At last he staggered through the door, coughing violently, two packs slung over his shoulders. His face was coated in black soot, and when he blinked, it made the whites of his eyes stand out. My expression must have hinted at this monstrous sight; he wiped his coat sleeve across his face, smearing most of the soot away.
Heavy snow swirled down between us, freckling the grime clinging to his cheeks.
"The storm is hitting full force,” he told me. "We need to find shelter before it's too late."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Mason was right. Wet, heavy snow was driving down the face of the mountain. Since the ground was already covered from the earlier storms, the snow accumulated quickly. I watched it creep up the tree trunks and sag their branches. No one was getting up the mountain now. Not the police, not my dad. We were on our own. And I could think of nothing more terrifying.
We had to get out of the weather. I knew of no nearby cabins, which left finding a fallen tree or a cave for shelter. As we slogged on, Mason took off his fleece cap and handed it to me. I'd grown suspicious and resentful of his small gestures of kindness over the past day and a half, but this time I took the hat gratefully. My socks were damp from earlier, and my teeth were beginning to clatter. I was willing to risk my pride for whatever warmth I could salvage.
"Thank you,” I told him.
He nodded, his lips a bloodless blue. His cropped hair glistened with snow. I knew I should give him the hat back, but I was freezing too. So I looked away and pretended not to see.
The smart thing would have been to consult Calvin's map. It would show the closest shelter. But I didn't know how to look at the map without letting Mason see it too. If he knew about the map, he wouldn't need me. He could take the map and then it would be every man for himself. plus, if the map got wet, the ink would probably bleed. Worse, the paper might tear or disintegrate.
We hiked for a long time, each step slow and cautious, making sure there wasn't any debris hiding beneath the snow before we put our full weight down. The storm clouds blotted out the moon, making it darker than ever, even with flashlights. My toes because numb with cold. Even when I clamped my jaw shut, I could not stop my teeth from chattering. I squinted against the arctic blasts of wind, focusing on Mason's boots ahead. Every time he took a step, I forced myself to do likewise. His height and broad shoulders blocked the worst of the wind, but it found me, penetrating my coat and licking ice over my skin. Soon, my brain shut down and I put my energy into simply moving forward.
And then my thoughts went where they always did. To Calvin.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"I'm coming out,” Korbie announced from behind the dressing room door at JCPenney. I heard the swish of silky fabric as she shuffled over to slide the bolt free. "Don't lie, because I'll know right away if you are."
I sat on the bench in the dressing room directly across the hallway, my door wide open. Hurrying to finish my text, I hit send and dropped my phone sneakily into my purse. As I did, I felt a squeeze of guilt. I didn't like hiding things from Korbie. "I'm offended you think I'd lie,” I said-but not without a pang of conscience.
Korbie stepped out in a violet corseted gown that fluttered around her ankles as she completed a Disney-princess twirl. "Well? What do you think?"
"It's purple.”
”So?"
"You told me Bear hates purple."
She made an exasperated gesture. "That's why I'm wearing it. To help him change his mind. If he sees how great I look in purple, he'll realize he loves it."
"Are you going to make him wear a matching purple bow tie?" "Um, yes,” Korbie said, rolling her eyes at the stupidity of the question. "It's prom. We have to coordinate. Our picture might end up in the yearbook."
"Yearbook photos are black and white."
"You're not making this very fun. At least try one dress on,” Korbie begged, pulling on my hands in an effort to get me off my butt. "Last year we went prom dress shopping together and both of us participated. I want this year to be like last year. What is wrong with the boys at our school? I can't believe one of them hasn't asked you yet."
I didn't tell Korbie that Brett Fischer had asked me to prom and I'd turned him down. I was off the market, unofficially dating someone. I didn't know how much longer I could keep the secret, because that's what it was, a secret that I'd sworn to keep before I realized this particular secret would burn a hole in my chest.
My cell phone chimed in my purse.
"Who's texting you?" Korbie wanted to know.
"Probably my dad,” I said, feigning boredom with a flick of my ponytail.
A scandalized smile spread across Korbie's face. "Do you have a secret lover, Britt, darling?" she teased.
"Yes,” I deadpanned, but I ducked my head so she wouldn't see me blush.
"Well, I hope you find a date soon,” she said seriously, "because I won't have any fun at prom if I know you're at home watching a movie, eating ice cream and getting fat. oh, I know! What about that guy who always talks to you on the way out of math class?"
"Um, Mr. Bagshawe?"
Korbie snapped her fingers, whipping her arm from hip to hip like a backup dancer in a music video. "That's the one. An older, illicit lover. That's how my girl Britt rolls."
"Next dress, please,” I said.
When she disappeared behind her dressing room door, I grabbed my cell phone. Calvin's text was waiting.
Can I see you tonight?
Whaddya have in mind? I texted back.
Sneak out around eleven. Bring your swimsuit. I'll be the guy in the hot tub with drinks.
The Versteegs had a backyard pool and hot tub, and as much as I wanted to be with Calvin tonight, I was tired of the extra work that went into these secretive, late-night meet-ups.
Calvin had told me that Korbie couldn't find out about us yet-no one could. He'd convinced me that keeping our relationship secret made it exciting. I wanted to tell him I was seventeen now, above secrets and games. But I worried he'd take it the wrong way. He was almost nineteen, after all. Who was I to give him relationship advice?
”I can hear you texting,” Korbie singsonged through the dressing room door. I heard a zipper snag as she tried on another dress.
"You're supposed to be giving me your undivided attention. Ugh! Why don't we have a real department store? I love how we have a ten-to-one McDonald's-to-people ratio but no Macy's. I'm going to have to order a dress online."
It was hard to think about prom when I knew I wasn't going. I wanted to go, but Calvin wasn't ready to take our romance public.