Page 21 of The Cabin-A Reverse Harem Romance
“Not a chance,” Sean said. “It’s still coming down, hard. Visibility is practically zero right now.”
Chase sat down at the edge of the bed, and the three of us shared a look. Elise sighed, the smile and laughter from earlier a distant memory now. Outside, we heard the wind blowing forcefully beneath the eaves of the cabin, reminding us that the storm was still very much in effect.
“Brad isn’t going to be happy with us staying here,” she stated the obvious. “Plus, if we’re going to be stranded here, we’re going to need food. There’s a mini-store in the main cabin that has some supplies. Food, water – stuff like that. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not comfortable stealing food from Brad’s family. Even if he’s a major dick and probably deserves it.”
None of us said a word because she was right. The idea of stealing didn’t sit right with me either. I wasn’t a dishonest person, and I sure as hell wasn’t a thief. On the other hand, we were going to need food if we were going to spend the day – or longer – here.
It was a no-win situation, no matter which way you looked at it. Brad already wasn’t going to be happy when he found out we were still there in one of his other cabins. He was going to be even less happy if we stole food out of the main lodge.
So far, we’d been lucky. Maybe he’d been too drunk to realize we were still on the property. It’ wasn’t like he had a reason to step outside. Still, it was only a matter of time before he saw our truck or noticed something was amiss – especially if we had to get some food in this place.
Then, I had a realization. It probably wouldn’t wash with Brad but fuck it. At that point, I didn’t care what he thought. At least I knew our consciences would be clear.
“Do you have the keys?” I asked.
Elise nodded. “I grabbed the key ring that had keys to all the buildings.”
“At least we won’t have to break in, I guess,” I said. “We can leave money for anything we take too. I have cash on me. That way, at least we’re not stealing.”
“Me too,” Chase mumbled.
Sean nodded his head.
“Problem is, we have to get in there without Brad seeing us,” Elise said, biting her lip.
“So what if he does?” Sean scoffed. “It’s not like he can do anything about it,” I said. “We’re not stealing, we’ll pay for anything we take.”
“But – well – we shouldn’t even be staying here,” she said softly.
She looked away, staring down at the comforter that she’d covered herself with. Her entire face fell, and there was a look in her eyes that physically hurt me to see. She was scared of him.
I draped an arm over her shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. She had nothing to fear as long as we were there with her. Brad could throw a fit, but there were four of us and only one of him – not that just one of us couldn’t take him out if needed. But, four of us guaranteed he wouldn’t get frisky with us. Or at least, it should.
5
Sean
“Fucking piece of shit door,” I muttered as I fought with the stupid thing.
The handle was frozen solid, making it hard to slide the key in, then I had to fight with it to get it to turn. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of standing in the freezing temperatures, the door to the main cabin popped open, and I let out a long sigh of relief.
A sudden rush of pride in my victory swelling within my chest, I stepped back and motioned for Elise to step inside like I was some conquering here who’d just slain a dragon, rather than getting a stubborn door open. But, whatever. I waited for the others to shuffle inside before following them in and shutting the door behind me.
“This way,” Elise said, motioning for me to follow her past a check-in desk.
The place was eerily dark and quiet. It felt abandoned. Dark burgundy curtains covered the windows, blocking the view of the outside – and blocking Brad’s view inside, which was even better. Rustic furniture filled the room, giving it a quaint kind of charm, and on one wall was a giant stone fireplace that sat dormant and cold. No doubt, when it was lit, it would put out enough heat to fill the entire lodge.
The whole place though, reminded me of some creepy ass cabin in those woodsy horror movies. Hell, that thought hit too close to home. I wasn’t a country boy for a reason. Being this far away from society, isolated amongst the trees and God knows what else was lurking around in the woods, just wasn’t my jam. I preferred being amongst civilization. People. Concrete structures, and that nasty city smell. It just felt safer that way.
