Moved (#Wattys2014)

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Shivering in the passenger seat, I moved closer to Dad.  Wind and rain whipped through the open window on my right.  The plastic he’d tried rigging had blown away ten minutes before.  Water saturated my red hoodie, and the seat squished as I moved.  He had the heat blasting in an effort to compensate.

“There it is,” he said, pointing to a little dot on the GPS.  The close proximity of our destination was the only reason he hadn’t pulled over again to try to do something more about the window that wouldn’t roll back up.

According to the little display, a few hundred feet and we would be there.

I caught a glint of light through the dark trees.  Squinting, I tried to make out more but that was it.  The rest of the place blended with its surroundings, black and wet.  My stomach sank.  He’d actually found a cabin in the woods.  I couldn’t look away.  Dread filled me, and I struggled to keep my face neutral.  Well, as neutral as I could while my teeth chattered and my wet bangs poked into my eyes.

As we drove nearer, I saw it wasn’t a cabin but a small, two-story house.  Even close up it remained shadowed because of the heavy rain that dimmed the yard light.

The tires crunched to a stop on the gravel.  Dad and I looked at each other for a moment then bailed from the cab to rush for the door.  It wasn’t any drier standing under the eaves.

Dad’s sturdy knuckles thumped the door twice before it swung open.  A man stood in the dim light.  He wore dark jeans, a dark zipped hoodie, and a knit cap.  He represented my mother’s family?  I’d expected more...well, just more.

His face was shadowed because of the hood he had pulled up over his cap, but I couldn’t miss his eyes as his gaze drifted between Dad and me.  Gorgeous eyes.  Bold centers accentuated by the dark blue rings surrounding them.  Mesmerized, I stared just a little too long before noting the annoyance that flicked in their depths.

“Tony and Gillian.”  His clipped words conveyed little welcome.  He stepped aside to let us in, not waiting for confirmation.  “It’s up those stairs.”  He zipped his hoodie and nodded to the stairs to the right.

Dad placed a hand on my back to nudge me forward.  I reluctantly stepped in first.  Behind the man, a door stood partially open.  Heat drifted into the entry.  As soon as Dad stepped in behind me, he closed the outer door, keeping the heat in while I eyed the man’s clothes.  Too warm for the heat pouring through his partially opened door.  Had he just come in from outside?  I clenched my teeth in an effort to stop the chattering while Dad extended a hand.

“Racer, we appreciate you offering your place.  I’m glad Larry mentioned you,” Dad said as they shook hands.

“No problem.”

It didn’t look like he meant it, though.  He turned away from Dad and eyed me warily.  With me dripping in his small entry, I didn’t blame him.  At least there was a mat under my feet.

“Take your shoes off here and head up.”

He reached behind him, pulled his apartment door shut, cutting off all light, then opened the outer door and disappeared into the wet yard.  I quickly stepped behind Dad to avoid the blast of wind.  Dad laughed and pulled the door closed.

My neighbor didn’t seem too friendly.  Great start.  Since this place sat in the middle of nowhere, I’d kinda hoped there would be someone I could spend time with.  To be fair, we were arriving late.  Maybe he’d be different tomorrow.

Dad seemed completely unaffected by my neighbor’s abruptness.  “Come on.  Let’s go up and see what we’ve got before we untarp your things.  Maybe the rain will let up by then.  It’ll give me time to text Larry and tell him what a piece of crap that truck is.”