The Wilderness Obsession

Savannah

"Damn, this town is beautiful." Kat whispered as we passed the 'Welcome To Pinbrooke' sign on the side of the road. She was now holding her phone and recording our surroundings. When I looked out the window, my mouth parted.

Mountains weren't new to me because, girl, this is Colorado. Out of all the states in America, they have the most mountains, even if you're in Denver, where there was a lot of gentrification, urbanization, and many more zations that have happened. Despite the concrete and glass jungle of buildings, the mountains are still visible and it feels like you're still close to the wilderness.

And so I thought no mountains in this state could faze me until I came here. The range that we were passing by was covered in white snow, but there were still parts that weren't covered, and those said parts were mixed colors of bright orange because of the thick and tall maple trees, and also green parts because of the tall oak trees. It is so beautiful my mouth could water. The car went on and we passed by small establishments with flat and decorative roofs and it was made with bricks.

We stopped in front of a small grocery store to buy food that we would bring to the cabin, since it was a bit far from the 'city' part of town. Only Kat and I got out because Rence wanted to rest for a bit since he had been driving for six hours. After asking him what he wanted from the store, I got out. The snowfall had calmed down, so I could witness the beauty of Pinbrooke even more. This town looks like it came from postcards because the establishments are surrounded by tall and colorful mountains. There were people walking on the sidewalks, there were cars and an Amish cart parked on the side of the fairly big road, and the surroundings looked so peaceful. It's just so fascinating and calming to be able to experience this.

Before we entered the small store, I took some photos of Kat for her Instagram. When we went to the store, I grabbed a basket and we headed to the canned goods aisle. It wasn't hard to find because there were only three aisles in this store.

"Psst," Kat nudged me while I was looking at the label of a canned corn. She was standing on my right side.

"What?"

"Daddy Alert. On my right-wait, right is left?"

"Left, dummy."

"Okay. My kuh-liwa. Daddy alert, kuh-si!" She was subtly tugging at my sleeve like a kid.

My brow furrowed after I dropped the canned good into the basket.

"Just look, and you will say thank you to me later." She widened her blue eyes at me. I used to be so amazed with blue eyes until I saw it everywhere at school. Weird thought, but true.

When I turned in the direction she was pointing, the first thing that came to my mind was: giant. The man wearing a red flannel shirt, washed jeans, and a pair of combat boots at the end of the aisle is huge, maybe around 6'6 because he is freaking taller than the shelf of this store. He dwarfs everyone and everything with his height and build. His shirt hugs his body tightly, so from here I could see that his arms were muscular, his chest is buff but not in an extreme way, it was just enough to let you know that he can throw a full grown guy across the room.

It was very cold outside but his sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, exposing his tattooed and veiny forearms. He was holding dog food in his big hand like he's reading the label and puzzled about it. I had to crane my neck to look at his face, he was far which is why I can't see much of his face, but I can see that he has a long and droopy nose, his jaw is covered in thick neatly trimmed facial hair, despite the hair, I can't deny that he has a sharp jawline.

"Look at that butt, bitch. It's so firm." Kat murmured. "Those hands look like they do manual labor all the time. I bet city boys don't stand a chance in a fist fight with this man."

I looked away when I realized that I gawked at a stranger without a thought. Pull it together, Savannah. You have a boyfriend.

"He looks old." I said after I wet my dried lips with my tongue.

"Holy shit, I don't care if he's forty."

"It doesn't look like he's forty, probably late thirties?" I asked and returned my gaze to the cans in front of me.

"I don't give a single shit, Savannah Tatlonghari Lewinsky. He could be a century older than me and I will still spread my legs from north to south and let him do me six ways to Sunday, honey."

"Kat, he might hear you–"

"I am not the one who's in a 'relationship' here. I am allowed to quench my thirst. I mean, damn, look at those fingers. Mmm–mMM-mmm. He's so big and tall, and he's so massive, it looks like everything about him is big. Do you think he gets customized condoms because it looks like those XXL Trojan will not fit in that bulge-"

"Christ, Kat." I said and grabbed a random can, and pretended like I was reading its label to hide my flushed face.

"You know I will let him spit in my mouth and I will thank him too when he degrades me."

"Jesus. Katherine Hudson."

"Yeah babes, an absolutely beautiful, hot man like him makes me forget about woman's suffrage and flushes my feminism down the drain."

"Go figure, huh." I replied sarcastically. I didn't dare to look back because I might just gawk again....accidentally.

Yeah, Savannah. Accidentally. My subconscious butted in but I ignored it.

"Let's go, before you spread your legs there." I said to Kat and dropped the random can in the basket.

She chuckled.

"Yes, ma'am. I will head to the fridge and find ice cream, 'cause if I stay, he might see the wet spot in my jeans." She joked. She then took the basket from me and walked away.

I hadn't taken a single step away from where I was standing when I suddenly felt a gaze. I felt a heavy stare boring holes in my back. I felt my goosebumps break around my scarf-covered-neck.

