Cheating Until Dawn

"Something about that mountain seems to breed tragic events."

"More than you know, Marty."

That was all Sam could bear to hear. She turned off the podcast and took a minute to breathe and look out the bus window. She couldn't believe a year had past since Hannah and Beth's disappearance. The pain of losing her best friend was still as fresh as it was the night it happened. So why exactly did she decide to return to the last place she saw her? That snowy lodge, haunted by the memory of the friends she would never see again. Sam knew the truth deep down. Hannah and Beth were gone. Sure, their bodies never turned up, but that wasn't entirely unexpected. It was cold and dark that night. They had miles of wilderness to disappear into. At first, she held hope for their safe return. But 12 months in to their disappearance? There was no point.

As distraught as ever, Sam looked for a reminder as to why she agreed to come back to this lodge. She opened Josh's video invitation he sent to the group. She hit play, and his enthusiastic expression came to life.

Josh spoke, "Well hello friends and fans... Alright let's do that again..."

Sam smiled at the blooper Josh left in the video. It was objectively endearing, and really showed off his sense of humor.

The video continued, "Alright. Well hello friends and fans! It's beyond awesome to have you guys all back this year. First off, gotta say I am super excited to welcome all my pals back to the annual Blackwood winter getaway! So, um... Let me just let you know, let's address tale a moment to address the 'elephant in the room' for a second."

Sam braced for the guilt that came running back to hit her as hard as ever.

"I know you're all probably worried about me. And I know it's gonna be tough on all of us going back after what happened last year... but - I just want you all to know... it means... it means so much to me that we're doing this. And I... I know it would mean so much to Hannah and Beth that we're all still here together... thinking of them. I really wanna spend some quality time with each and every one of you and share some moments that we'll never forget. For the sake of my sisters, you know?"

Sam's breath staggered. She couldn't help but feel bad for Josh. Not just because she held some responsibility for what happened to his sisters, but because she was always quite fond of him. Her feelings started innocently enough. A little crush that grew stronger every time she saw him. It had grown into genuine feelings, and admittedly a lust for him. But then... last year's nightmare of a prank happened. Hannah and Beth disappeared into the night, and suddenly both Sam and Josh couldn't look at the other without the reminder of what happened. It became far too awkward to ever hope for either one to really socialize. Still, part of Sam had hoped this trip would provide her with an opportunity to make up for lost time with Josh.

The video played on, "Okay... so! Let's party like we're fucking porn stars. Okay? And make this one a trip we will never forget, alright?" The video ended with Josh throwing his hands up and shouting "Yes!"

Sam looked away from her phone. Inside, she felt a renewed, but still cautious, optimism.