I saw this drawing and thought @Marnis_art is a super talented artist. Thank you for drawing how you imagine Millie & Luke!

Chapter 25: Bridal Style

I felt like 007, wandering around the lake house with a giant walkie talkie.

"Luke, did I leave my PJs in your bedroom last night?" I released my finger from the button and heard the rustle of static on the other end.

That's right. 007 deals with missing underwear.

I was trying to pack my belongings. We were meant to be leaving later today and I didn't want to be the hold up. I was also trying to take my mind off the situation.

"Millie," Luke's voice came back through the static, "Everyone can hear you."

I pressed the button and replied: "Oops."

I forget that Luke and I were not the only ones with walkie talkies. Everyone with a device on the same channel could hear me, and that included Jake and Luke's mother.

I can't imagine a worse crew to overhear me discuss my missing sleepwear.

"But try my bed," came Luke's slick response.  

He knew his mom and Jake would react to that.  I blushed in the middle of his empty bedroom.

**  

Honestly, I was getting anxious for them to return.  All these distractions were not easing my concern for Annika.  

I was now fully packed and had cleaned the guest room two times.  Anything to get my mind off more serious thoughts.

"Annika?" I knocked on her door.  

Maybe, after all this time, she was just taking a nap in her bed.  Eating nutella in private so she could scoop it straight out of the jar.

After no response, I peeked my head through the door and saw an empty room.  Her clothes were scattered across the bed and left a trail to her bathroom.  

She wasn't there. I didn't want to violate her space any more and considered leaving her a note.  

Then I left.  The suspense was gnawing at me. Where was Annika? 

The boys were still outside looking for her.  She had simply wandered off into the forest... and not returned.   

I wish I could volunteer to join the rescue crew.  I wish even more that I had randomly acquired  tracking or archery skills. 

Some people are destined to be the lead in an action story, and others are... 

I'll finish that thought when I come up with something to finish it with. 

Anyway, unfortunately, physical fitness is not my thing.  I'll leave that to Luke.   

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the shed outside and I freaked out. 

Did anyone else hear that?

I glanced out from the upstairs window and saw Mr Dawson heaving his canoe out of the shed, dragging it along the muddy ground. 

So the good news is... he's actually working on his canoe.  Alibi confirmed.

He called for either of his sons to help.

He clearly hasn't got the memo yet.  They were both gone... but he had me!

I ran downstairs and out the side door, eager to be a helpful handy-woman. "Hi Mr Dawson! I can help!"

I popped into view in front of him and my eager face startled him. "Don't worry Millie, this is heavy."

Before I could reach him, he'd already placed the canoe down against the shed wall. He closed the shed doors and fastened a lock around it. I watched him punch in the code to lock it: 7001.

Funny because it's 007 backwards. Plus a random 1.

"I haven't seen anyone outside. You've all been lazy this morning," he said, clapping his hands from all the dirt, "Shame. With this weather, I thought you'd all go swimming."

Mr Dawson makes being lazy sound like a crime. To me, it's my favorite past time.

"Isn't it freezing in there?" 

It was winter and I couldn't imagine that lake being anywhere near warm.

"Toughen up," Mr Dawson responded. "Kids these days-"

Mr Dawson was about to go on a rant but the static on my walkie talkie started up again and I heard Jake's voice yell out, "SH*T!"

I picked it up and pressed all the buttons. "What happened?!  Is everything ok?"

I waited for more. Anything more. I shook it. There was some more static, but that was it.

**

Mrs Dawson was now officially worried. She'd been so calm about the whole 'Annika disappeared' thing until she heard her stepson curse over the radio-waves.

The fact that we'd received radio silence since then, did not bode well.

I tried to confirm with her, "There are definitely no dangerous animals in the forest, right? Just some friendly rabbits and happy squirrels?"

Bears hibernate in winter, so I was feeling good about that.

"I don't know how happy the squirrels are, Millie," she replied, looking worried.

I was standing beside her in the kitchen, as she washed her hands in the sink. Lunch had been laid out half an hour ago, but we were still waiting for them to return.

I ate a couple croutons from the salad when she wasn't looking.

"I think you might be right though," Mrs Dawson said, looking for her car keys, "We haven't heard anything from them in a while and I think we should go looking."

Good idea. With so many of us in the forest, someone was bound to find someone. 

"And maybe afterwards, we can discuss why your clothes were in my son's bedroom."

Which son? JK. I'll leave that question for Mr Dawson to ask.

**

I stood outside the cabin, ready to go. I had a flashlight and rope for safe keeping. And a granola bar in my back pocket with no honey. I checked. 

We had to be prepared, after all.  

We were the search party to the search party.

How unlucky that search party was.  To have us as their last hope is... well, as Luke would say: we're f*cked.

As far as duos go, me and Mrs D make an unlikely pair. Maybe almost as unlikely as me and her son.

She was speaking with her husband, updating him on this morning's events, after I had done a pretty terrible job explaining. 

