Page 7 of While They Watch

I end up getting lost in my book’s world and the drama the characters get themselves in and out of. When I come up for air, I have no idea how many chapters I’ve read or how much time I’ve spent. The sunshine on my skin is warming me inside and out, making me feel like I’m in a hazy dream. It’s been so relaxing that I wish I could stay here forever and I realize just how normal I feel. I haven’t had any anxious thoughts or feelings that someone is watching me.

I look at the land around me and at the cabin, marveling at how pretty this place is in the daylight. It’s overgrown and run down, yes, but that also makes it feel like it’s part of another world. One where the Earth has begun to take back control–-rabbits hiding in the grass and ivy climbing the walls, while the trees start slowly creeping further onto the property. The secrets that are hidden here are probably more than can be discovered and I decide I like that.

This is what reading does for me; it pushes me to romanticize everything and wish I could be one of those characters who are brave and passionate and always ready to try new things.

A small gust of wind blows through and I shiver, realizing that I’m cold. When I look up, I notice the sun is much lower than I thought it was. I look back at my phone and it’s now 3:27 pm. I’ve been reading for three hours? My eyes fly open and I’m unable to figure out how I let this happen. Luke is probably super annoyed with me by now. Actually... where is he? It’s not like him to let me wile away this much time uninterrupted.

I get up, setting my book down on the chair with my blanket, to go look for him. I look around the property but don’t see him, so I walk back over to the cabin. I stick my head in the door and yell for him. After calling a few times and waiting with no answer, I decide to stay outside and keep searching before the sun gets any lower. I walk around the cabin, my eyes occasionally darting to the windows like my mind thinks I might see someone standing inside the cabin. Each window I pass, my anxiety spikes a little higher. As I get to the backyard, I almost trip on a huge box on the ground. No. It’s not a box. At first, I can’t make out what it is, but as I lean down and get closer, I think it’s actually a solar panel. I walk around to the front of it and notice there are two more sitting right next to it.

This must be how the house has electricity, which makes sense since it’s so remote. I reach out and brush the dust and dirt from the glass and am shocked at how dirty it actually is. I can see my reflection now in the spot I cleared. A shadow darts to the side behind my small reflection, causing my breath to catch as I spin around. The yard is empty behind me, and I wonder then if it was Luke playing a prank on me.

“Luke? Where are you?” As my voice echoes through the clearing, I realize how eerily quiet it is out here. I start tearing at my fingernails as I get back to searching, quickly becoming more frantic. I remind myself to keep calm. It’s not going to help anything to get worked up and if anything, it will only help my mind wander more. If I let my anxiety get control of me then I will spiral fast.

It isn’t like Luke to wander off without letting me know. The car is still here, so he didn’t leave completely. I remember seeing a small shed on the property. Maybe he’s snooping through the owners’ things. The man has no boundaries so it wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Combined with his ADHD, he could have gotten really sucked into that, probably turning it into some kind of organization project. I make my way over there, and as I get closer, I notice ivy has been winding its way up every surface of the shed. It would be easy to tell if Luke had been in there and from the looks of it, no one has been for a long time.

Panic is starting to take over but I try to talk myself down. I know I can jump to conclusions easily and usually the worst ones. I stop and take a few deep breaths, willing myself not to freak out. Luke is fine. I told him to go explore and that’s what he’s doing.

As I walk to the edge of the woods, I keep my eyes low to the ground. Feelings of dread creep into me with every step I take. I can’t make myself look into that dense forest, not when I’m standing so close, but I let out a shaky breath and force myself to look up. My eyes scan through the tall trees, the ones along the edge of the property. As far as I can see none of the trees have leaves. There aren’t even any on the ground. The barren trees make the forest look empty and lifeless. They make me feel dizzy as I stare at them. They seem to sway back and forth ever so slightly. Their arms almost look like they’re reaching out to me–for me. When I look up to the tops of the trees, a little bit of the sky is peeking out. It’s getting dark faster now that we are this far into fall and the sun has almost set now.

I take a hesitant step forward, tempted to walk into the trees and search for Luke myself. I feel something hard under my foot and it’s then I realize I’m still barefoot. When I move my foot, I can just barely see something peeking out of the grass below. I squat lower, picking it out of its hiding place. It’s a gold heart-shaped locket. It is surprisingly delicate looking to have survived being outside for who knows how long. I stand back up, bringing it close to my face as I try to get a better look in the dimming light. I can just barely make out what I think is a cursive M. I run my thumb along the pendant, feeling its shape engraved into the metal.

I hear a branch crack in front of me, quickly bringing my attention back to where I am. Panicked, I shove the necklace into my pocket before bringing my gaze back up toward the trees. I’m shocked at how dark it's gotten inside the woods. I’m slightly startled as I think I see something further into the trees.

