Page 5 of A Christmas to Die For
"True, but considering what she went through, we should've done the bare minimum and not shown it, for her mental well-being. I'm terrified her story will be the last one we get to share."
"What's up, bitches?" Sabrina bursts into the studio, venti Starbucks cup in hand, practically kicking the door down.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, slightly annoyed Phoebe and I don't have this rare moment to catch up without Sabrina changing the topic to something selfish.
"I saw your location and figured I'd stop by to see what's up. I also have a fantastic idea."
"Thanks for the reminder. I need to turn that off," Phoebe says, barely looking up from the computer.
We only shared our locations to protect our safety due to a crazed fan taking his obsession with the podcast a little too far. Once, he followed Sabrina around for anentire daybefore she even noticed. See? Airhead.
"Feeling a little excluded?" I tease, knowing Sabrina always gets FOMO. It's hard to be a tripod friendship without someone occasionally feeling like the third wheel.
"Not even close," she lies, unbothered. "But I thought this would be the perfect time to announce our next episode idea. It's a little different from our usual ones, but I think it'll be a massive hit."
"We're all ears." Phoebe finally gives her full attention, and we stand side by side, faking enthusiasm.
"Okay, I'm sure you all remember what happened in Frosthaven Falls nearly a year ago?"
"With Romee Anderson? The cabin deaths?" I start, my blood pressure already rising. "Of course, everyone remembers."
"Yes, and naturally, our requests for an official statement or interview went unanswered by everyone involved. Right?"
"Right," I confirm.
"But I did some digging, and the cabin is still standing. They didn't tear it down! It's sitting there, completely abandoned."
Phoebe and I exchange a look, unsure where she's going with this.
"Do you want to buy it or something?" Phoebe asks.
"Hell no. I want to go there, Frosthaven Falls, and interview the people living there. I want to spend Christmas Eve night in the cabin, exactly one year after the killings took place."
"Christmas Eve night?" My muscles tense up and I tell myself to relax, take a deep breath and shake this dreadful feeling off. I mentally tally all the Christmas plans I don't have, but spending it in a place where people were murdered doesn't seem very festive.
"It's probably boarded up or just left to rot on that abandoned street. Think about it. We could be the first ones to step inside and see the aftermath."
"What makes you think the Frosthaven Falls residents will even talk to us?" I'm going to do my best to talk Sabrina out of this absurd idea. But once she gets a fire up her ass, it's hard to extinguish. "They'd probably be less inclined to open up to us and our podcast. Plus, we're not exactly documentary-style."
"This could end up being a huge waste of our time," Phoebe adds.
Thank you, Phoebe!
"Doesn't the appeal of what happened there sound even a bit intriguing? Mara?"
Sabrina looks at me and I feel put on the spot, as always.
"What about Christmas?" is all I can muster up.
"Mara, your dad can spend it with your brother. Phoebe, I'm sure Aiden would forgive you for missing it, and my family always understands work comes first."
The last sentence resembles a dig, like if Aiden truly doesn't support his girlfriend, he wouldn't let her go. Typical Sabrina.
"Frosthaven Falls is like ten hours away…" I counter, and I sound weak, even to myself.
"Would we drive? Fly?" Phoebe asks.
I calculate airfare versus gas prices, wondering which option is least expensive. Being stuck in a car for that long would be grueling. But still, this sounds like a horrible, horrible idea, regardless.
