Trent slammed the trunk of his ‘95 Tahoe shut after wedging the final cooler into it. He leaned on the car to catch his breath for a moment, exhausted from packing the vehicle and constantly going up and down the stairs to and from his apartment. As a chilly wind blew past him, he looked up at the grey sky above and recalled that it was wintertime once again.

Finally, I get a proper break from that boring office.

He hoped this vacation would be something to distract him from his mother’s passing earlier that autumn. She was the only family Trent had left, as well as his only reason to leave the apartment in his spare time, save for groceries. And since Trent could count the number of friends he had on one hand, he felt much more alone than he usually did.

I really hope that the cabin will be nice and warm. As lovely as it was to see in the summer it could be really cold now. Hopefully, Sharon’s handiwork has held up well. The place he would be staying at was far from his urban abode, nestled in the somewhat pristine woodland of a large mountain range on the other side of the state. Trent clambered onto the running board to reach the storage on top of his car. Need to check if that first aid kit is still here. He struggled to reach the storage but once he managed to get it open, he breathed a sigh of relief upon noticing the emergency kit he had was still inside. A jarring ringtone suddenly went off from his pocket and Trent nearly slipped from where he was standing from how hard he jolted up when hearing it. Thankfully, he managed to grab onto the roof rack before losing his balance completely. He answered his phone clumsily while trying to rest his body against the car. He was quite relieved to hear his coworker’s, Charles, happy voice on the line: “Trent! You’re getting ready to go on vacation right? I apologize for interrupting you if you were napping or something, but I just wanted to make sure you were alright before you left. You are okay, right?”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Charles,” Trent muttered, catching his breath and words- “Yes, I’m just fine. And, while I do appreciate the concern, you don’t need to keep calling me every day since my mother passed away.” Trent tapped his hand on a wooden bit on the keychain hanging from his beltloop almost immediately after mentioning her. For a moment, only silence came through the phone, and then a soft, heavy sigh preceded Charles' voice. “Trent… look, both Elaine and I are worried about you. Losing someone that important in your life isn’t easy. And that’s not the only reason, you know I’d have called before you left anyway,” Charles said to him sternly.

Right.

“I’m fine, really,” Trent assured him as he hopped onto the sidewalk. “I'm going to have fun up there. I told you I grew up on farmland,” He finished while getting into the car. “Sigh… Okay then, you have a good day and a safe drive,” Charles muttered back through the phone, his reluctance evident. “You have a good day too Charles…” Trent sighed and sputtered wordlessly for a moment, before hanging up the phone and starting the car. He looked up at the looming apartment building that he was about to leave behind for a week, distracted by his thoughts.

I get that he cares, but he shouldn’t worry about me. I’m not worth that kind of trouble. I’ll be just fine by myself anyways. Sure, Sharon being there would be nice, but I couldn’t just ask her to come with me. That’d be rude, as well as awkward for her. I doubt she wants to see me anyways. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen up there? I’m more likely to get into a car accident on the way there than get mauled by wildlife. Hell, if I keep idling my damn car here, I might not even make it up the mountain.

Trent shook his head, forcing himself to focus on the road and away from his rampant thoughts. And so, he drove off into the cold, grey morning.