As I squint my eyes, two small, yellow lights come into focus in the distance. “Luke?” I call out shakily. The lights disappear so fast I wonder if I imagined them. Before I have time to think, something crashes through the trees. It sounds like someone is breaking them down. I scream as I fall backwards, my breath heaving in and out of me as my eyes race side to side along the tree line. I stand up fast, stumbling a few steps backwards as I yell this time, “Luke!” I hear crunching, but the sun has set now, so I can’t see anything. I’m about to run back to the cabin when Luke pops into the clearing with wide eyes.

He rushes over to me, grabbing hold of my arms and asking worriedly, “Hey, what’s going on? What happened?” He starts looking around the yard frantically. I push him off me as several emotions hit me at once, anger taking root first.

“What do you mean? What happened to YOU? Where were you? You just go into the woods by yourself, without letting me know and stay there until dark? I couldn’t find you. You didn’t leave a note or anything. I was scared, Luke. You can’t do that!” I’m yelling, not realizing that tears have started streaming down my face. I can see on his that he is taken aback and doesn’t know how to respond. He drops his backpack to the ground and pulls me into his arms and even though I don’t want to, I hold onto him tight, bury my face in his chest and sob.

“I’m sorry, Hanna. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I would never mean to scare you. I just lost track of time and I know that’s not a good excuse but I promise, I will never do it again. Tell me how I can make it up to you.”

I think through several responses, varying from mean to overly forgiving but ultimately decide it doesn’t help to do either. Instead, I wipe the tears from my eyes and sink a little deeper into his arms, letting him comfort me before saying, “I’m ready for the three-course meal and movie part of the evening, please.” He holds me tighter, laying his cheek on the top of my head.

“We can do that.”

Chapter Seven

We end our evening eating popcorn and ice cream sandwiches in bed while watching one of our favorite movies. Once we got back inside the cabin, our time became nothing but teasing and laughter. We got into a food fight that left us barely enough dinner to eat, but it was worth it. The night is finally feeling how I imagined it would. It’s so rare to unplug and be in the moments of your life nowadays. I decide while lying next to Luke that as weird as these past 24 hours have been, it is exactly what we needed.

Luke inhaled his ice cream as he usually does while I’m taking tiny, baby bites. “Why do boys eat like that?” I tease, kicking his leg playfully.

“We have the good sense to not want our ice cream to melt all over us.”

“Jokes on you! Ice cream sandwiches don’t melt!” I say as I plop the last little bite into my mouth and hold my hands up as proof. “I’m perfectly clean.” He quickly leans over and bites one of my fingers. I laugh and push him away. “Ouch… rude much.”

“You had a little chocolate on your finger. I was trying to help.” He raises his eyebrows at me mischievously. I lightly flick his nose before scooting closer and laying my head on his chest.

“Oh yes, what a gentleman,” I giggle as I lay my arm across his stomach and close my eyes, starting to get sleepy. He runs his fingertips lightly up and down my arm, lulling me into a dreamlike daze. My mind drifts to thoughts of the fun parts of the day.

He interrupts my daydream and says, “So I know we’ve been avoiding talking about earlier and I may have put a bad taste in your mouth for going out and exploring, but I found this crazy, beautiful spot out there that I really want to show you. It’s indescribably beautiful–you have to see it. You’ll love it. I promise. We can go bright and early tomorrow and be back at a good time so we can still do whatever you want the rest of the day.” I take a minute to think over what he said, trying to balance my feelings of unease in this place and how much he wants to be here. I’m also trying to stay self-aware enough to not convince myself this place is evil because secretly I just don’t want to be here. I’m not upset about what happened earlier anymore and Luke has been looking forward to sharing this experience in its entirety with me. It’s all he’s been able to talk about since we booked this cabin.

“That sounds great, Babe. I told you I’d go hiking with you and I meant it. This is your off-grid, hiking, adventuring type trip and I’m committed to the cause.” I pause for a moment before adding, “And I wasn’t trying to avoid talking about it, I was just moving on and being in the moment with you.” I smile up at him and he kisses me. It starts as a soft sweet kiss but quickly turns into something more wanting and hungry. He keeps kissing me as he slowly runs his hands up my stomach, slipping them under my shirt and up to my breasts. The way he touches them is like he is paying reverence to them. He traces down my ribcage and back up and over my nipple making me shudder. He teases me like this until I’m begging for more, until his hands begin to roam downward.

We get tangled in the sheets hanging on the frame and fall off the bed. We don't even try to get up off the floor. I use the last bit of my energy to snuggle into Luke as I gather my wits. My body is throbbing and exhausted. I look over at my hip, convinced I’ll already see a bruise forming from where I landed.

“These sheets might be a hazard,” I laugh, looking up at him at the same time as he looks at me.

“Do you want me to take the rest down?”