Into the Fog (Fisher's Bay 1) ✅

Bonding

Nadia walked back into the living room with a new bottle of wine, now incredibly grateful that Chloe had brought more when she showed up that afternoon, declaring they were going to have a storm party. It wasn't exactly what Nadia had in mind when she mentioned she didn't like the idea of being out in a cabin in the middle of the woods alone during a massive storm, but she'd take it. And well, she wasn't lying about hating storms. She had been terrified of them since she was a child, though she wasn't about to admit just how much they scared her to Chloe.

Sure, having a small party between the two of them was weird, considering they had seen a dead body floating in the marina earlier in the day - possibly even a bit irreverent. However, it was better than sitting alone with her thoughts and the wind howling outside. Lots of wine and food was how she and Lara would unwind while working on particularly difficult stories and get their minds off all the darkness in the world, anyway.

Chloe must be a mindreader. Or incredibly perceptive.

So far, the Fisher's Bay native had been entertaining her with more stories about Tate and Remy - many featuring her grandmother. Chloe was such a good storyteller that more than once, Nadia almost felt as though she had been there. That she had grown up in Fisher's Bay alongside the three of them.

Of course, she would then crash back to reality. She was an outsider here. More so now that it seemed at least part of the population thought she had something to do with the fisherman's death. A ridiculous notion, but part of Nadia could understand where they were coming from. It was easier to blame the outsider than it was to think that one of their own could be a murderer.

"Oh my gods, this dip is amazing," Chloe moaned just before shoving a chip loaded down with it into her mouth.

Nadia chuckled as she filled up their glasses, her eyes taking in the mess they had made on her grandmother's coffee table. At first, she thought there was no way the two of them would get through all the food. But she was kind of glad they had overdone it now - they had worked through most of it.

Nadia was kind of surprised just how much she had eaten.

Looked like she was going to have to take up running on the beach the longer she stayed in Fisher's Bay if she kept eating with Chloe. Perhaps there was something to be said about fresh, clean air igniting one's appetite. God knows, she never felt this hungry back in Boston. Though maybe that was because she had always been working so much that she often forgot to eat.

"Where do you keep it?" she asked, plopping down on the floor and then jumping slightly when a branch smacked into the window, rattling it.

They had music on and with all the food, drinks, and laughter, she had nearly forgotten there was a massive storm just outside.

"Keef wha?" Chloe asked, her mouth still full.

Nadia snorted before taking a large drink of her wine.

"Food. No offense, but you eat, like... a ton," she said.

"Note to self: slow down on the wine," she thought. Though it was probably too late for that. They had been drinking for a few hours at this point.

Chloe chuckled as she swallowed her food and then pushed up, walking over to one of the many cloth shopping bags she had brought.

"High metabolism and I like to work out. Kickboxing and shit like that," she threw over her shoulder as she rifled through it. "But now that we've stuffed our faces, I think it's time to bring out the big guns."

She spun around, a grin on her face as she brandished a large bottle of Fireball.

"Tada!" she sang.

Nadia nearly spit out her wine, her eyes widening as she eyed the bottle. Yes, she liked Fireball. But all her worst decisions usually featured either it or tequila. At least Fireball tasted good. Didn't help that they had already gone through at least three bottles of wine. Or was it four?