Once Upon a Second Chance (Once Upon a Holiday Story #1)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Aaron

My life was a steaming pile of cow dung. Actually, if it was, I’d be warm. Currently, I was freezing. And lost. My car had died in the middle of nowhere, and the one gas station I’d reached was closed. The sign on the door read that it was due to the impending storm. Like, really?

It wasn’t just my car that had broken down, though—it was my house. I lived in that hunk of junk and while I didn’t have a lot of gas in it, I thought I’d have enough to keep turning the car on every so often to warm myself once the snow started falling. But the clicking noise made me think it was the battery.

I had forty dollars to my name that I’d earned helping a guy shovel driveways a few towns over. Truth be told, I’d made more than that, but I’d gotten ten bucks worth of gas and some food, and now I was left with forty.

Was that enough to buy a car battery? Probably not, but maybe if I reached a store, they’d take the forty and let me work off the rest.

I’d just crossed into the next town; the sign read Everlasting Springs.

“Sounds majestic,” I muttered sarcastically. It was something you’d read in a fairy tale.

About half a mile in, I saw a street decorated with lights, wreaths, menorahs—you name it, and the holiday was represented. My eyes homed in on the shops. Excited I might be able to purchase what I needed to get my car in better shape and survive the storm, I picked up the pace.

The gas station was readying to close, but he said he didn’t sell car batteries there. So I went across the street to a place called Laverton’s Hardware.

“We’re about to shut down,” a man shouted from the back of the store.

“Oh, I won’t be long. My car died a few miles up the road, and I was hoping you sold car batteries here?”

A burly man with a bright-red beard, wearing a flannel and overalls, scrunched his brow.

“Damn, that’s bad luck. I don’t sell car parts here; you’d want to try Laverton Auto. It’s a block up the road, but they’re likely all gone too.”

“Shit,” I whispered.

“I don’t know if you’ll make it to your car before the storm hits. We got a bed-and-breakfast that’s very lovely, and I know Dee was saying they had cancelations this morning. Bet she can set you up.”

I fisted the forty dollars in my pocket, frustration creeping up my spine and threatening to burst out of me. I didn’t have the money for a hotel room to stay for the night.

“Thanks, but I can’t leave my car.”

“Well, you won’t survive the cold, buddy.”

I waved and rushed out of the store. A grocer was up a ways, and I supposed I’d have to stock up on what I would need during the storm. Maybe they had blankets and those hand-warming packs.

I stepped in, and a friendly man with blond hair and a smile for days greeted me.

“Welcome. Cutting it close, aren’t you?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, almost forgot a few things. I was just passing through your lovely town and I was alerted of this big storm coming.”

He nodded. “Gonna dump a lot of snow.” He shrugged. “The kids will love it.”

“I’m sure it’ll be beautiful.” I moved through the aisles, grabbing what I could with the forty bucks I had. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. As soon as the weather cleared, I’d try and find work so I could fix my car.

After I paid, I gathered my bags and started to walk in the direction of my car. I made it maybe halfway—honestly, I couldn’t be sure—when the winds picked up.

It was like shards of glass crashing against my skin. I had to stop to turn away from it just for a reprieve. But, as if mother nature herself had flicked a switch, the snow began falling—and not only was I freezing, now I couldn’t see.

“Come on!” I shouted into the void.

I didn’t know where my car was at this point. So, I turned around and retraced my steps to Everlasting Springs.

Maybe some building was open, and I could just hunker down for a few hours until I could feel my toes, but as soon as I was once again on the main street, I saw that everything was closed. Except one place.

The grocery store was still open. Well, not really—the workers were leaving, but the back door was ajar. A guy was tossing trash into the dumpster.

I ran toward the door, my bags huddled to my chest. I’d intended to go in and ask for some assistance, but I couldn’t find anyone. I put the bags on a shelf and walked along the aisles. I was sure that kind man I’d met here a short while ago could help me. Who would send someone out in the snow?

I was walking along aisle five when the lights went out and I heard a slam a second later.

“Hello?” I shouted but nothing happened.

“Wait, I think you locked me in. Hello?” I ran back the way I came but sure enough, the door was shut, and I could see an alarm box beside it.

“Well, that’s just fucking great!”

I didn’t have a cell phone because, well, I couldn’t afford one. I knew there had to be a phone somewhere in the store, so I began searching.

I found an office and I tried the knob, but it was locked. I could see the phone on the desk and while I could break the window to let myself in, I wasn’t going to do that.

The whistling of the wind outside sent a shiver through me. I wasn’t a vagrant or someone who broke into establishments to escape the elements. In this case, I was locked in.

I returned to my bags and pulled out the blanket I’d been able to buy and wrapped it around myself.

I huddled on the floor and opened the box of crackers. I guess it could’ve been worse. I could have frozen to death on that road, and no one would have found me until spring. At least I was getting warm, and the crackers would be enough.

Once my belly was full, exhaustion took over. I grabbed a couple of rolls of paper towels to use for a pillow and lay down. The storm was just picking up, and while I didn’t know what would happen to me after it passed and the workers found me, I couldn’t worry about it. That was future Aaron’s problem. For now, I wrapped myself inside my blanket and closed my eyes, letting sleep claim me.