Page 19 of Snowed In on Valentine's Day

I didn’t know whether to cry or scream, so I did both. I couldn’t catch a break tonight. This was one of the worst—

Suddenly a pounding on the door awakened my senses further. My heart rate skyrocketed, and I opened my eyes wide even though it did no good.

Someone was here.

Oh my god, someone washere.

What if it was a burglar? I had no protection, not even the use of my vision to help me. And I doubt I could see anything out of my window. I walked slowly toward the front door, holding the toy package in my hand in case I needed a weapon—it was better than nothing.

But wait. What if it was someone helpful, like a friend checking on me? Or the police? They could be here to save me!

I’d better check—wait, no. How the hell would they have gotten here? No way are those roads passable right now. It must be someone nefarious, someone—

“Open the door!” shouted a muffled voice, followed by another loud knock that seemed to shake the house.

I gulped down a few breaths, shaking harder than before. I could handle this. I’d just knock them out if they managed to get into the house.

“Hazel, open up, dammit!”

Wait, the invader knew my name? How on earth … oh.

Oh.

My rude, arrogant, jerk-face neighbor.

I let out a breath very slowly, lowering my makeshift weapon. I considered not answering the door, but he sounded determined and … well, maybe he came over to apologize and offer a flashlight or something. One could hope, right?

I walked to the door slowly, flinching as my bare feet landed on the drenched rug. After unlocking and swinging the door open, I blinked at the bright light but said nothing as my eyes met Peter’s.

Holding a lantern, he was dressed head to toe in black winter gear, stark against the dusky white of the drifting snow on the porch. He took a step forward, and I didn’t think fast enough, because instead of telling him to back off, I jumped backward. He took advantage of the space to step into my house.

As he took off his thick black knit cap, his harsh voice intruded on the quiet. “What on earth took you so long to—” His words died on his lips as his eyes began to skim over me.

He swallowed and then shook his head. “You’re freezing. Put some clothes on,” he said harshly. “You answer the door like this? I could’ve been a thief or murderer or worse.”

I laughed despite my predicament. “Who else would be out in this nightmare weather? You were shouting through the door, so I knew it was you. And it’s pretty obvious you’re not going to murder me or ravish me or steal—” I stopped at his raised eyebrows. “Or, um,areyou here to kill me?” I backed away a bit, gripping the lightsaber.

The corner of his lips twitched so faintly I might have imagined it. “Well, if I am, I don’t think a toy weapon is going to save you.”

I glared at him. Was he actually making a joke? Unmoved, I crossed my arms over my chest. His eyes flickered down and then returned to glaring back at me.

After a painfully long moment, he sighed loudly. “You forgot your hat,” he said while handing it to me.

Snatching it out of his hand, I retorted, “Obviously.” Likely my hair was not only wet and matted down but also a mess of long tangles. Not my best look, but then, why should I care? This man was nothing to me.

His eyes scanned the room. “Have you just been sitting alone in the dark? Don’t you have any flashlights at least? Candles? Clothing?”

These were fair questions. I didn’t have answers, other than the fact that I’d been struck by panic rendering me nearly immobile. My lips trembled a bit as I whispered, “I lost the flashlight and …” I paused to take a steadying breath. “I was about to look for more when you—”

“Hazel,” he said, gritting his perfect white teeth. “Stop being stubborn. Just come back to my house and stay there.” His eyes bore into mine before he added, “Until the storm abates or the power outage resolves. Surely the electric company will fix things soon, right?”

I scoffed. “You’re not from a small town, are you? It could take hours. Or days. Depending on the storm.”

Oh my god, it could takedays.

I couldn’t do this fordays. It had only been … maybe two hours? I had no idea.

I had no choice though. There was no way I’d go withhim.

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