Page 23 of Double Exposure

Chapter Six

Jade Choi

I wake suddenly, in the dark. The place is eerily quiet and I realize the storm has passed. All I can hear is Carter breathing slowly, deeply.

Out there, in the cold is someone I love.

I wrestle with blankets again, this time, dragging one with me as I make my way to where he lies on the sofa. All I want is to be near him, to be with another human being. His frame is long and he has to bend his knees to fit. He’s asleep on his side.

I realized as he put me to sleep, that he is the one that smells of limes.

I sit at the end of the sofa and carefully lift both his feet into my lap. The the weight of him gives me comfort—it anchors me. I think about my mom in Germany, my dad, lost somewhere, Carter’s brother trying to get home in the storm. Tears start and the hot burning pain in the back of my throat is the cost of keeping them from falling.

He stirs. I hold my breath.

“Hey, hey, hey,” he says sitting up. He wraps his arms around me and holds me for a long time.

I clutch him, feeling him under my fingers. I know I’m leaving wet streaks on his neck and when I pull away, flickering firelight reveals two damp patches on his shirt across his chest.

I try to explain this weird idea I’ve always had that I would just know if something bad happened to my father.

“Hey,” he says again. “Let’s get you some tea.” He starts to disentangle himself from me but I hang on tighter.

“Okay, okay,” he says, and eases back onto the sofa. I wipe my eyes and look into his face. He looks exhausted.

“Can I just lie here with you for a little while?” I can only whisper. If I speak, I’m afraid my voice will not hold and I’ll break into tears I can’t control.

“If you promise to stay under the covers and stop fighting them.”

I nod.

Stretching, he reaches for two of the wool blankets jumbled on the floor as I lay my head on his chest. He pulls me down on top of him as he lies back down and shakes the blankets out over the two of us. I settle into him, his body is hard but yielding. I’m glad for a more even heat distribution. His breathing is measured and my head rises and falls with each breath.

“Those are beautiful earrings,” he says, his voice low and garbled with sleep. He touches an earlobe with a thumb.

A tear slips and runs down the bridge of my nose.

The man who gave me these earrings is out there somewhere.

΅

“I thought I saw you make a move.” It’s Carter, fully dressed, holding out a chipped mug with a tea bag string off one side. Gathering the blankets around my waist, I sit, reach up and take it from him. My dry clothes are laid out on the back of the sofa.

He leans over and lays a hand on my forehead. “You’re warm because you’re warm. I don’t think you’re hypothermic anymore. Any shakes?”

“I feel good,” I say. “Starved, maybe.”

He smiles. “That’s a good sign. There’s a can of stewed tomatoes on the stove heating up. Those and a brownie.” He hands me one already unwrapped. It’s smashed flat and clearly homemade and nothing has tasted so good.

I take a good look at the little cabin. Light is just starting to filter through the windows. He’s letting the fire burn out. He must believe his brothers are coming. I wish I had that kind of faith in my family.

I keep the blanket wrapped around my waist and finish off the brownie. “You had one of these, right?”

To my relief, he nods. “My sister, Codie, made them.” Then he looks at me. “I will help you find your father.”

“I just can’t believe you do search and rescue. Like that’s a thing.”

He nods and sits at the end of the sofa. I take a sip of tea.