Loser II || WlW

Nineteen

     Brittany has only been gone a few minutes when a loud pounding echoes through the room.

The door flings open before I stand up and Clementine spills into the room, breathless and flustered.

"Joey, I need your help." The nasal tone in her voice is thicker than usual as she collapses against me.

I grab her arms and pull her to her feet, trying to keep a fair amount of space between us as I say, "what's going on, Clementine?"

She wraps her arms around my waist and presses the side of her face against my chest. "It's Jeremy. He's gone!" Her body is shaking with sobs.

I grab her shoulders and push her away from me. I'm already on bad terms with Brittany. I wouldn't want to make things worse if she walked in while Clementine's body is pressed against mine.

"What are you talking about? I was just with you guys in the lodge."

She lets out another sob and uses the gesture to attempt to fall into me again, but this time I sidestep her. She sniffles and wipes her nose. "I went back to our room after you guys fought over me and he was gone!"

Fought over me. I withhold an eye-roll. No amount of explanation is going to convince Clementine that I'm not secretly in love with her. 

I press my fingers into my temples. "So, why are you telling me? Maybe you should talk to Ron."

Clementine's chin quivers. "So, you're not going to help me look for him?" She steps closer to me, her eyes focused on my lips. "I know we have something unmatched by anyone else but he's my boyfriend, Joey." 

"Clementine." I sigh, ignoring her comment about our 'unmatched love'. "He's probably just on a walk. Or maybe he stopped by the sauna or the gym or something."

Arlo pops in the open door and smiles at me. His eyebrows furrow when he points at Clementine. "Where is Brittany?"

I pat my pockets for my phone. What time is it? I thought I had plenty of time to convince Brittany to go with Arlo. "Are you leaving right now? I thought we had another hour until you take off."

He makes a pained face and shakes his head. "Don't stress out. But as soon as possible, okay?"

I nod. "Okay, I'll go find her."

Arlo flashes a thumbs up and ducks out of the room.

Clementine pulls on my arm. "But Joey!"

I pry her fingers from my arm and start toward the door. "Listen, I will help you look for Jeremy after I find Brittany. Okay?"

She sniffles, doesn't respond.

I use her silence to jog into the snow and look at the footprints leading away from the room. One set leads in the direction of Arlo's cabin and the other toward the hiking trails. After zipping my jacket as high as I can, I run after the footprints that lead toward the woods. 

The cold air tears into my throat and makes my neck numb but I don't have time to go back for a scarf. I need to find Brittany now and convince her to go with Arlo. I shake my head and let out a groan. She's never going to agree to this without a fight.

It takes longer than I expected to push into the more remote part of the forest. It could be the cold, making it impossible to suck in air, or the withdrawals from my medication making the entire trail sway back and forth. Regardless, I know I need to be moving faster. Brittany could be anywhere and if I don't get to her in time, Arlo's going to leave and she's going to be stuck up here for the rest of the week. I stop to take a breath when I notice something that slipped my attention before. I'm not following one set of footprints. I'm following two.

My heart is pounding against my chest as I continue up the trail.

One set of footprints is much larger than the other, suggesting a man is with her. Or worse, following her.

I push into a jog and call out for her again, this time letting the panic fill my tone.

Maybe she ran into Jeremy on her way out and they went together. But any sense of peace that delivers is wiped away by the image of Jeremy trying to kiss Brittany. Still, it would be better than Roger or her Uncle following her. 

"Brittany!" I shout as I round a bend on the trail.

The trees thin out to a large frozen lake but I'm alone, only the sound of my voice echoing back to me. I'm about to turn around, hoping Brittany somehow looped back to the cabin without crossing paths when I notice a large barn-like building on the other side of the lake. The door is propped open and a set of prints lead into it but they're not the same ones I've been following.

I shake my head and start toward the barn. Maybe Brittany crossed the lake and went to see what's inside, which would explain the sudden lack of footprints, that reappear closer to the building but as I step on the ice, it cracks under my boot. I look at it for a moment, wondering if the ice is just settling or if it's too thin to walk on. I don't want to risk it, so I start jogging around the lake toward the barn, irritated by the amount of time I'm wasting when Brittany could be in danger. 

Images of Brittany tied up in my Aunt's basement flash through my head. God, please, not again. Anyone could be in there with her. I don't know who would be worse. Her uncle or Zachary. A rapist or a psychopath. 

By the time I get to the building, I'm so wound up in 'what if's', I crash through the door without considering being stealthy.

"Brittany!" 

Nothing. 

It smells like mildew and shoes. The air is damp and I can't see anything towards the back of the building but as I turn to leave, something crashes from the shadows. 

Goosebumps ripple up my neck. 

It's just an animal I tell myself. 

I glance around the Zamboni and make my way toward the noise, pulling out my phone to use as a flashlight but as I type in my passcode the door swings closed behind me. 

***

I've rewritten this god-forsaken chapter four times, each one ending differently, and I'm still not happy with it. 

Sorry for the short upload. Apparently, writer's block wants to fuck with me all week. 

For those of you who are following Red Zoned and Loser Part II, which one have you been enjoying more lately? 

Anyway, this is my last upload for the week so I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I will see you guys on Monday. 

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