Chapter Six

Olivia

I run back up the stairs in tears, and grab the closest items of clothing I can find, a pair of tracks and a thick sweater. Once dressed, I grab my thick coat and a blanket and dash out of the house. It"s freezing and I don"t know where he is. His car is still here, so he must be on foot. I find his tracks leading to the woods at the back of the cabin and decide to start there. Just as I turn the corner, I see a car coming towards the cabin and wait to see if it"s Jesse. Perhaps someone found him wandering in the woods and given him a ride back.

The black Mercedes pulls over and Hal steps out of the car with a smile.

"Hal?"

"Hey! You off out for a hike or some …" Hal stops when his eyes meet the blanket in my other hand. He quickly pays the driver and walks up to me. "Are you ok? Where's Jesse?"

"I don't know," I whisper and start to cry. "There"s something I need to tell you, Hal."

I wonder what he'll say when he finds out the truth.

"I promise to explain everything but right now we have to find him. His tracks lead this way," I say, pointing to the footprints he's made on the snow.

"What's going on? You're beginning to worry me." He holds me close to comfort me.

I stop to look at Hal wondering how best to explain that I'm in love with his best friend. I'm determined to be with him, no matter the cost. I just hope Hal will understand because I don"t want to lose him either.

"I"m in love with Jesse, Hal, and Jesse thinks I've used him just to get an exclusive interview."

Hal looks at me like I just punched him in the face." How long was I gone? You're in love?"

"Yes, I know it seems sudden but I have fallen in love with Jesse. It's all happened so fast but I was attracted to him the moment I saw him." Hal hands me a tissue, and I blow my nose. "You were right," I continue. "He is such a good guy. During the interview, I really got to know the real him, you know. We spoke for hours and hours. He's unlike anyone I have ever met. The past few days I've spent with him have meant more to me than anything. I swear I didn"t plan this but it happened and I"m glad it did. Oh, Hal, say something. Please!"

Hal's face is enigmatic. I close one eye shut, apprehensively waiting for his response.

"Well that was fast … faster than I had planned," Hal smiled.

My mouth flies open as I stare at Hal.

"What do you mean, ‘faster than you'd planned'?" At this point, I was beyond confused.

"I knew that you two would be perfect for each other. And I was right."

I look at Hal in bewilderment. The shock of what he's done hits me hard. "Wait. Did you plan this?"

"Maybe. A little. Oh come on, I did but that wasn"t my only reason. I have been thinking about a way to get you both together but it"s been tough because we live miles apart from each other. Then I thought about the cabin and it hit me. I waited for the season to be over to make sure you both would come."

I sigh with relief and jab him in the arm. He laughs and I embrace him. I couldn"t have dreamed that things would turn out this way at all.

"So, what made him run away from you? You guys fighting already?" Hal says as we continue into the foggy woods.

"He saw this," I say and hand over my phone to Hal with the text display.

"Oh, shit! You told Elizabeth that you slept with Jesse? Liv!"

"It's all been completely taken out of context. Look at my message." We stop walking for a second as I open the text thread for Hal to read.

"Oh, I see. Jesse can be a bit of a hot head at times."

"He didn"t even give me a chance to explain."

"He just needs to cool off. He"ll be fine. You both will. When we find him, just show him the rest of the messages. You have nothing to hide."

"Thanks, Hal … it looks like his tracks stop here," I say as we get to a fork leading to two paths.

"How about we split up? We"ll find him faster that way. If you find him first, just call me okay?"

"Got it," I say and race down the path on the right, keeping my eyes out for any sign of Jesse.