18.98: An ONC 2023 Thriller

Chapter 3

THE PRESENT

Nothing Helina had said about Washington State prepared Liv for its reality. In late January, she'd been led to believe the Puget Sound Region wore a mask of grey, its two mountain ranges obscured for so long, one had to take it on faith that they still existed. Boarding a shuttle bus that would carry her from SeaTac Airport south to Tacoma, west over a bridge and then north onto the Kitsap Peninsula, she realized Helina had left out a few key details.

To be sure, the grey was there—a sky sketched in graphite—but below it, despite winter weather, the land wore a shocking amount of green. Lawns and shrubs seemingly unaffected by the cold could almost be called verdant; on both sides of the highway once they had crossed onto the peninsula, towering evergreen forests reigned. Liv was accustomed to Wisconsin weather, where January meant days seldom above freezing, dormant flora, and great mounds of plowed snow, darkened by car exhaust, taking up precious parking spaces until the spring thaw.

"We really only have two seasons here in Western Washington," Graham would tell her later that day. "Wet and dry. During the summer, the grass turns brown, and every flame becomes a fire hazard. I'll take the rain, honestly."

After nearly two hours, the bus pulled into a gas station with little else around it besides roads Liv imagined led to populated enclaves, homes above moss-clad cliffs overlooking the Sound. Liv retrieved her one carryon—no need to pack more since she wouldn't be staying long—and made her way outside. She took a deep breath, filling her nose with a mix of gasoline and something sweet-smelling and unfamiliar to her, likely originating from the surrounding vegetation.

Wheeling her tiny suitcase, she walked towards the station's door, wondering if she had time to grab a snack from the convenience store before her ride showed up.

A dark blue Subaru Forester parked nearby let out a beep. The window rolled down and a hand emerged, waving at her. Ignoring her empty stomach, she reversed course and approached the car.

The man in the driver's seat gave her what she assumed was an attempt at a welcoming smile, but there was a strain behind it, like the required muscles had atrophied from lack of use. "It's good to see you again," Graham said as he opened his door. "Let me help you with your luggage."

"No need," Liv said, but he had already grabbed it from her. As he secured her suitcase in the back of the vehicle, she searched his face for familiarity. Older, a fuller beard, the same dark, penetrating eyes she remembered from their brief encounter years earlier. "I'd forgotten that we met."

Closing the hatchback, he gestured her over to the passenger's side of the car. "It was the weekend I came to visit Helina at college."

"Oh, that's right," she said, pretending she'd just had her memory jogged.

"Helina had talked so much about you—everything was Liv this and Liv that. I was hoping to get to know you, but..."

But Liv's boyfriend at the time had taken one look at Graham with those deep, searching eyes of his and cheekbones to rival Cillian Murphy's and decided it would be a great idea for Liv to stay at his apartment for the weekend. What a tool that jealous moron of a boyfriend had turned out to be.

Now, years later, here they were again. Graham and Liv, two strangers with one degree of separation and not much else between them. Liv would have said "maybe you'll get another shot with me now," but that seem a trivial and slightly provocative thing to say considering the circumstances.

She glanced his way and just as fast averted her gaze when she realized they were about to make eye contact. His presence carried a sadness that would tear a hole in her heart if she wasn't careful to guard it from him.