Winterberg Brain Rot

A cat for Christmas

Rose smiled as she watched the snowfall, piling on the ground to make a blanket of snow. She giggled and looked back at the house. The sound of Christmas music played throughout the house. Her Mama and Uncle Chris were putting up decorations, humming along to the jolly tunes. Her papa and daddy were out doing something. They wouldn't tell her what it was, though. They will be back soon. They always come back!

"Rosemary darling, do me a favor and hang those ornaments over on the tree," Mia said, stringing up the garland. Rose hummed in acknowledgment and ran over to the table. She grabbed a hook and an ornament to place on the tree.

"Rosey! Would you like to place the star on top?" Chris asked, holding up the glittering shape. Rose looked up at him and gasped in delight. She nodded quickly and ran over to the man.

"Alright, here we go." He grunted, lifting the little girl up. Rose giggled and quickly placed the star on the tree. Chris placed the girl down swiftly. He ruffled her hair and smiled. Rose had a big grin on her face and thanked him before running away to the couch.

"Shouldn't Ethan and Karl be here by now," Mia said quietly to Chris, making sure Rose didn't overhear. She stood next to him so he could hear her quiet whisper. The man shrugged and looked out the window as if expecting to see the car pull up any second now.

"I'm sure they're fine. They are two tough cookies after all." And he was sure he was right. Rose and the two other men were off to get a purebred cat, which Rose had wanted for a while. The owner of the cat was going to be out of the country for the holidays, so they had to get them now. Chris said he would go because the cat would have to stay with him until Christmas day, but Ethan had insisted. As much as Ethan loved his family, he wanted to get some much-needed alone time with Karl.

They had both been working really hard to be able to have some extra time off and some extra cash to spend. They weren't able to grab a few moments of peace for just the two of them. Chris and Mia had stayed at their house to watch Rose and decorate the house more, because apparently what they had up wasn't enough. Ethan rolled his eyes at the statement and let Mia and Chris do what they wanted. He may be stubborn, but so were they. It was easier to let them do what they wanted than to fight over something pointless. Just as long as none of them were in Karl's basement, then they would be alright. Mia knew the why, but to Chris, Ethan, and Rose, it was a secret.

Mia was there to help him with measurements and obtain the material for them. Two black metal rings sat in a drawer by his desk. He worked on them all day, and the metal itself was rare enough as is. Mia convinced him to ask the question when the little Christmas party they were going to have ended and Rose went to bed.

Mia was a little salty about Karl at first. The divorce between Ethan and her was mutual, and they had split custody over Rose, but Mia still had feelings for the blond at the time. Although, after she saw how happy the homeless man made Ethan, she finally let go and moved on. She even helped them hook up at times. So Ethan and Mia stayed friends, and they both got to see Rose whenever they could, so it wasn't all bad. The two were good for each other, and she didn't want to take that away. Rose was happy. Ethan was happy. She could live with that.

*meanwhile*

The ringing in Ethan's ear held to a stop as he slowly opened his eyes. He jerked when he noticed that he was looking downwards. He looked around frantically to check his surroundings. The car was dangling off the cliff, close to falling off and plummeting to the ground.

"K-Karl. Karl, wake up." He said desperately. Worry flooded him as he tried to rethink what happened. How did they end up like that?

They were driving to pick up the cat. The seller lived in the mountains. Ethan offered to get it with Karl so they could have their own time. Then a car came, but they were swerving. In a state of panic, Ethan tried to maneuver away from them, but the car crashed into them, making them swerve to the side and to the cliff. Yeah, That sounds about right.