When I looked back I found him staring at me with his eyes so gray, it almost glinted like silver. Some strands of his dark hair dropped on his smooth forehead, and his thick brows were furrowed. He was looking at me darkly, but I couldn't read his face. His jaw clenched.

I don't know but I couldn't look away....his stare stirred something in me that suddenly made me feel hot within.

Christ, no. I immediately looked away and quickly followed Kat. What is happening to me?

Chapter 2

Savannah

Something must be wrong with me because I couldn't get that man off of my head.

I feel so fúcking bad because I am in a relationship, and I should not be feeling this bothered. I am really doing my best to stop thinking about that brief interaction with that man, but he kept on creeping into my thoughts like a damn parasite.

His stare wasn't creepy....it just feels...something else. Damn, I should have majored in English so I could name whatever it is I'm feeling.

I don't know how or what to name the feeling because no one had ever made me feel that way with just a mere stare. Not even Terrence.

Crap. I feel so guilty.

I kept on thinking about his eyes and how his gaze felt heavy and hot–

Goddamn it. Not again. Pull yourself together, Savannah.

"Sav, you okay, girl?" Kat asked me and poked my waist. I immediately turned to her.

"Y-Yeah? Why?"

She stared at me for a moment.

"You've been silent ever since we left the store fifteen minutes ago," She said before smirking at me.

".....Are you thinking about-"

"Kat." I glared at her. She just smirked.

"Thinking about who?" Rence asked from the driver's seat. His hand was on the steering wheel and he's now looking at me through the rearview mirror.

I was about to answer but then Kat said, "Rather a what, not a who. It is a girl business, Terrence. We were looking at these tampons that's a size of a thick sausage, we were thinking about how it will fit in a cooter without getting burns–"

"Yeah, yeah, I get the picture. Jeez, you didn't need to give me a whole rundown."

"Oh, well, that's what happens when you stick your nose in someone else's business. Common sense, Terrence. Did you know what that means? Or did you not do spelling and definition in your little Comp-Sci class?" She said sarcastically.

I saw Rence grit his teeth through the rearview mirror.

"You're a bitch, Kat."

"Rence!" I glared at him.

Kat put her hand on my knee, telling me that she's alright. She then chuckled like she's amused rather than offended.

"First of all, Terrence. Sav and Mom are the only people who can call me Kat so you can shut the fúck up. Second, if I am a bitch, well, you have a receding hairline at twenty-three, you're only attractive because you're 'tall', you make being an asshole a personality trait, and you have an incredibly small díck energy. God said pick a struggle not catch all of them, Terrence." She said calmly. My eyes widened.

I was speechless and I should be taking Rence's side and defending him, but Kat....is not wrong either.

"Katherine." I just nudged her.

Kat rolled her eyes at Rence.

"I am not gonna apologize for stating facts, babe." She answered.

"You better not make me mad further or you will walk home." Rence said angrily.

"Oh, I will be fine because I have heard about a bus, train, and a plane? Have you? She asked sarcastically. "Also, you better not make me mad further because who knows, maybe a forest fairy will suddenly break your windows, poke holes in your tires, or worse just key it while you're sleeping. Gotta be careful out there, Terrence." She added. She really hates him. They cannot be in the same room together or Katherine will bite Rence's head off.

Terrence couldn't answer, instead his face just turned red with anger. Kat smiled and crossed her legs. She scooted closer to me. I just gave Terrence an apologetic look through the rearview mirror.

"Anyway, babes, it's okay if you keep thinking about the big tampon that we saw earlier." She whispered to me.

No one spoke after their argument. Rence thankfully kept his mouth shut and just drove for twenty more minutes. As we were rolling, there was no brick establishment in sight, instead we only passed by trees and the view of tall mountains. It looks so amazing and soothing with the touch of the snowfall. The car then halted to a stop when we reached a wooden and big cabin. It looks like the same one that we saw on the Airbnb website, that's a good sign. The cabin is two storey, it is made of wood from roof to the patio, judging from what it looks like, it's an oak tree wood. There are two rectangular windows on either side of the door. Of course, there are more stylish windows on the living room side and the second floor. It's beautiful.

"Girl, this looks like the Twilight movie set." Kat said when we got out of the car. She then proceeded to pull her phone out and record our surroundings, so she can send it to Mrs. Hudson.

She was right, except it was snowing and it looks like there was less moss inside the forest. It wasn't snowing anymore, so I could admire the beauty of the surroundings even more. There was no trace of buildings or the city around, instead we were surrounded by tall mountains and trees. Instead of the hum of cars, I heard the chirping of birds and the rustling of the wind.

We traveled for almost seven hours so it was already getting dark. I inhaled the cold wind as I closed my eyes. This feels good...

...But I feel weird again...

Instinctively, I looked around. I feel weird because for whatever reason, I feel I am being watched.

It's ridiculous, who the hell would watch me? I shook my head. It's just my imagination.

"Are y'all gonna stand there or you're gonna help me carry stuff inside?" Rence asked loudly as he stood in front of the open trunk of his car. I didn't say anything but just walked towards him.

