A blizzard the night before Christmas Eve.

A handsome stranger on the side of the road in need of a ride.

A lonely girl with nowhere to go.

It’s sounds like the beginning of one of those Hallmark movies I used to watch over the holidays with my mom. Except those movies always have a happy ending, and mine… probably won’t. My storybook life collapsed five years ago, and now, I’m just trying to stay one step ahead of my past.

It’s exhausting. And lonely.

I’m sick of running. 

I’m sick of hiding.

So when my grateful passenger offers me a quaint place to wait out the storm and the chance to experience a real Christmas again, I accept. Because who am I to turn down a gift from fate?