In The Bleak Midwinter | T Shelby

THIRTY SEVEN - HOME

Kaia Gold had become an empty shell of her former self. Some would say that the girl had always been cold, hostile and echoed inside, but those that knew her would say differently. The fire that burned inside her with a temper strong enough to win any war, fierce eyes and a tongue sharper than the blade in any men's caps, had vanished.

She sat quietly at her brother's bedside in the hospital, day and night while he slowly recovered. Aberama was closer to a full recovery than his son, being able to walk again with the help of a cane. He was being kept in hospital for another week before being discharged, but they had no news on when Bonnie would be able to leave.

The only son of Aberama Gold had suffered a fractured skull and partial bleed to the brain, along with too many cuts and bruises to count, including cracked ribs and a broken wrist. It was a miracle the boy was still breathing, doctors expressing their amazement that he hadn't died upon impact of the wound to the head.

Even though her brother and father had both proven their will to fight, Kaia was finding it harder every day, even if she was the only member of their family not to be hospitalised.

Her heart felt like it had been shattered, and then every single piece was slowly slicing away at her insides, draining her soul in the darkest hours of the night when she was all alone with nothing but the looming presence of the moon glowing through the hospital window to accompany her.

Kaia thrived off her confidence, the way men would fear her and how she'd never let anything get in her way. She wasn't afraid of anything in life, a heart and soul made of stone protected her. Though now, whenever she caught sight of her reflection in a mirror or window, she didn't recognise herself. The strong, independent woman she loved to embody every day had gone, and all that was left was the shell of a woman who'd let her guard down for a man who didn't deserve her.

It was a dark evening at the end of January when Kaia finally decided she needed to sleep in a proper bed instead of the chair beside Bonnie. The three of them had been in the hospital for just over three weeks, the only time Kaia had been outside was to collect changes of clothes that Beth or Eliza brought for her. Her friends knew what had happened, at least a revised version of events, anyway. Kaia wasn't ready to recall what had happened to her family just yet, but news spread fast in a place like Small Heath.

She said goodbye to Bonnie who over the past week was managing to hold proper conversations for a short while and even eat a little. It was encouraging, but it was still incredibly painful for Kaia to see her brother like that.

The sun had set but the air was noticeably milder than it had been when she first stepped foot in the hospital. All the snow had melted now, the brown cobblestones beneath her feet reminded her of a time happier than the present, before the winter had dawned.

"Kaia? Is that you?"

"Hi, John." Kaia smiled warmly at John Shelby as he quickly looked both ways before jogging across the road to catch up with her.

"How are you? How are the boys?"

She nodded, her hands stuffed deep into the pockets of her coat, "They're good, getting stronger every day, thank you again for everything."

John blushed and shrugged his shoulders, "Don't mention it, you're like family to us. Where are you heading, anyway?"

"Back home."

"Home?" John paused, stopping in his tracks with one eyebrow raised.

Kaia stopped walking too, intrigued by his inquisitiveness, "Yes, home."

"D-did nobody tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Kaia said, the broken pieces of her heart sinking deeper down into her chest.