"He's a real gentleman, huh." Kat sarcastically whispered when she caught up to me.

Before we left Denver, we met up with the owner. We paid and then she gave us the key and other information about this cabin. When we entered, I immediately noticed that it had a high ceiling, there was also a mezzanine, basically there's a stairs attached on the left big wall of the house and it leads to the inner balcony which overlooks the whole living room.

Chapter 3

Savannah

We all helped each other bring in the groceries and our things. Kat took the room upstairs while Rence and I were on the first floor.

"I don't like Katherine." Rence said as I put our clothes in the cabinet at the side of the room.

She doesn't like you either. I thought.

The room we have is simple and big. There is a king-sized bed in the middle, where Rence is currently sitting, while a few steps to the side, you'll find the bathroom. There is also a big screen mounted on the wall, and a small settee too in the corner.

"Well, you called her a bitch. Do you expect her to say thank you?" I replied and put his briefs in the drawer.

He shook his head.

"I'm not dumb, Savvie. What really happened in the grocery store?

Did a guy ask for your number?" He asked.

"No." I answered and finally closed the cabinet. I then stood up and faced him.

"Are you cheating on me?"

My eyebrows shot up. For whatever reason, the man in the store flashed in my mind. Shit, no.

"Jesus, what kind of question is that? We were in that store for fifteen minutes and you think I can cheat in fifteen minutes? Are you kidding me?" I said. As far as I know, I haven't done anything.

"Why are you so mad? I was just asking."

"You were accusing me of something I didn't do."

"Asking, not accusing. Don't be so defensive." He replied. "I'm sorry if it sounded wrong." He immediately added.

I just shook my head.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower." That's all I could answer before I walked to the bathroom.

When I finished showering and getting dressed, Kat invited us to go outside. She said there was a campfire set up on the side of the house. It wasn't snowing hard and I would love that more than just staying in a room with Rence and possibly having an argument again.

The owner was considerate since there was dry and chopped wood already stocked in the shed behind the house. We took that and brought it to the side of the house, where there was a campfire set. Kat put the woods that we collected inside the concrete fire pit. She lit it up while Rence and I sat on the surrounding wooden log chairs. I took the marshmallows and he took out the barbecue sticks.

When the fire was already alive and burning, Kat sat beside me and took marshmallows from the bag on my lap. There we sat and roasted marshmallows on the fire. However, as we sat there, the hairs on the back of my neck rose as I felt like I was being watched......again.

As I was chewing the burnt marshmallow in my mouth, I discreetly looked around. It was super dark since there were no streetlights here or neighbors.

I swallowed what was in my mouth and shrugged the strange feeling off.

We decided to go inside thirty minutes later because the snowfall intensified again. So much so that it was killing our campfire. We all went to our rooms since it has been a long day. Rence decided to take a hot shower, while I was laying on the bed, using my phone.

My brow furrowed as his phone's notification sound pinged several times. I tried to ignore it but it kept on pinging. Out of curiosity, I put down my own phone and reached for his on the bedside table. When I turned his screen on, I saw that he had a lot of messages from Telegram, but it didn't show what the messages were since his phone had a password.

I should leave his phone alone, but my curiosity got the best of me, because who would text him this much at this hour? He told me his family knew he was with me on the trip, and his military siblings got deployed somewhere in the Middle East and won't be contacting him for a while.

I swallowed.

He never told me his password but I saw him type it out a few times. So, I tried it out and it worked.

I thought the messages that would greet me would be from his groupmates, since he said they were the ones he was texting when we last argued about his phone usage.

But instead, I saw a message exchange between him and a girl named Ashley.

My chest tightened and my lips parted. He was exchanging nudes with her. My ears are ringing and my heart is pounding in betrayal, my finger scrolling through the messages.

I looked at the timestamps of each message......he was texting her all the time, when he was watching movies with me, and eating with me. Tears burned my eyes as I couldn't look away from the screen.

It does hurt...but I felt more betrayal than heartbreak, because a part of me knew this is a possibility with his behavior. I just refused to believe it.

And what really broke me, is he was texting her around the time he told me he was texting his groupmates. He lied to my face while looking me in the eyes.

My hands began to shake lightly, but I managed to look into his other direct messages.

I let out a harsh laugh and my tears finally streamed down his phone screen.

He's flirting and sending nudes to six more girls. He told one of them that his girlfriend just died and he needs sex to grieve.

"Why are you looking at my phone?!" He asked loudly.

I didn't even notice that he had already come out of the bathroom. When I looked up, I saw that he was just wearing a towel around his waist. He saw the tears on my cheeks. His eyes widened, his fists balled at his sides.

"You lying piece of shit!" I stood up and threw his phone on the wall.

"You crazy bitch. Why did you throw my phone?!"

"That's still your concern?! You gaslit me into thinking that I was crazy for accusing you!"

"Maybe you are-"

I chuckled to myself as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"You motherfucker, how dare you! Even now you're still gaslighting me!" I yelled at him while I was sobbing. My heart contracts with pain.

He swallowed.