The Set Up

We drove up the snowy, winding road towards the cozy A-frame cabin. A nice vacation is exactly what I needed to reset before I resumed the last semester of my master's degree. It was a last-minute trip decision on my part; my friend Anna had originally planned on coming, but due to an emergency at work, she couldn't. That's where I came in. I was planning on spending the weekend lazing on the couch and catching up on the latest episodes of shitty Netflix reality shows. I suppose spending a weekend in a secluded cabin was better than what I had planned.

"Wow, it looks even nicer in person" my friend Penny commented once we had parked. It seemed like we were the first ones here. Penny and I had come together, but Mitchell, Erik and Sam were coming later. It was going to be a fun weekend getaway, and I couldn't wait.

"Good find on Airbnb" I complimented Penny, who had found the listing on Airbnb months ago. A-frame cozy cabin with hot tub, fireplace and lake views! Everything about the title was warm and inviting; how could anyone pass up coming here?

"Oh, shoot!" Penny exclaimed, as she looked at me with a frown. I stopped from walking up to the front door with my bag in hand to turn around and see Penny, a face laced with concern.

"What? What is it?" I asked, a little alarmed. I had to admit, the only thing that scared me about the cabin was how far into the woods it was, and how far away everything seemed to be. Cell service was nonexistent, and what if there was someone out there in the dark, unforgiving forest.

"I forgot to grab the food for supper tonight" Penny frowned, taking out her phone and huffing. "Right, no service" she then mumbled, putting her phone in her pocket.

"There's probably Wi-Fi in the cabin, we can text the guys to bring something, no biggie" I suggested with a shrug, but Penny brushed me off. I could see the wheels in her head turning, as she bit her lip, in obvious deep thought.

"No, they probably aren't even in service. One of us needs to stay here for when they get here" she began, and I immediately saw where this was going.

"You're going to leave me alone out here?!" I asked, sounding less terrified than I admittedly felt; maybe I read too many books on serial killers...

"Relax, I saw a little corner store just fifteen minutes down the road. I'll go grab something quickly" she informed me, slamming her car trunk shut and heading for the driver's seat. "I'll be back before you know it! Ou, go check out the hot tub!" she exclaimed, hopping into the car and starting it up before I even had the chance to form a thought in my head. Within seconds she disappeared down the pathway, and I found myself alone.

"It's middle of the day, this is a nice-looking cabin, nothing bad is going to happen" I muttered to myself, shivering before I made my way towards the cabin. I decided since Penny had left, I could have first dibs on which bed I wanted. It was two bedrooms, each of modest size, one with an ensuite attached, and a loft where two bunkbeds were. Since I was the only one here, I decided I would take the primary bedroom with the ensuite. I tossed my bag on the bed, deciding to check the cabin out a little bit before hopping into the hot tub, waiting for the rest of them to get there.

It was small, but just the right size. The bedrooms were of modest size, just enough room for a queen-sized bed, two wooden night tables, and a short dresser, with pictures spread for added decor.

The kitchen was kept in immaculate shape, with brand-new stainless-steel appliances. It looked like the cabin had just had a major facelift. The hot tub was outside on the wrap around deck that overlooked the lake. I could only imagine what the view looked like at sunset.

I was about to walk back inside when I heard a door shut behind me. Whipping around, I saw nobody beside me; I was alone. The sliding glass door couldn't have made that sound; what the hell was that?

Against my better judgement, I decided to quietly slip back inside to see what the noise was. Yes, go towards the danger, great plan! I thought to myself, closing the door as quietly as possible. I could hear footsteps, but they were faint. My heart began to pound rapidly in my chest. It was far too quick for Penny to be back, and the steps seemed way too quiet for three people arriving.

Shit. Someone was here.

The door to the deck was close to the kitchen counter tops, and to the knife block that sat to the left of the fridge. Grabbing the biggest one, I held it in my hand, quietly inching forward. This was a small cabin; how the hell was there someone in this cabin that I couldn't see? From the back glass door, I had a view of everything, the living room, the kitchen... minus the bedrooms.

"Hello?" I heard a familiar male voice call. I gripped the knife in my hand tighter, before bumping into a figure walking out of the smaller bedroom.

"Holy shit!" Erik gasped, his eyes going wide. He looked to me, and to my hand, which was still tightly attached to the kitchen knife I had just grabbed. "Who did you think I was?" he asked, finally looking a little calmer.

"Jesus, dude. You scared the absolute crap out of me" I grumbled, taking the knife back to where I found it. "I was expecting either Penny or all three of you getting here at the same time, I didn't think that was you."

"I'd hope not; otherwise, you looked like you were about to stab me to death" he laughed, looking around the cabin. "Nice place, though."

"Yeah, Penny picked a good spot" I began to relax a bit, sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace as Erik placed his bag in the other bedroom. The living room was cute and quaint. The fireplace had a bouquet of roses sitting atop of it, with rose pedals scattered in front of the fireplace. I thought this was a bit of an odd touch since this wasn't a couples getaway weekend.

