It was getting on for mid-afternoon when the snow started to fall, lightly covering the driveway as Lindsey dragged her suitcase out to Jackson's car. She knew they were only going away for a week, but she wanted to be prepared, especially with the weather as it was, so she'd filled her bags with as many jumpers, woolly hats, and thick comfy socks as she could. A decision she was starting to regret as she struggled to heave the bulging suitcase into the trunk.
Finally cramming it into the space, she stepped back, taking a moment to breathe. All around her, the snow fell lazily through the air, getting heavier by the minute, and she wondered if it would ease off much before the two of them left for her great aunt's.
'Oh well, at least it'll be a white Christmas...'
she thought to herself, before turning back towards the open door of her house.
She loved almost everything about Christmas, but the annual family reunion certainly wasn't on the list. She could count on one hand how many of her relatives she actually liked, and even then she had plenty of fingers spare. In fact, the only person she really cared about was...
"Hey, you all set?"
A tall, shaggy-haired man stepped out of the doorway, and Lindsey felt her stomach flutter. Jackson. In his hand, he carried a suitcase of his own, and a laptop bag slung over his shoulder. He smiled at her as he came, and she nodded.
"Yep, just gotta grab my rucksack and lock up, and we're good to go!"
She couldn't remember when the two of them had first met. Their parents had been close friends for years before they'd been born, so as far as she cared, she'd known Jackson forever. They'd grown up together, and the pair had been almost inseparable, all the way up to Jackson leaving for college. She'd been absolutely heartbroken to see him go, but he promised her he'd visit as soon as he came back for the holidays.
Which luckily coincided with the reunion.
It just so happened the day he flew back was the day before her Great Aunt's get-together, so while her parents left in the morning, she hung around to see him. The plan was for him to stay over that night, then drop her at the reunion the day after, seeing as it wasn't too far from his cousins' place. That way, he could drive up and see them too, then pick Lindsey up from the reunion and drive her back a few days later, if she didn't want to stay the whole week like her folks.
She'd nearly tackled him clear out of the driveway when she saw him get out of his car, and the pair had spent the evening laughing, drinking, and reminiscing. Jackson had plenty of stories to tell her about his first semester at college, and Lindsey eagerly hung on his every word. When they'd finally going to bed, it was well past midnight, and by the time they were up and about the next day they realised there was no way they were going to make it on time.
"Cool cool, but hurry up, I don't like the look of this snow. We might end up stranded in a blizzard if we're not careful, and you'll miss your fam." Jackson shot her a wink. "And I know how much you'd hate that."
Giggling, Linsey ran back into her house. She'd left her rucksack just inside the door, and she quickly grabbed it before locking up and running back down to the car. The snowfall had gotten pretty heavy by now, and she saw Jackson chuck his stuff onto the back seat before getting into the driver's side door, and revving the engine. Burying her face in her scarf to keep warm, Lindsey threw her rucksack in the back as well, before climbing into the passenger side seat next to him. Clicking her seatbelt into place, she turned and gave him a nod, and off the two went.
Relaxing back into her seat, Lindsey watched the snowflakes fall as Jackson gently took the car out of the driveway and onto the almost pure white road. Rubbing her hands together in the frigid air, she reached out and cracked up the thermostat a little, before settling back again. It wasn't a particularly long drive, only a few hours, but she could already tell it was going to be a chilly one.
The snow wasn't too much of a problem while they drove through the city, salt trucks leaving the roads mostly clear. As they got out into the countryside, Jackson started to take it slower, carefully navigating the narrow lanes as the snow continued to fall. Once or twice they saw the skid marks of cars that hadn't been quite as cautious, and at one point a tow truck passed them, pulling the unfortunate survivor of a nasty off-road skid.
The first hour passed quickly. The thermostat did its job, and the car quickly armed up enough for Lindsey to drop her scarf and gloves. The two friends chattered away happily as the miles passed, and the music from the radio helped fill any lulls. However, as the sun began to set, the snowfall only got heavier and heavier. Lindsey could feel herself getting increasingly nervous, finding it harder and harder to see the passing countryside, and could only imagine how hard it must be for Jackson at the wheel.
"Damn it..." the young man muttered under his breath, craning forward to peer out between the falling snowflakes. Lindsey could feel the stress radiating off of him, and did her best to stay calm. The last thing she wanted to do is panic him any more than he already was.
Pretty soon though, they both realised they were going to have to stop. The snow was falling so heavily now that neither of them could see the road, let alone anything else. Lindsey felt her stomach drop as Jackson shook his head, pulling the car up onto the verge at the side of the road. "Sorry Linds, I can't keep going in this. If we're lucky it'll blow over soon, and we can get going again, but for the meantime, it's just not safe..." Lindsey looked up at him and saw the look of concern on his face. "You might wanna call your folks."
Lindsey gave him a worries nod. She could feel her stomach tying itself up in knots as she pulled out her cell phone. They were a long way from anywhere, out there, and if they got stuck overnight it was going to get very, very cold. Dialling her parents, she anxiously waited for them to pick up.
"Hey, Dad, it's me. Um, yeah, me and Jackson are on our way, but the snow is... it's coming down pretty hard, so we're just going to pull over for a bit. No need to worry about us, it's all good. We're just going to be a bit later than we thought, that's all. I'll call you when we start moving again. Yep, yep, we'll be safe, don't worry. I love you too. See you soon"
The young woman hung up, hoping she didn't sound too scared on the phone. "Ok, what do we do now?"
Jackson frowned as he looked down at the fuel indicator. It was getting a little low.
"Well, I think we should turn the car off for now, so we don't waste gas until we can start moving again. I don't wanna think about what'd happen if we... you know. Other than that, we just gotta wait it out I guess." Shutting off the engine, Jackson settled back into his seat as snow began to pile onto the windshield. Immediately, the car began to get colder, and Lindsey shivered as she buddled herself up in her coat. Outside, she could hear the wind howling, and she looked over to her friend, hoping for comfort, but only saw herself faced with a worried expression.
