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“No, never,” I said. “But I’ve hiked a lot.”
“These trails aren’t all that well maintained,” he said, not smiling or letting up on the seriousness of his expression. “You shouldn’t have hiked it if you weren’t familiar with the area.”
“Well, I didn’t intend to get lost,” I said, a little nettled. “I got distracted.”
“That’ll get you in trouble.”
“Obviously.” I was really starting to get pissed off with this asshole and his high-handedness. “Could you at least tell me how to get back to the trail so I can get back to my car?”
He looked at me thoughtfully for a few minutes before saying to me, “Wait here a minute.”
I was confused as he went into the house, but when he came back out with his keys, I hurried to say, “You really don’t have to drive me anywhere.”
“Well, who’s to say you won’t wander off the trail again? I don’t wanna be the one to blame when that happens,” he said, beckoning me over to his truck. I rolled my eyes at his arrogance but got into the car with him. I knew that I was pretty screwed for options at that point. But when Bucky climbed into the front seat next to me, I realized it was a moot point. I was such a sucker for dogs that it was completely worth it for me to hang out with a jerk just to be with one.
Thankfully, Dillon was quiet as we drove, allowing me to just sit in the silence and think through everything that had happened that afternoon since I’d come out to the trail. I didn’t really know what my next move was, but I knew I had to make one, and fast.
I pulled out my phone as we went down the mountain, crossing my fingers that we had gotten to a spot with enough cell reception that I could call my mom. I saw him eyeing my crappy phone out of the corner of his eye and ignored him as I saw the banner that told me I had a new voicemail. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I opened it and started to listen.
“Hey, baby! It turns out Singer’s Ridge is an even nicer town than I would’ve thought. And they have great barbecue; I see why you like it so much, although I never would’ve had you pegged for a shithole apartment complex like this one. I’ll see you when you get home. Since I don’t have a key, I’ll just wait for you at that café on Moore Street, okay? I’ll see you real soon.”
My stomach dropped as he said that, and my hand went numb as it fell away from my ear. I’d been so careful, and he’d still found me. Even here.
“We’re here,” Dillon said as we pulled up to the white Toyota Camry parked at the trailhead, and he looked at me expectantly. I couldn’t look back at him, feeling like a stone had fallen into my stomach.
The humiliation started when I felt the tears start rolling down my cheeks, and my breaths started coming shorter and tighter.
“Whoa, Macy. What’s wrong?” Dillon asked, throwing the car into park and turning to look at me.
“I can’t—I can’t go back to my—my ap-ap—” I could barely talk for the tears that had started to clog up my throat, and I had no idea how else to proceed with life. There was no way I could go back home now, and I had nowhere else to go.
“Your apartment isn’t safe for you?” he asked, seeming to understand exactly what I meant. I nodded. “What are you going to do?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I was going to take off from my apartment tonight, but I can’t now. I don’t think I can go back to town.”
He sighed, reaching back to run his hand through his hair. “Look. I know this is going to sound weird, but you can come stay with me. There’s an extra bedroom in the cabin. You’ll have your own space, and it’s isolated enough that whatever you don’t want to find you won’t be able to.”
I looked at him, my mouth dropping open. At that moment, faced with the choice between the devil I knew and the devil I didn’t, I realized that it wasn’t a choice at all.
5
DILLION
I had no idea what I’d been thinking when I’d offered Macy a place to stay. All I knew was that she needed to be in a place where she could be safe, and I was actually in a position to give her that. It was obvious to me that she wasn’t such a fan of mine, especially after I’d lectured her about her actions on the trail, but I’d been so relieved when she accepted my offer that I hadn’t bothered to overthink it before I’d turned the truck around and headed back up the mountain to the cabin.
“Was it someone from home?” I didn’t even know where home was, but I figured I could at least start with the basics. Unfortunately, she didn’t answer me, just stared out of the front windshield as we came closer to the cabin once more. We got out, and she followed me into the cabin, closely tagged by Bucky, who lingered next to her with his head under her hand. I led her to the room at the end of the hallway without another word and opened it for her, revealing the big, comfortable bed that was still made with the blue-and-green patchwork quilt my uncle had never bothered to replace. I’d changed the sheets since he’d passed away, of course, but I hadn’t made any other changes to the room.
“There are towels in the closet if you want to take a shower. Feel free to use the bathroom whenever you want. I have a spare toothbrush under the sink. Make yourself comfortable,” I said, standing there awkwardly as she walked into the room, looking around at her surroundings.
She looked completely drawn and exhausted, and my heart hurt for her. Nodding at her quickly, I backed out, catching sight of her sitting on the bed as I shut the door.
I walked to my own room, thinking about how I would best be able to help her. She was clearly afraid and exhausted, so the two most obvious things that she could use were rest and a safe place to sleep. I knew that at the very least, those were two things that I could give her.
Back in my room, I closed the door and flopped onto my bed, figuring I could probably use some rest too. It had been a long couple of days, and I was feeling the strain of these sleepless nights.
I lay there for a while before remembering I could probably benefit from a shower too. Bucky and I had gone for a long walk this morning before starting to play in the front yard, and I wasn’t feeling great after accruing all of the dirt and sweat for the day. I got up with a groan, grabbing a towel from my own closet and heading over to the bathroom.
Not thinking about the possibilities, I opened the door as if I were in a daze, blinking in surprise as I took in the harsh fluorescent light of the bathroom. It wasn’t until I blinked a couple more times and met the startled blue eyes inside that I was able to really take in the scene in front of me.
