Page 13 of A Christmas to Die For
It's unnerving, watching him disappear from view, leaving us in the cold, oppressive silence. We can't tell what he's doing orif he's even attaching them properly. None of us would know the difference, but here we are, placing our trust in a man who doesn't even bother to brush his teeth.
Phoebe is still asleep in the backseat, so I shake her knee, my hand trembling slightly.
"Hey, we're getting chains put on." I'm careful to keep my voice low, not wanting the creep outside to hear anything we say inside the locked car.
"Where the hell are we?" she mumbles, rubbing her eyes, blinking at nothing but swirling snowflakes and the imposing outline of a dilapidated barn.
"We got stuck," Mara says. She quickly fills Phoebe in on the last hour. "This guy—"
I cut Mara off, the words coming out harsh and judgmental. "Thisfreakis helping us, but we had no other choice."
"Where is he?" Phoebe whispers.
She's right, it's been silent for a while and we haven't seen him, not even a blur of movement.
But without warning, the man appears outside Phoebe's window. Then BANG, BANG, BANG! His fist crashes against the glass, three brutal strikes that rattle the car. The impact is so fierce, I half expect the window to crack into a spiderweb.
All three of us scream in unison, the sound slicing through the icy silence, my heart sinking deep into the pit of my stomach.
Phoebe sees his face, and I watch her turn as pale as the snow outside.
"You okay?" I place my hand on her knee again, but she's frozen. "Phoebe, he wants you to roll your window down."
Phoebe looks like she's seen a ghost, so I roll down Mara's window instead. Better than doing mine. I want him as far away as possible.
"Yur lucky these fit like a glove. Back up a bit so I can secure 'em." I can smell his breath from across the car.
"Okay." I give him a thumbs-up, not sure why. Maybe to give off the illusion everything is fine and safe.
I shift into reverse as the man moves to my side of the window and motions for me to roll it down.
I don't want to. I don't want him grabbing me or robbing us, but I do as I'm told. We can't afford to get stranded here for the night, and there's no way in hell I'm getting stuck here with him.
He adjusts himself in his pants, his cupped hand rearranging his junk in a rather obvious motion. He licks his lips and leans his head an inch inside the car, giving me a slow, unsettling smile. "Back up a bit more, darlin'."
I feel my tires roll over the chains, his voice shouting through the cold air. "Okay, that's good. Yur good. Let me secure 'em."
My window is soon rolled up, but I can hear the unsettling clanking below us. I swear I can feel all three of our heartbeats thumping in sync, racing faster with each passing second as we silently pray he's not cutting the fuel line.
"Mara, get the money ready. I want to get the hell out of here as soon as we can." My lips are tight, my jaw clenched, and Mara quickly pulls out her wallet.
"Okay, okay." Poor Mara. She's as nervous as I am, her movements shaky and unsteady as she fumbles with the money.
"I think we're good," he yells from outside.
Mara rolls down her window barely an inch, careful not to expose too much of her arm, and slips the money through the narrow gap. His grimy, oily hands snatch it from her, counting it right in front of us, taking his sweet time, as if we'd try to stiff him out here, in the middle of nowhere.
"I gotta connect one more chain," he grunts. "But I want one more thing."
He pauses, letting the words hang in the air like a threat. I can feel the blood drain from my face. Part of me wants to slam the pedal and run him over, to never look back. But instead, I sit frozen and caught in the tension.
"I want your socks," he says, pointing at Mara with a revolting grin, like he's playing some twisted game of eenie, meenie, miney, mo.
"My... my socks?" Mara stammers, preparing for something far worse like meeting him behind a tree to do unspeakable things to her.
"Yes," he sneers, eyes glinting with something dark. "Give 'em to me, and I'll finish connecting the last chain."
Mara's eyes roll between confusion and disgust. Her expression says it all:What the actual fuck?She gives a half-hearted shrug, like there's no other choice.
