chapter one:
curiosity killed the cat

ten hours until dawn

One whole year, that's all it took for Arlos life to completely shatter and for his parents to deem him unfit to take care of himself. Sure he woke up covered in sweat, mumbled nonsense to himself at dinner and rarely saw the slightest hint of sunlight. It's not like he was bad at living, he just stopped caring is all.

His mother forced him to attend therapy, that was a long drag and he'd rather jump off a cliff than deal with that again. Then she went the medication route next, it worked but he still wasn't himself. He took them every morning, every single night and all he felt was the same damn shit from before.

The throb in his skull, the ache along his eyes and the constant sensation of pain stabbing his brain over and over again. So much for being perfect little Arlo, then again did he care? Nope. When the therapy and medication didn't work, he found himself hidden behind the thick walls of a hospital.

One he claimed reeked of old fish, whatever the fuck that meant. He didn't even know himself, yet the words just felt right whenever he would complain at night. His nurse was at least nice and she would sneak him extra desserts on Fridays, he would miss her the most. She was far too nice to be taken out by a car.

His back was pressed awkwardly against the hard metal chair as he looked outside the small window of his room. Snow only meant one thing, the thought of it made his teeth clench and his hands twitch. He tapped his foot along the ground, counted each time his shoe got stuck on the half chewed gum that's been there for ages. They rarely cleaned under this table and when they did they would miss the gum.

Josh's video was almost corny, Arlo watched it the second he felt his phone chime. It was rather awkward seeing the boy on his phone screen, not to mention his awkward way of trying to not appear broken inside. It wasn't hard to read Josh, it wasn't anything new.

Arlos has been friends with him since like first grade and he knew the patterns and he could see the signs slowly emerging from the shadows. First the loss of his sisters and after a long year, this video or more so invitation really. Next he'd spiral and then all that would remain is endless darkness and dread.

Going didn't seem like the best idea, especially when he was trying to better himself for the sake of his parents. Then again they did tell him it could help him heal, they truly were hoping it would cure him. Not that he wanted to be cured when he liked the way he was. He didn't mind the looks he'd get, or the headaches he felt every morning that never dulled until he closed his eyes.

His parents probably think he's possessed with the way he's always downing some Tylenol. The hair dye wasn't anything new either, the sudden change of brunette to blonde. He was feeling risky and it also made him use the excuse of "it's just the chemicals, making me act this way". It sorta worked.

What didn't work was him willingly getting on a bus, so the second his mother offered to get his ticket he said no. He'd rather walk than do that, so while he awkwardly watched his father speak with the nurse and sign out Arlo for the weekend.

He thought of every excuse he could use to ditch the car ride with his father. They didn't sound good enough so it wasn't surprising when he was sitting in his dad's truck. His legs were uncomfortable due to how of a small fit it was, being tall was annoying.

The truck reeked of cigarettes and mint gum, at least the music wasn't awful. The drive was slow due to the slick ice on the roads, it would only get worse. "So are you excited to see your friends then? Doc said it could be really good to socialize again, and it's been a year since you saw them last. Lots to catch up on".

His father wasn't hard to read, he was desperate for answers just as much as his mother. Arlo would talk and then every single word would be told right back to his mother afterwards. It was like an endless phone line where the cord would never snap off the wall.

"Uh I guess, but it'll probably just be awkward" he cleared his throat because the thought of it actually made him physically sick. He hated awkward conversations and not to mention situations, this was an awful idea already. If he played it smart maybe his father would turn around and he'd be half way back home, this was a terrible idea regardless.

The snow was getting thicker the closer they got and he felt his body get more tense as he held his bag on his lap. Not wearing a proper winter coat should've been enough to tell him how the weekend would go. His mother scolded him for hours about packing one and he sorta did; he didn't.

Freezing to death seemed unlikely when they were gonna be inside all weekend anyways. He'd stay beside the fire or just borrow someone's extra jacket, he didn't really care if he froze to death. He looked outside the window when his father parked it beside the cable car station, he'd have to walk the rest of the way, which meant his father would likely worry.

He licked his lips nervously as he took his seatbelt off "I'll call when I get cell service out here". His tone was sarcastic because they both knew, cell service out here sucked. His father chuckled softly at the boy's comment "don't worry, I'll be here first thing Monday to get you. Unless one of your friends offers you a ride back into town, just call regardless".

He nodded and turned to look at his dad "uh... I'll be fine dad. I got my meds and I'll call when I can". His dad smiled "promise? Don't want your mother worrying about you the entire time". Arlo tried to smile but it didn't reach his face "yeah, promise".

He closed the door and walked off down the pathway, he wasn't sure who'd he run into yet but he hoped it was someone less annoying. He pictured Hannah greeting him, her bright smile and the way she'd drag him into the cable car due to his fear of heights.

She'd always hold his hand and crack lame jokes to lighten the mood. He would miss it, the way she would smell of such strong perfume. How her hands were always warm despite it being freezing out, and the way her glasses always fogged up.

He kept walking, it was peaceful out for once and he enjoyed the silence as he approached the cable car station. He didn't see anyone near it but in the distance he heard the slight sound of birds. He grabbed the key out of his pocket, unlocking the door and walking inside as he watched the cable car get closer to the platform.

The thought of getting on it made him wanna vomit all over the place as he pushed the key into his pocket to make sure he didn't lose it. This would be the part where Hannah would grab his hand, tell him all about her Christmas plans and then they'd step on.

Arlo let out a shaky breath as he stepped onto the cable car and quickly sat down. He held his bag close to his chest as he felt it start to move along the mountain. Sitting alone felt far more depressing than he thought it would, he probably looked like a bad kid sitting outside the principal's office.

He leaned back, his hands tense as he tried to avoid looking outside. Falling to his death didn't seem all that bad, he'd rather deal with that than freezing slowly to death. When the cable car stopped he exhaled sharply as he stood up and stepped out.

"Shit..." he slipped his foot getting stuck as he smacked straight into the snow. He groaned at the sting of it as he yanked his foot back. His shoelace snapped off and he huffed in annoyance as he stood up. He grabbed his bag and walked off down the pathway as he tried to ignore the ache on his face.

So far everything was already going completely wrong and he hasn't even stepped foot inside the lodge yet.

authors notes:
yes this has been sitting here for days, yes I've been lazy and haven't written anything in days. I'm also like tired asf all the time now since I'm working a bunch this week, but thankfully I'm off till Saturday so I'm thriving finally. Being more productive now that I can actually sleep in, and I plan on writing a lot more as the days go forward. I really wanna just get back into it before college starts so I'll try my best to binge write for this book so I can get the next one out. Also this one is gonna have shorter chapters so I can get them out faster! Anyways enjoy.