Turn to Me: Chapter 13
They sat on the couch and ate the soup in companionable silence. Rhett tried to pull up the weather report on his phone again, but now there was no signal at all. They passed the next few hours in conversation, reminiscing about GMM season four and talking about what they might want to do differently in season five. While they would normally be able to talk for days straight without incident, the atmosphere in the cabin grew gradually more tense as they started having misunderstandings and minor arguments, spurred by the increasing tension of their confinement.The sun had long since set by the time Rhett got up to bring their empty bowls to the kitchen. He was halfway there when the cabin suddenly plunged into darkness. From the couch, Link muttered, “Dangit!’
Rhett set the bowls down in the sink with a clatter. As his eyes adjusted, there was enough glow from the fire in the stove that the main room was dimly lit. He went to the light switch by the door and flicked it a few times, unsurprised when there was no result. The hallway light was similarly defunct. No power. “Maybe it’ll come right back,” he said without much hope.
“I doubt it,” Link grumbled. Rhett went to the closet to get the crank flashlight as Link continued to mutter to himself. “Worst. Vacation. Ever.”
Rhett found the flashlight and started cranking it. He flopped down next to Link on the couch and they sat for a few minutes in silence except for the whirr of the crank. Rhett stopped turning it and pushed the power switch. A thin yellow light came out, barely brighter than the glow of the wood stove. He sighed and pushed the switch again to turn it off, then set the flashlight on the coffee table
They sat without speaking. Rhett looked over to see Link staring straight ahead at the glowing wood stove. His jaw was tense. The air in the room was decidedly chilled. Rhett cleared his throat. “So, ah… what would you like to do now?”
Links lips flattened as his teeth ground together. “What would I like to do now? I’d like to be with my family. I’d like to be getting ready for a party with my wife. I’d like to not feel like my hand has been through a paper shredder. I’d like to be somewhere with electricity. I’d like to not be stuck here indefinitely in the dark with you, Rhett.”
Rhett turned to more directly face Link on the couch, and saw the man’s eyes flaring with anger in the firelight. He felt his own annoyance rise. “Look, man, it’s not my fault we’re stuck here. I didn’t make it snow.”
“It is, actually, your fault,” Link pointed at him. “You knew it was going to snow and you didn’t think we might get stuck here. Or maybe you did and you didn’t care, because you didn’t think about how it would impact anyone but yourself. I’ve got obligations, dude.”
Rhett was incredulous. “Like I don’t? You think I’m happy being away from Jessie and the boys right now?”
Link stood up abruptly. “I don’t know what makes you happy anymore.”
Rhett also got to his feet. “What the heck is that supposed to mean?”
Link waved his hands. “You just do whatever you want, and darn all the consequences. You don’t act like anything affects you.”
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