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The churning anxiety in my stomach concluded what was obvious. Both plans were equally dreadful. I wouldn’t do well out there on my own, yet the idea of staying and waiting to see how angry he was with me didn’t thrill me, either.

Creeping around the edge of the bed, I lowered, finding my leggings in the shadows. All the garments had been parched by the flames, and though the leggings didn’t feel soft or comfortable, they were at least dry. Perching on the edge of the chair, I held my breath as I slipped them on.

There was no conscious decision to leave as I moved, no conclusion that required me to abandon Eli, but by the time I’d dressed, put on my boots, and found my raincoat, my mind was made up. He’d done what he could for me, but it was time for me to move on. I vaguely recalled the route we’d taken up the hill to find the cabin, and from there, I could use what remained of the path to find a route down. There would be someone at the tourist information center who could help me, and hopefully they’d have news of what had happened to Chelle and the others.

It wasn’t a perfect plan, but at least I’d decided.

A glance out of the window revealed the snow had finally stopped coming down, the view brightening my spiraling mood. The optimism was dashed, though, when I noticed how deep the drifts were against the base of the nearby trees. One or two piles of snow looked so deep that I might disappear to the waist if I were to step out into them.

I paused at the sight, my resolve to leave solo wavering. I still didn’t have adequate attire for the conditions, and we’d already eaten some of the food I’d brought, but still... the notion of waiting for him to wake and bombard me with questions motivated me to move.

Surely, it was better to just leave and alleviate our embarrassment.

“Disgrace, you mean!”

It was Chelle’s voice that whipped through my head, though when I spun around, she was just the way she’d been in the dream—nowhere to be found.

“Chelle?”

I whispered her name, conscious not to wake Eli, although even as I spoke, I knew she wasn’t really there.

I was no longer sleeping and privy to the whims of lurid dreams. Wide awake, I could tell the difference between what was real and what was only happening in my head, and I knew my friend wasn’t in the cabin.

“I saw you...” Still, her voice came, oozing with disdain. The resonance of her disgust seemed to bounce off the thin, wooden walls, although I accepted it was only truly reverberating in my mind. “Writhing about with him, chasing your fucking orgasm when you should have been worrying about me!”

Chelle.

I forced myself to say the word mentally, refusing to give into the madness of talking aloud to a figment of my own imagination.

That’s not true, Chelle.

But it was.

In all the time I’d snaked in the sheets with Eli, I hadn’t thought about her once, hadn’t considered her frozen fate or whether she was even alive. Culpability stabbed in my chest, reminding me what a self-serving bitch I was.

“Do the right thing for once!”Chelle’s voice taunted.“Get out there and fucking find me!”

But...I glanced around wildly.I don’t know where you are.

“Ialmostmade it.”The anger radiating from Chelle’s voice was replaced with sadness. “I stopped by an enormous fir tree for rest, closed my eyes, and never woke up again.”

Fuck.The well of nausea twisted inside me until my hand flew to my mouth to prevent the upcoming onslaught.I’m so sorry.

Grateful not to have to vocalize the words, I registered the tears burning in my eyes.

Was she dead?

The hopelessness of her potential plight cemented my decision. Whatever had happened with Eli was irrelevant.Ihad to do something, had to get out there and discover her, even if that meant bringing her body home to her parents.

Wiping the water from my eyes, I headed for the old bedside unit standing between me and freedom. I hadn’t had to move it the day before, but it wasn’t that big. I was sure if I put my back into it, I’d be able to clear the doorway. Pausing in front of the thing, I contemplated how to push it without disturbing the sleeping giant in the bed behind me. Whichever way I considered the problem, though, there was no easy answer. I had to move the furniture to get out of the door, and there was no quiet way to achieve that.

“Shit.” I muttered the word, glancing back quickly to ensure Eli was still asleep. Sure enough, the still form sprawled out in the bed was peaceful and mercifully unaware of my plan. “Here goes nothing.”

Lowering to center my weight behind the unit, I shoved against the wood and prayed by some miracle that the noise of it scraping against the floor wouldn’t stir Eli. Trepidation clawed at my insides, the scratching sound seemingly even louder than the relentless rhythm of my rampant heartbeat.

Oh, God.

I had to get away for Chelle’s sake, but I couldn’t bear the inevitable argument that would follow if Eli woke up. Things would be difficult enough after last night’s one-sided passion, but if he found me about to leave, there’d likely be hell to pay.

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