Stuck

Chapter One

I knocked several times on Tom's front door. I could hear music thumping from inside, the party had already started. The lights on the main floor were all off. Tom's parents were obviously not home. Judging by the bootprints through the thick snow, everyone had used the basement door at the back.

I grabbed the case of beer at my feet and tried to follow the steps around the side. There was hardly any light other than what the moon reflected off the snow. Tom's parents lived in a huge lake house in the middle of nowhere. Our hometown — Little Rock — was already hours away from the nearest civilization. But the mansion in front of me was even more off the beaten path.

I came around the corner to a view of the frozen lake. Someone was doing circles on a small patch of ice they had cleared and smoothed over. I watched as a sharp turn gracefully became a spin. They certainly weren't with our group of friends. I looked towards the entrance to the basement and saw the party was in full swing. Greg and Coup were standing outside smoking a joint.

"Jackson!" Andrew Coup yelled. "You surviving in this hellhole? How's the diner?"

I let out a breath of air which hung heavily in front of my face, hid the grimace I'd been wearing all night leading up to this stupid party, and put on a big smile as I walked up to them.

"Hey boys. The diner's shit. Little Rock is shit." It was hard to keep the smile up. Everyone else went off to university, and I'd been stuck at home taking care of dad. "What's new with you?"

"Exams finished two nights ago. Just got back to town." Coup responded, offering me the joint. I declined.

"So, first year uni is going well?" I asked.

"Pretty sure I failed half my exams. But the parties, Jack, they make it all worthwhile!"

"I bet." I said, trying not to roll my eyes. "And you Greg?"

"It's a good time."

"Whose on the ice?" I asked.

"Tom's cousin. You heard about Tom's aunt and uncle, right?" I had. They both died in a car crash in the fall. "He's living with Tom's parents until he finishes senior year." Andrew stomped on the butt of his joint before continuing. "The figure skating is a little fruity though, eh?" Andrew opened the door and Greg held it for me.

"You coming?" Greg asked.

It had been four months since I'd seen anyone. They'd all gone off to do bigger, better things with their lives, and I had been stuck here in Little Rock. A couple of beers before I face the crowd might make hearing about their accomplishments a bit more bearable.

"I'll catch up with you soon."

I wandered down towards the ice to introduce myself to Tom's cousin. The stone walkway was well shoveled, but it was slippery as hell and I nearly fell several times. By the time I made it to the edge of the rink, he had stopped in the middle, watching me make my descent. He was shorter than me, maybe 5'10" with skates on. And he was bundled up in a blue scarf and a matching hat with a pompom on top.

"I didn't mean to interrupt." I said, putting the beer down on the ice and grabbing two before I used the case as a seat. "Beer?"

"Uh - I don't drink." He skated over and grabbed the beer anyway.

"I'm Jackson."

"Caleb." He replied. "Not interested in Tom's party?"

"I could ask you the same."

He tried to twist off the cap of his beer, but with no luck. I grabbed the bottle opener from my pocket, opening my beer before passing the opener to Caleb.