I wasn't able to resist including my theories about mysterious disappearances, horror movie beginnings and pointing out that if someone wanted us out of the house, they were doing a very good job at it. 

That was my latest theory. That we were all being lured outside so someone could get inside.

I could hear the jingling of the car keys in her hand as they talked. We were planning to take the car on our search through the forest. Nothing like some good seat warming action to keep you on the lookout.

Suddenly, I heard a rustle in the leaves.

My eyes scoured the landscape. I took a few steps back and placed my hand on the car door to jump inside if anything were to jump at me.

Truthfully, I've been on guard since I received the first blackmailer's letter.  Having someone out to get me has made me a lot more jumpy than usual.

The rustling became louder and I saw a shadow move between the trees.

Two shadows.

If it was them, why wouldn't there be three?

Someone was missing. Someone was- !

"Jake!" I exclaimed, seeing him come out of the forest first.

His leg was bleeding from a wound below the knee. He gave me a two-finger wave.

"You're bleeding!" I pointed out the obvious.

I could hear Mr and Mrs Dawson call out their sons' names.  

I tried to see where Luke was. More than anything I wanted to see a guy with black hair and blue eyes stroll out of the forest.

Any guy.

JK. Where was Luke?

I waited for the one other shadow to emerge. I knew there would be one more. Luke likes a dramatic entrance but-

I didn't expect this.

Luke walked out of the forest carrying Annika bridal-style in his arms.

She was fully conscious and holding onto him. Strangely, she held her left shoe in her hand and her left foot was slightly raised. She was injured.

"Get the first aid kid," Mrs Dawson told her husband, "It's in the shed."

Mr Dawson nodded and did as he was told. Meanwhile, Mrs Dawson thrust open the front doors to the cabin to let everyone in. 

I helped her grab blankets and spread them on the wooden floor for both Jake and Annika to sit down.

"What happened?" I asked Jake, since he was the first to reach us.

"I walked into a twig or something protruding out of a tree," he said, looking down at his leg, "Is it bad?"

The blood was free flowing.  

"It's messy," I tried to keep it light, guiding him inside, "Are you feeling queasy?"

Because I am.

Blood had soaked into his sock. I wondered how long he had been walking like this, injured. He sat down and took off his shoe and sock. 

His stepmom came back with towels and tissues and waited for the first aid kit. I ran to the front door, waiting impatiently for Luke and Annika to come inside.

"What happened out there?" I asked, hearing Luke outside talking to his father. He still had Annika in his arms.

"A tree had fallen and blocked the usual path," Jake said, "She had to walk alongside the riverbank and slipped, twisting her ankle. We brought her back."

A touch less dramatic than what my imagination had come up with. Just a touch.

"So no mysterious clues or letters?" I asked, fearing the mystery blackmailer was behind this misfortune.

"Why would someone leave a letter?" Jake asked.

I didn't say.

The door slammed shut as Luke walked in, carrying Annika. He lowered her onto the blanket next to Jake. 

She adjusted herself into a more comfortable position and looked down at her ankle. There was some swelling and discoloration.

We had so many questions.  His parents hovered around, ready to ask. I also wanted to ask.

Luke looked at us and said, "I'm going to take my damn shower now."

**

The bathroom was steaming up when I stepped inside. The heat from Luke's shower covered the bathroom. The glass was misty with steam.

"Luke?" I called out.

I could see the shape of him, though it was blurred by the glass shower door.

Luke's voice carried over the sound of the water, as he spread shower gel over his body. "You looked like you were on your way to kidnap someone."

"Because of my flashlight and rope?"

He said, "At least you didn't bring an iron."

I smiled, remembering how I had packed a lot of random items for our camping trip. He'd unpacked most of them.

"I'm not even going to ask why you thought a flashlight would be useful in the middle of the day."

I smiled. Fair point.

I missed having his common sense in these situations. My mind has a tendency to go over board and over-dramatize everything. And our reactions combined probably lead to a more stable equilibrium.

I found it incredible that he simply won't get worked up unless there's an immediate threat to us. 

I wish he'd shown more sympathy to Annika.

I took off my jumper and unbuttoned my pants. I'd already taken a shower this morning, but I wanted to join him.

The water continued to pour down over him and I kept an eye on his shadow through the glass. One article of clothing after another dropped to the floor.

I opened the shower door and inhaled the heat from the steamy shower. He turned towards me, running his hands through his hair. Water droplets landed on his eyelashes, framing his blue eyes as he watched me step inside.

He was surprised to see me. "You're also dirty?"

I smiled again, "Where's the soap? We can start by cleaning your mouth."

A/N: I thought the title of this chapter would make you happy 

And it ended on such a hygienic note :)

This whole lake house/jake house weekend brings me back to their summer camp days.  I feel like we were just there with them yesterday.  

Btw, if you've sent me DMs to my IG (@NFT_Raccoon) in the last week, I'm currently behind on those but I'll get to them! :)