A Crack in the Ice

Chapter 12

We ended up staying in the Chicago until the fifth, and started to make our way to Sarah's home, which she refused to sell, mainly for reasons like this. It took two days to get there, though the drive was a bit shorter than it was from New York City.

"Man, it's been at least a year since I've been down this road, yet I remember it like the back of my hand," Sarah said as she turned on a road labeled 'Maryland 32 North'.
"So, how far are we?" I asked as we stopped at a traffic light near a fire station, or something of the likes.
"Not far at all," Sarah said with a sigh. "It's pretty much a straight shot from here. We should get there around seven or so."
I nodded. "Alright."

Just as Sarah had predicted, we pulled into her driveway at just about seven. Granted, it was already dark outside, but that didn't really matter. I mean, my body kinda thought it was six, as Maryland is an hour ahead of Chicago, at least in terms of timezones.
"Welcome to my lovely home," Sarah said as she climbed out of the car.
"I love it already," I said with a smile as I followed her.
As we got the suitcases out of the trunk, I took a look around the yard, noticing that the grass was unusually short. "Hey, what's up with your grass? Is it fake or something?"
Sarah shook her head. "Nope. Believe it or not, it's been cut, it's usually Lilith who does it. I mean, she does live in Baltimore with her brother, but that's normally during the figure skating season. On the off-season, usually between mid-January and June or so, she stays here.  However, when the figure skating season rolls around, one of our neighbors will take care of everything."
"Ah. I guess that makes sense," I said as I closed the trunk of the car, following Sarah to the front door.
Sarah then put her key in the door, and unlocked it. "I wonder where Moon is," she mumbled as she walked in.
"Moon is your cat, right?" I asked as I closed the door.
Sarah nodded. "Yeah. She's an indoor cat. Our neighbor takes care of her when we're out. I did text her though, informing her that we'd be here until the ninth."
"Got it," I said with a nod.

I then jumped as I felt something brush against my leg. "What the...?" I mumbled as I looked down, only to see an all black cat rubbing up against my leg.
"There you are, Moon!" Sarah said with a smile as she picked the cat up.
"So this is Moon? She's so cute," I said before scratching her head. "And soft too," I added on.
"Yeah. Although, she's much more playful than the normal female cat. But that's what I love about her," said Sarah. She then set Moon down, and Moon then ran into the basement, as the door was open.
"She's so cute," I mumbled.
"Hm? Are you saying you like my cat more than me?" Sarah asked in a somewhat teasing manner.
I sighed. "Come on Sarah...you know exactly what I meant by that."
"Whatever," she said with a smirk before pulling me in for a kiss.
I kissed back, and sighed as I broke away from her. "Anyways, why don't we get settled in and unpack?"
Sarah nodded. "Sounds like a plan. If you separate your clean clothes from your dirty ones, I can do a bit of laundry."
I nodded. "Right. Oh, while I have it in mind, where's the room we'll be staying in?" I asked as I grabbed my dirty clothes bag from my suitcase.
"When you go upstairs, there'll be a room immediately to your left. That's the master bedroom. I mean, unless you want to sleep in one of the guest rooms, I suggest you put your stuff there," she said with a slight snicker.
I ignored her really bad joke, and nodded. "Alright. I'll go and take my stuff up, then."
"Sounds like a plan," she said as she began to sort through the laundry. "Oh, can you also check around the room to make sure there's nothing wrong with it or anything?"
"Of course," I said before heading upstairs.

===

It took me a bit to figure out how I liked everything, but I eventually got all my clothes sorted out and put away. While I was doing so, Moon had come up into the room, and had darted under the bed.
I grabbed the bag of treats that was on the dresser, and shook it as I climbed onto the bed.
At first, I got no response, so I then thew a treat to the ground, and a black paw darted out from under the bed, taking the treat back with it.
I knew I had Moon hooked. I then began to shake the bag again, but Moon didn't come out.
Then I figured she was the kind of cat that liked to hide and get treats. I then got off the bed and got on my hands and knees, and peered under the bed.
Sure enough, I had a pair of yellow eyes looking at me, though Moon's head was...elevated, and I realized she was resting it on a box. I then threw a treat behind me, and Moon darted after it, and I took the chance to grab the box, and hopped back on the bed. The box was a bit small, being about the size of piece of paper.
"Hey! Sarah! Can you come up here?" I yelled.
"Yeah! I'll be up in a minute! I'm going to throw a load of laundry in the washer real quick!" she called back.
"Got it!"
I really wanted to open the box, but I didn't want to, as I didn't want to open it if it was something I wasn't meant to see, though I don't know what that would even be.

A few minutes later, she came up, and sat next to me on the bed. "What's wrong?"
"Well, I found this box," I said as I handed it to her.
As soon as she got the chance to take a good look at it, she went into a slight blush. "O-oh...this is Lilith's. She's gonna need it for Skate Canada."
"...what is it?" I asked, suspicious.
"Her extra blades. She always carries a pair with her. I'm going to the post office to send it off. I'll be back in twenty."
Then, without another word, she left the room, clutching the box in her arms.

I sighed as I flopped back on the bed. I knew there was something Sarah was hiding. Yeah, it isn't uncommon for figure skaters to carry extra blades, but that means a whole separate pair of skates. That box wasn't big enough to hold something of that size. The only question was what. What is she hiding from me? I mean, she obviously realized what it was, and blushed when she did. But...why did she blush?
Many thoughts raced through my mind, but none of them seemed plausible. There was no way that she did drugs, it was unlikely that they were nudes or something, and even the chance of there being nothing seemed unlikely, as the box seemed light.
It was killing me. I needed to figure out what was in that box.
At this point, I guess only time will tell.