Broken Beginnings

Chapter two

Chapter two- A Frozen Home
The driveway was the same way I had last seen it. In fact the whole house was.

The window was shattered, vines that has died hanging out of the window. Snow coated the ground and there were skid marks from Ashereds jeep.

Xavier exited the car first and then Claire.

She stared at the window and the snow that had come into the house.

It must have looked very different to her. She had been gone for a few years before this all occurred.

Ashered walked round to my side and offered me a hand.

I stared at it for a long moment and then pulled myself out of the car.

The air snapped at me and I held my arms close to me.

I walked into the home and through the door that Claire had left open.

My sister stood in front of the fridge looking at the family photos that hung up. There was still one of her.

She swallowed and tightened her jaw.

"It's strange being here." She said looking at me. Ashereds feet creaked as he walked beside me and shut the door.
He smiled shortly before going off to find Xavier.
"Does he make you happy?" She asked.
I looked at my sister, she chewed her lip anxiously.

I began to walk up the stairs and she followed me.

I turned to make sure she was still there before I spoke. "Yes."

She nodded absentmindedly.
"Do you like Xavier? What's going on between you two?"

Claire's cheeks flushed a pomegranate shade.

I looked at the window that was thrown open, dust that littered my room, my unmade bed, the sheets sprawled on the floor.

I blinked rapidly trying to dry my eyes.

Claire pretended to not notice. "He's my special."
My eyes widened and my attention snapped to her. "Really?"
Claire gnawed at her nails, pacing the room.
"But he loves someone else."
I gasped at her.
"Who?"
Claire crinkled her eyebrows. "A dead woman, Nova."
"He loved her." I corrected. It didn't surprise me that him and Nova had a thing.

My heart clenched as my mind drifted to Fallon. In my own way I did love him, maybe not the same as Ashered but I cared so deeply. He had saved me and the life inside me.
I sidetracked from the conversation as my chest spilt in pain. I pressed my palm to stop it.

Claire's voice sounded bringing me back. "I-just why did I get a special?"
I blinked at her, my world reforming. "Because you deserve happiness." Claire looked at me for a long moment and I walked to the window gulping in air.
"Your room is the same if you would like to see it." I offered.
Claire didn't say anything but I heard her feet reseed into the hallway.

I closed my eyes, my lip quivering as I tried to contain my emotions.

The wind slivered across my cheeks, striking me with its coolness.
I was home.

I shook my head to myself. It didn't feel like home. It felt so impossibly the opposite.

I was alone.

My parents had both died at the hands of men who wanted to kill me.

I tightened my hand on the fabric of my shirt.

I could still see Gale and Amy. I could picture Hunters heart being ripped out of his chest and Fallon.

I could admit he hadn't always gone about things properly with the both of us but he was something to me, not my soulmate but someone who loved me and I did love him. Simply in a different way.

I gasped, startled as a hand ran over my shoulder. I relaxed as sparks flitted through me. I leaned into his touch.
Ashered brushed back my hair and looked at the trees coated in snow.

"I'm sorry if taking you here was a bad idea."

I looked up at him and gave him a small smile. His eyes dilated focusing on the tears he hadn't seen.

He took the pads of his thumbs and wiped them away.

They continued to slip down my cheeks anyways.

"I miss them." I said in response. My voice cracked as I spoke.
"I just miss all of them so much." I whispered. "But I'm happy too see my home again."

Ashered nodded and brushed his fingers through my hair as I spoke.
Ashered pulled me into his chest and I sniffled into his shirt.
I let the sound of his heart beat calm me before he pulled away to look at me.

"I know you cared about him." 
I opened my mouth to say something in response but no words came out. What he said was true.

Ashered smiled softly. "I'm not mad, I'm grateful."

I furrowed my eyebrows at him and his face turned grave. "His love for you, kept you alive and brought me back so that I could be with you. I will always be thankful for him."

Ashered hand slid to my abdomen at his last statement, his eyes swirling with emotions.

I didn't stop the tears as I reached up to him and kissed his mouth.

I could taste my salty tears and when I pulled away I saw the glisten in his eyes that he quickly blinked away.

By the time the sky grew dark, Gale and Alaric appeared. The men boarded the windows and lit the fireplace as the snow came down harsher.

The plan had been to find a hotel but we ended up snowed in.
Gale and Alaric had barely made it there.

It was a sight to see all of us huddled in the living room.

We had brought down all of the blankets and pillows, making pallets on the floor.
I had hung a pot of soup over the fire, thankful for the old embellishments my mother had kept in the home.

A couple of cans of soup thrown into a pot would do us fine, plus Gale brought bread and wine.

I didn't touch the wine but the bread I tore into.

I took small bites of my food as I looked at my friends. Gale sat in between Alaric's legs, as she chewed, the bite on her neck became more apparent, the pink of it, burning bright against her tan skin.

She caught me looking and moved her hair to cover it, looking away from me. I turned away shamefully.

Claire picked at her bread, not eating much. She watched as Xavier made faces at the soup.

She smiled slightly and I turned to Ashered. His soup was cold, sitting beside him untouched. His eyes were focused on the burning embers.

I could see his mind turning and I wondered what he was thinking of but I didn't have time to ask as he quickly got up and disappeared.