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“I’ll be okay,” I tell her, seeing she’s growing pissed. “It’s just family fun. You know how this goes.”
“Yeah, family fun, Leelee,” Matteo says, wrapping his arm around his sister and leading her back inside, trying to calm her down.
I can’t hear what she’s saying, but she argues the entire way.
I turn to Brody, Matteo, Dean, JJ, Hudson, Lucas, and Easton. “What are we doing?”
Seconds later, I’m being blindfolded. My arms and legs are tied together, and I don’t resist. The seven of them carry me across the pasture. They lift me into the back of a truck, where I lie on my side. I stay calm, trying to focus on the direction we’re driving while trying to guess the speed. I expected something like this, especially after what Easton dealt with when he met Lexi’s brothers. It’s almost like a Southern tradition, an initiation full of hazing to become part of their family.
I’m not sure how much time passes when the truck comes to a stop. I’m lifted from the back and placed face down on the ground, still bound.
“Okay, now what?” I ask.
“Find your way back,” Hudson replies.
“And if I don’t?”
He bends down close to me. “Then you won’t marry my little cousin.”
The truck drives away, leaving me lying on my chest. Carefully, I work my wrists, twisting them to try to undo the knot. It takes every second of ten minutes, but I manage to loosen my hands and remove the blindfold.
It’s well after dark. The moon rises over the horizon, and it illuminates my surroundings. I reach into my pocket, hoping they were stupid and didn’t take my phone, but I’m not that lucky. I close my eyes, recalling the direction of JJ’s house relative to their grandmother’s, which is north. Using the night sky, I locate Polaris.
“They’re fucked.” I grin, both relieved and determined.
After doing some quick math, I calculate I might be two miles from JJ’s house. I look for the smoke from the fire, but I can’t see anything in that direction over the tree line.
Easton and Brody must have known dropping me in a random pasture wouldn’t work. In my twenties, I’d go backcountry backpacking every summer in Europe. I’ve hikedsome of the most dangerous trails in the world alone, and Merryville is a joke in comparison. They should’ve tried harder—much harder.
I set off at a steady pace, the earth crunching beneath my shoes. Time becomes fluid as I walk, kept only by the gradual shift of constellations overhead.
Suddenly, the landscape changes.
Rows upon rows of Christmas trees materialize, their silhouettes stretching endlessly into the darkness. The branches rustle gently in the breeze. I can feel the bracelet on my wrist—a gentle reminder of my gorgeous girl. As soon as I make it back to Jake’s, we’re leaving. I want to take a shower and give her the queen treatment before tomorrow.
If I can make it to the main gravel road, I’ll follow it to where they are. I cut across the tree farm and navigate through the rows. When I take another step, that’s when I faintly hear my name being called.
“Weston.” The woman’s voice slices through the night, freezing me in my tracks.
Every hair on my body stands on end—a primal response to that familiar tone.
I turn and see a silhouette in the distance, long hair blowing in the breeze.
“I found you. You’ve always loved games.”
Lena.
My blood runs cold as I dart out of her view and hide.
She growls out with annoyance.
What the actual fuck is she doing here?
How did she know I was here?
The blind item.
Adrenaline surges through me as my heart pounds so hard that I can feel it in my temples. I open my hands, forcing myself to relax, knowing I have to stay calm. The trees are like a maze, but I navigate through them, away from her.