It’s still snowing in the morning. I don’t know how that’s possible. How is there still snow in the sky? It seems like all precipitation in the universe is sitting right in our yard. There’s so much snow, I don’t even think we could open the front door.
Our power is still out, and so is the heat. I’ve been walking around the house, trying to get a signal on my phone again. So far, no luck.
When I come down to the kitchen to make some breakfast for Victoria, I’m bundled up in my warmest clothes and a pair of boots for good measure. I’m still freezing. When Adam comes down to the kitchen wearing equally warm clothing, a chill goes through me. But it’s not from the cold.
“Victoria is out of bed,” he tells me. “I bundled her up as much as I could and put some blankets on her lap.” He rubs his arms. “I’m sorry it’s so damn cold in here.”
“It’s okay. Not your fault.” I empty a container of baby food onto a plate because I can’t heat the oatmeal. I wonder if now that Victoria is more alert, maybe she could handle something more solid. Of course, I can’t ask him that. “I’ve almost got her breakfast ready.”
“Thanks, Sylvie.” He smiles at me. “I’m grateful for your help. I don’t know what we would do without you.”
But there’s something a little off about his smile. Is there a chance he knows I took the gun from his room? He couldn’t possibly. Well anyway, he can’t get it back.
Not unless he knows the combination to that trunk.
I swallow. “That’s what I’m here for.” I glance out the window. “Do you have any idea when the snow will stop?”
He shrugs. “It’s supposed to keep going all day today. We’re probably stuck here at least another two days. Why? You got somewhere to go?”
There’s a teasing tone in his voice, but again, I feel uneasy. I don’t like the idea of being trapped here with him for two days. And if I need the police, there’s nothing I could do. We have no phone service.
Without answering his question, I push past him and head up the stairs to Victoria’s bedroom. The door is open and I see her sitting in her wheelchair, bundled up in a heavy sweater and three blankets over her body.
“Cold, huh?” I comment.
She immediately looks up at me. “Heat… out?”
I nod. “Yes. But don’t worry, we’ll keep you bundled up.”
My eyes fall on the closet, where I stashed away the gun last night. Did I really steal a gun from Adam’s closet last night? It doesn’t sound like something I would do.
“Do you think he knows we took it?” I blurt out. Victoria raises an eyebrow at me. “You took it.”
“Right, but…” I look down at the trunk in the closet again. Maybe I shouldn’t have put it in there. Maybe I should have kept it in my room. “Anyway, do you want breakfast?”
She regards the plate of food I’m holding. “What?” “Apple purée. And peach cobbler.”
Victoria makes a face, and I can’t say I blame her. The apple purée doesn’t look particularly appetizing, and the only thing about the peach cobbler that resembles an actual peach cobbler is that it is roughly peach colored. I tried it once and it was pretty disgusting.
“I’m sorry,” I feel compelled to say.
“Not… your…” Victoria frowns, searching for the word. “Fault?”
She nods quickly. “Yes. Fault.”
Despite how gross the meal is, she agrees to eat it. For the first time though, she’s able to feed almost the entire meal to herself. Usually her left hand is very shaky and she loses interest quickly in the food, but this time she scoops puréed apple quickly into her mouth and is done within five minutes.
She seems better. I should be happy. But everything in this house is giving me a horrible feeling, like I should run away and never come back.
Unfortunately, that’s not possible. I’m trapped here. At least until all this damn snow is gone.