"Where are the others?" I asked Erik, as he came out to join me in the living room. I did have the smallest temptation to light the fire. Nothing beats a cozy cabin fire.

"They said they forgot the food, so they told me to come in and get settled..." he trailed off, looking a little confused. "Where's Penny?"

"She said she forgot the food..." I trailed off, looking to Erik with confusion. "What kind of weird shit are they planning?" I asked, and he shrugged, taking a look around.

"No idea, dinner better be good though, if it's going to take all three of them to go get it" he chuckled, and I couldn't help but laugh. Erik and I hadn't been friends for long, but when Penny had introduced us, we became fast friends. He wasn't your typical guy. I know how that must sound, but he wasn't like most people his age. He was much more focused and mature. He was very goal orientated and driven and had a general calming effect on those around him. I always used to tease him for always looking worried; it was rare to see him smiling for extended periods of time. He was sweet, caring, attentive, and he had become quickly one of my closest friends. Not that we saw each other much; between his work and my work and school, times to get together were few and far between.

"I don't know about you, but I really have been wanting to check out that hot tub" I commented, standing up. He nodded in agreement, getting up and heading towards the bedroom he had laid claims to.

"I like the way you think" he smirked. "They'll probably be awhile anyway." He probably was right. I tried to imagine the look on their faces when they met each other at the store, not realizing the other was already there getting food too.

Walking back to the primary bedroom, I closed the door gently behind me. I locked it, despite now feeling safer and fairly confident I wouldn't be needing to head towards the knife block again. I couldn't help but laugh at my paranoia. Why was my first thought immediately someone breaking into the cabin? And better yet, why on earth did I think it would be a smart thing to go inside instead of just running towards the closest cabin?

Walking out of the bedroom towel in hand, I decided to go to the fridge to see if the hosts had left anything interesting inside. To my surprise, there was a bottle of wine with a note. Picking up the bottle, confused, I looked at the note with curiosity.

Enjoy you two!

"That's weird" I muttered to myself. Surely, the hosts had known that there were going to be more than two of us here for the weekend, wouldn't they? With a shrug, I grabbed two glasses from the cupboard, and made my way outside. The walk, however short it was, from just outside the glass door to the hot tub was chilly. Trying to hold the wine, glasses, and my towel in my hand, whilst trying to get in as quickly as possible must have been a sight to see. Erik had already gotten in before me, and visibly was looking amused.

"You could have worn your shoes out here, you know" Erik said with a smile. I rolled my eyes, setting the wine and glasses on the table beside the hot tub, and hopping in, feeling the instant warmth flow through me.

"I wasn't really thinking of that" I admitted with a sheepish grin. "I was more focused on the wine" I added, leaning outside the hot tub to pour two glasses.

"You bring this?" he asked, a little surprised.

"No, I found it in the fridge, with a note that said 'enjoy you two!'" I told him, taking a sip. "Wow, that's fantastic" I said, looking towards the lake. It truly was a fantastic view; this cabin was absolutely stunning.

"You sure it's not poisoned?" Erik asked, while taking a sip, an eyebrow raised. I immediately took the glass away from my lips, looking at him, debating on slapping the glass right out of his hand.

"I already came after you with a knife, did you want me to change weapons or something?" I asked with a half-hearted laugh. "But actually, do you think it's poisoned?" I asked, despite knowing he had taken a sip after speculating.

"You're too paranoid" he laughed, and I simply shrugged; he wasn't wrong.

"Not paranoid enough apparently, since I didn't use the knife" I shot back with a laugh, relaxing a little bit more in the hot tub. "This is amazing. They're all really missing out" I commented, taking a small sip of the wine. I turned my attention to Erik, who was looking out towards the lake, seemingly deep in thought.

"Yeah... they are missing out..." he trailed off, turning to me. "Something's off" he said, and he didn't elaborate. I could tell the wheels in his head were turning, and I didn't want to interrupt his train of thought.

"What's off?" I finally asked, after a few minutes of silence. It wasn't unusual for us to sit in silence, it was never uncomfortable. His presence was always calming, and sometimes-

"Ah, I get it now." It all finally started to come together. I sighed, looking over to Erik, who seemed happy I had come to the same conclusion. "The signs were everywhere, really"

"Yeah, I should have guessed it the moment they even asked to come on this trip, honestly" Erik said with a laugh. "But I'm kind of glad they did this" he then added softly, scooting closer to me. I had to admit, I was also glad they had set this up too. "I've been meaning to do this for a while now" his face was close to mine. I took the leap and closed the gap between our lips. It had been something I had desired for awhile; and I couldn't believe it was finally happening. And what better place, than the beautiful A-frame cabin, with stunning lake views.

"They're going to want props for setting us up, you know that, right?" he asked, once he finally pulled away. He slung his arm around me, and I cuddled into his side.

"I'm fine with that" I chuckled, and I could feel him laughing against me.

For the first time since arriving, I was happy I was in a remote cabin, away from reality. It was going to be an amazing week-end.