the Yeti.

The Yeti is supposed to arrive on Thursday—three days from now—and they’re saying it could drop as many as thirty, evenforty, inches of snow here in our part of Vermont. I’m not a snow expert by any means, but even I know those are potentially record-breaking numbers.

I love a little snow… but not the kind that could keep Chloe from visiting. I’m hoping the Yeti will turn into a total nonevent, which is actually a possibility, according to a single hype-averse weatherman who insists it will bypass us entirely or fizzle to nothing. The forecast alone should be enough to keep Sebastian away for a bit longer, thankfully—not that I’ve heard from him. In aperfect world, this weekend would bring all the cozy vibes with none of the drama.

I haven’t seen Tyler since Saturday night. He was already booked for most of Sunday with private lessons and ended up over at the main lodge until well past midnight last night, helping Julie take care of last-minute food and supply orders after one of her assistants had to fly home for a family emergency. If hundreds of guests get stranded here for days, myself among them, it’s a relief to know the lodge is prepared to handle it.

I pull out my phone, type out a text to Chloe:Ugh… have you seen the forecast?

, she replies.THE TIMING

Let’s keep an eye on it…. I’ve gotten a lot done the last couple of days, so as long as the weather cooperates, I think this weekend will work for you to come visit!

BRB, currently googling snowshoes and how long it would take to walk to Vermont if everything shuts down

The image of Chloe in snowshoes—the same Chloe who insists we get delivery instead of going out anytime the temperature dips below thirty degrees—makes me burst out laughing.

(Conclusion: WAY TOO LONG!!!!), she types back before I can tell her I can’t even picture her snowshoeing to the coffee shop at the end of her block.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, then!I reply, then add a GIF of a bundled-up guy trudging through a heavy blizzard.

I spent all of yesterday inside my own penthouse, so this morning, I’m working at my favorite café booth again. My wrist feels almost normal after all the ice and rest I gave it over the weekend, so I’m planning to draft at least one entire chapter today, maybe even two.

I feel uneasy over keeping my own secret—that it’s Sebastian’sbook I’m writing—when Tyler gave me the whole truth about his. I try to brush that feeling off since it’s really not my place to tell, not my choice to keep quiet.

I’m convinced, after hearing Tyler’s side of things, that his rivalry with Sebastian wasn’t overblown by the media or just for show; that Tyler was absolutelymiserablebefore he walked away from the band.

Now, listening to Sebastian get worked up about how moody Jett always was in rehearsals and how they could never agree on anything—which songs to record, which one of them would take lead vocals, and on and on—I feel a sort of defensiveness bubbling up in me. Historydidplay out in Sebastian’s favor, much more than he acknowledges or maybe even realizes.

The songs Sebastian wanted to record were given priority.

The songs Sebastian sang lead on became the band’s singles.

The set lists for that final stretch of the last tour—now that I’m analyzing them—were weighted heavily with Sebastian songs at every single stop until the last one. Sebastian sang lead on twice as many songs as Jett, including at the now-iconic show where one of Sebastian’s songs got cut for time due to Jett’s insistence that they perform one ofhissongs instead—a twelve-minute version of “Que Será, Será,” with the rest of the guys backing him up from the shadows. Everyone lost their minds over that performance, it was that good.Hewas that good.

No one knew it at the time, but that would be Jett’s final show.

---