“Whoa, what in the hell happened here?” the cab driver mutters. I look up from pulling money from my wallet, my gaze immediately falling on my driveway. My heart doesn’t stop or take off at a galloping pace like it would’ve just last month. In fact, I’m tempted to tell him to keep going. But where? I have nowhere to go, I just left behind the safest place I could’ve been.

I took the cowardly route last night, not telling Chance how much trouble I’m in, and then again this morning as I faked sleep when he quietly slipped from his bed and got dressed for his morning workout.

I felt his presence in and out of the room, moving stealthily while he showered and pulled fresh clothes from his dresser. As I lie there, eyes closed, half buried under a pillow and my body nestled snuggly in his bed, I wanted to come clean. I wanted to roll over and throw it all out there. He said he’d never judge me for what I didn’t have. He never said anything about what I’ve done, or more aptly, what Audrey’s done. But we’re sisters, cut from the same cloth. He said it himself so I decided to keep my dignity intact and leave on my own accord.

As soon as I heard the rumble of his truck and the garage door close, I found his address in a pile of mail I remembered seeing on the kitchen counter, called a cab, and left behind the only thing that held promise in my life.

“Sweetheart, is that your car?” the driver asks over his shoulder.

I look toward the red digital numbers on the cab fare display and throw fifty bucks, that I can’t afford to spend, over the seat. “It used to be,” I mumble, grabbing my bag and sliding into the cold.

I walk slowly, examining the remnants of my car. Burned to a charred frame of metal, covered with a light dusting of snow, it sits in my driveway as another reminder that Paul is watching.

“Mia?” A distant voice calls my name. I turn in time to see Mr. Levinson coming down the steps of his front porch with a piece of paper in his hand. “The fire department left this for you.” He’s holding up the paper as he’s crossing our snow-covered yards. “They said you can call this number to talk to someone about the fire,” he says, handing the paper to me when he gets closer.

“Thanks, Mr. Levinson.”

He looks toward the car. “That was some fire. I saw the glow from my front window and called the fire department.” His gaze swings back to mine. “Mia, you’re a quiet girl. Never causing any problems for anyone, but do you think someone did this? Lorraine said she thought she saw someone over here last night and seeing as how you weren’t home last night when the fire department was here and you’re just driving up in a cab now, it wasn’t you.”

I look toward my car, knowing exactly who did this. “No, it wasn’t me. I stayed with a friend last night.”

He nods, looking at the car again. It’s mesmerizing in a morbid sort of way. “Maybe it’s faulty wiring. That can sometimes cause a car to just combust without warning.”

“I’m sorry for any trouble. I’ll get it taken care of soon as possible.”

“Oh, no trouble. A little excitement for a Friday night.” He laughs softly before thinking better of it and sobering. “I’m sorry it had to come at your expense. Are you going to be okay?”

I force a smile. “Yeah, I’ll be okay.”

“If you need anything, you know where we are.” He turns and waves over his shoulder walking back over the same snow-covered path he came.

I stand in the cold for a while longer, looking at what Paul has done. When the snow starts falling I head inside, despite knowing I won’t find any reprieve from the freezing temperatures in my cold, powerless cottage.

I pull my phone from my pocket and call Audrey. “Are you on the road?” she asks, hopefully.

“There’s been another problem,” I say quietly. The tears are there. I feel them, hear them in the tremble of my vocal chords, but they won’t fall. Be careful what you wish for Mia. When they do, they’ll probably never stop. I’ve taken about all I can take. Maybe if I just give up, reminding Paul it is Audrey’s debt, he’d feel sorry for me and do it with one single painless bullet.

“What’s the matter? Are you still with Chance?” Pain slices at my chest at the mention of his name and the first tear falls. Not because of my car, not because my death is imminent, but because I left the only person who has brought me the slightest bit of happiness since my parents’ death. For one night, I forgot all about how sour my life has turned. I want to yell at Audrey. I want to hate her for taking it all away, especially now that I realize how good it can feel.

“No.”

“Shit, did you sleep with him? I thought about my advice again and was going to call you back last night, but I fell asleep. You know Aunt Donna has me up before dawn these days. I’m like an old woman falling asleep with the sun. Anyway…you can’t put out too soon. He’s the type to discard you like yesterday’s trash. In order to get his protection, he’s going to have to treasure you. Guys like him have to chase you for that to happen. You didn’t sleep with him, right?”

“No,” I lie.

“Fuck Mia, could you say more than one word answers? I’m worried.”

I let out a manic laugh. “You’re worried, Audrey? Really, because I’m standing in my house that’s as cold on the inside as it is on the outside because rather than paying my bill, I paid a piece of your debt to your dealer. Every credit card I have is maxed out and I have no job. Therefore, I have no way of paying off your debt or my own. When I look out the window, a charcoaled piece of metal that is hardly recognizable as my little red car sits in my driveway and to top it off, my heart is broken. You caused this and didn’t worry for one second as you were racking up a bill with a man that’s so dangerous, I thought his type only existed in the movies. So don’t tell me you’re worried, Audrey! It’s too little, too late.”

