Dead End Paradise

Chapter 3

I abandoned my boots and snow caked jacket before tentatively stepping into the house. To my surprise, my host was nowhere in sight. I stood awkwardly just inside the door, unsure if I should venture any further.

"Here," the girl said sweetly, suddenly by my side. In her hands were two large fluffy white towels, smelling like they were just out of the wash. Still unable to form any words in her presence, I took them silently and began to dry my hair. Every so often, I snuck a peek. She had moved across the room and was now using an oddly shaped remote to change channel on an enormous television mounted to the wall. She hummed as she concentrated. Every so often she scrunched up her nose when she didn't like what she saw on the screen before her. Everything about her made me smile. She was dressed in an extra long band t-shirt and tights, with a scarf curled around her neck and slippers adorning her feet. She looked comfortable, and yet flawless. The fire in front of her cast a light onto face that seemed to make her shine. It wasn't until I focused on her eyes that I realized she was staring back. We were both quiet, neither of us willing to break the silence or break eye contact.

"You can shower and change..." she trailed off, now shy instead of confident like she was minutes ago. She pointed to a room at the top of the stairs to my right. "There are more towels in there, and I can find you some dry clothes to wear," she said, refusing to look back in my direction. And with that, she once again disappeared behind a closed door. I waited, expecting her to return as quickly as she had left. But, as much as I wanted to wait, I began to get uncomfortable in my cold and wet clothes. I made my way to the bathroom she had showed me and turned the shower on as hot as it would go. Standing under the steaming stream of water, my skin stung from its rapid change in temperature. With every minute that passed, I felt more like myself.

As I wrapped one of the cloud-like towels around myself, I realized I didn't have the dry clothing I was promised. In my haste to get warm, I hadn't waited to receive the clothes before shedding my wet ones. I went to the door and opened it a crack. There, on the floor outside, sat a neatly folded pile of clothes. Surprising, they looked to be exactly my size. As I got dressed, the music recommenced. Though significantly quieter this time, it still seemed to reverberate through the entire house. It worked to further calm my nerves from the crash; the sounds from my childhood took me to a place where there was no worry.

I followed the source of the music back to the living area in which I had entered. As if she had never left, the girl was once again in front of the television. This time though, instead of standing, she was perched on the back of the couch with her legs dangling lazily.

"Can I use your phone to call for help with my car?" I asked, breaking her attention away from the news that was currently playing muted on the screen. She looked over at me, one brow raised, as if I had said something bizarre.

"They won't come out until at least tomorrow," she said bluntly, pointing to the weather report on the news. By the time the snow stopped, I wasn't sure my car would even be visible anymore.

"Amelia Marlowe," she said, holding out her hand to shake mine. "It looks like we are going to have to get to know each other."

"Marcus," I replied, reaching out towards her. As soon as I took her hand in mine, I vowed to never let her go.