January 10th

I had begged Mom to let me stay in Tellure Hollow for the rest of the winter. When she, and the whole world, learned of what had happened to us… well, everyone lost their collective shit. I knew I had to stay. Bryan and Liz relied on me now. The whole town leaned on each other, like struts that support a wall before it can carry its own weight. It’s not that I thought I was such an important person, but everyone who had been at the lodge shared an uncommon bond. We needed each other until… well, until we didn’t, and no one knew when that day would come.

I got a front row seat to the mayhem that is Liz and Bryan’s public life. As soon as the roads were clear, the reporters descended like crows on fresh, juicy carrion. The glee in their eyes was tangible. Every lush, terrible morsel of news was fought over, picked apart. Public attention drove the frenzy, pushing the reporters to hunt us day in and day out.

For two weeks straight, news vans lurked around Tellure Hollow like predators stalking prey. With no organization, every resident simultaneously refused their attention. Bryan and Liz were the only ones speaking to the press and I saw, for the very first time, the true dynamic in the town. They were the lightning rods. They stood up to the scrutiny and speculation so others wouldn’t have to. Liz and Bryan were the shield that kept this sleepy mountain town from changing too much.

“We just want to put all of this behind us,” Liz had said to a greasy-haired reporter while sitting in their living room. She’d agreed to one interview, granted to the highest bidder. Surrounded by three cameras, microphones, and professional lighting, she gave the abridged version of what’d happened. With a certain amount of brash grace, she told him enough to satisfy but was strong enough to shut down anything too personal. I thought she was going to kick them out and call the whole thing off when they’d tried to sneak a private shot of her with Jack. I later discovered the money they’d earned from that interview had gone to pay Lacey’s medical bills.

At first, I supposed it was a smart decision. Speak once, end the silence, and hopefully the world would forget all about it. But it only fueled the flames.

Living in their house, I saw how it wore on them. I’d hear them wondering if it’d be better for the town if they moved, took the whole circus with them. But that was a question for next year. They still felt responsible for putting things right.

And then the attention shifted. Someone, some tourist out-of-towner blabbed about me and suddenly the lenses pointed in my direction. I wasn’t the boring cousin of Bryan Marsh anymore. I became “The Hero at Powder Mountain.”

I couldn’t leave the house without them attacking me on the street. They parked at the end of the driveway, waiting for the perfect shot. You know what’s not helpful for a person trying to recover from a stressful event? Constant surveillance.

“What was is like running into a burning building?”

“How has Liz thanked you for saving her baby?”

“Is Bryan the Blizzard your hero?”

I didn’t handle the attention as gracefully as Liz. I couldn’t ignore them like her. She’d rush past to hide in the car if they’d cornered us. I’d strut by with my middle fingers up. The final straw came after a nice lunch down in town when we were ambushed on Main Street.

“How many people do you think you saved that morning?”

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked one idiot straight in the eyes. I had no idea who’d called out what question, but this idiot would have to do. He got all excited and pushed his phone into my face, eagerly awaiting my response. “Ten, fifteen maybe. Considering how many I have buried in my backyard, I think I could’ve done more to make it even-steven.”

A few of them laughed, but they’d gotten what they wanted. I’d stopped and actually spoken. Now they could dig their teeth in for the real sound bite.

“Do you think your father would be proud of you?”

With Liz tugging at my sleeve, I glared into their cameras. “He’s my father. He’s always proud of me,” I replied incredulously.

“Well, yeah, when he wasn’t a vegetable,” one of the scumbags laughed.

“I’ll make you a fucking vegetable,” I shouted as I lunged into the crowd. I just had to get my fingers on his fat neck.

Liz yanked me back and shoved me into the car. After that, we all agreed it might be time for me to return to California. The decision was made quickly and a flight booked for two days later. At least I had enough time to say goodbye to Miah.

The day before I left, he fought his way through the crowd of paparazzi at the bottom of the drive. It’s not like we could meet up at a coffee shop. There was no way to avoid photos of him entering the house, but we’d have some privacy.

He stood awkwardly in the bedroom door as I cleared a space on the bed for us to sit. I jumped up and patted the spot beside me, already fighting back tears. He half-leaned on the bed and took my hand in his. We stared at the floor, neither of us knowing what to say.

“Marie wanted me to give you her number. Said you could text if you felt like it.”

I sniffed and rolled my eyes. “We’ll see. I don’t think we’re there yet.”

Another silence stretched between us. “It’s weird being in the same room with you,” he finally laughed.

He made a good point. We’d talked a lot since the storm, but it was mostly through text or on the phone. Even after spending days together in the lodge, we still hadn’t spent much time alone. I smiled and pulled out my phone, quickly typing out a text.

Is this better? We can cut human interaction down to nothing ;)

Miah gave me a half-grin as he saw me typing, the smile growing wider when he read my text. He typed out a response. I stared at my phone as I waited for it to pop up.

But then I can’t do this…

When I looked up for an explanation, he ran his hand along my jaw and lifted my lips to his. The breath caught in my throat. The connection between us pulsed like a live wire, stronger than ever. The desire was there, but just a steady current we dared not dip into. His lips lingered, creating a soft, heady kiss that left me breathless as he pulled away.

Click.

My eyes fluttered open only to see Miah’s phone in my face.

“What the hell?”

He flipped the phone to show me the photo. My wet lips were slightly parted, and my hair was swept back – not a bad picture. “I couldn’t let you leave without replacing that dick pic you sent me.” He peered down at the photo lovingly. “And now I have something I can remember you with.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I replied, gripping his hand. “I mean, I’m leaving, but I’m coming back.”

Miah nodded sadly. “You don’t know that and that’s okay. I’m just glad that I got to meet you in the first place.”

“This is going to sound corny as hell,” I said, almost as a warning. I grabbed his hand and pressed it to my chest. I nearly didn’t continue. I nearly defaulted to sarcasm, avoidance. The urge to shun my true emotions was almost too strong, but I pushed through. “There’s a piece of you in me now. I can’t run from it, even if I wanted to.” I dipped my head to meet his eye. “When I’m with you, that dark dragon doesn’t feel so strong inside.”

His chest rose and fell as he took a few deep breaths, visibly fighting back tears. “Come here,” he choked out. He pulled me towards the pillow and lay my head against his chest. We wrapped our arms around each other and lay there feeling more together and more apart than ever before. I didn’t want to move. I never wanted to leave that place. If it’d been possible, we would’ve built a wall around that room and never left each other. And for a few minutes, we pretended we’d done just that.

There was a knock on the door. “Hey guys,” Liz called out. “I just made some pizza if you want to come down and have lunch.”

I sighed and nuzzled closer. The world keeps spinning and we have to keep moving. “We’ll be right down.”

Miah kissed my forehead, the slightest scratch of his stubble on my skin. I was going to miss him so much my chest already ached. I slid from the bed and stood in front of him, wedging myself between his knees and wrapping my arms around his neck.

“I’m coming back,” I insisted.

He pressed his lips together and nodded. “I believe you.” As I walked away, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back. I gasped as I collided with his chest, but he gave me no time to react. His mouth was hot and insistent on mine this time, capturing my lips with a hunger I might’ve given into if Liz and Bryan weren’t waiting downstairs. A tiny groan escaped my throat. With a hand on his chest, I pushed away.

“I’m not sad you’re leaving,” he said with a tiny smile, “because I’m looking forward to welcoming you back.”