“What about Chance?”

“I’m not bringing him into your shit, Audrey! It’s time you grow the fuck up and take responsibility! You did this and you’ll have to live with it for the rest of your life!” I hang up, not wanting to hear her voice for one second longer. The phone rings and I press ignore before I shut it off completely.

The tears begin as I lie down on the couch, covering myself with a blanket and give up. I know it’s only a matter of time before Paul shows up and I’ll be here waiting…if I don’t freeze to death first.

* * *

A sharp bang startles me. I pop up from the couch, realizing I’d fallen asleep at some point and pass it off as a dream…or nightmare. It was probably the gun Paul used to kill me. A shiver grabs hold of me with the near freezing temperatures and I wrap the blanket around me again. The house is dim, but it’s still daylight. I could take a bus. I look around at all I’d leave behind and fall back against the couch cushions.

The loud bang happens again and my heart pounds heavily. This is it.

“Mia!”

I jump from the couch.

“What in the hell?” Chance asks, storming through the unlocked door and pointing to the car. A sob breaks free and the tears start again. “Jesus, Mia,” he says, softening his alarm as he steps closer. He wraps his arms around me. His warmth covers me like a blanket and I snuggle tighter, realizing just how fucking cold I am. “Don’t ever leave me like that again,” he whispers. “I was so fucking worried when I drove up and saw your car. What in the hell happened?”

He wraps me tighter, nuzzling into my neck when I don’t answer. “You’re shivering babe. It’s cold as fuck in here. Pack your shit. You’re coming home with me.” I step back and swipe at my tears. Chance grabs my arm and waits for my eyes to meet his. “All of it. You’re not staying here anymore.”

“I don’t—”

“I’m not leaving you here. We’re both staying or both going, but, Jesus, Mia…I don’t know…after last night…” his words drift off, his thoughts as scattered as my own. “Please,” he says softly and I nod, not wanting to think about my lack of options or the gravity of the situation I’m putting him in.

I glance around my small space. “I don’t have boxes,” I say quietly.

He pulls his phone from his pocket. Presses the screen. “Can you get me moving boxes over to Mia’s house?...Now…Thanks,” he says and hangs up. “They’re on the way.”

I nod and I fold easily back into his arms, just needing to be held again. “It’s okay…everything will be okay,” he softly repeats against my hair until the tears stop. “We don’t have much time to get you packed. That storm is moving in and we need to get home. We can come back for furniture and that kind of shit, but get the pictures now.”

We break up, silently piling photo albums and framed pictures onto the couch.

Thirty minutes later a knock sounds at the door and my heart jolts with fear. His name freezes in my throat as he steps to the door and flips the handle to open it. Sheer panic immobilizes me until I register the large frame standing on my small front porch. It’s his big friend that delivered my car. He ducks his head and steps in, a wide bundle of boxes under his arm and rolls of packing tape in a clear plastic bag.

“You’re really pushing my boundaries today. First grocery delivery to the boys, now moving boxes,” the big guy says with a grin as he steps further into my small cottage.

“Thanks man,” Chance claps him on the back and turns toward me. “You guys kind of already met, but Smith this is Mia. Mia, this is Smith.”

“Nice to meet you,” I mumble, forcing a smile at the mountain-sized man.

He smiles with the same force and nods before looking around the small space. He rubs his palms together and then blows a steamy deep breath into their centers. “Seeing as I’m here and it’s cold as fuck in here and the roads are a nightmare already, you may as well use my packing expertise today, too. I’ll give you the trifecta of skills,” he grins over to Chance and they both laugh.

Chance and Smith begin boxing the stuff we previously piled up on the couch, teasing and joking with each other as I robotically go in search of more. Having them caught up in one another takes the pressure off me. I’m still on the verge of losing it. I don’t know what in the hell I’m doing, moving in with a near stranger…getting him involved in Audrey’s shit. Each time I feel Chance’s lingering gaze, I disappear into the bathroom to hide behind the only walls in the house in fear I’ll crack.

I carry a small bag with all my bathroom stuff toward the couch and for the first time, register the two of them in my small space together. If I thought having Chance here was like having a bull in a China shop, Smith is like an elephant. The two of them together is a force to be reckoned with. My mind momentarily drifts to Paul and a shudder ripples up my body.

“You okay?” Chance asks, noticing.

“Just cold,” I force a smile and turn away from his watchful eyes.

The two of them make quick work of boxing everything I bring them, teasing with one another as they do and before I know it, everything I had hoped to take to Texas and then some is packed and sealed, ready to be loaded in Chance’s truck.