Missing Pieces

24

Seattle, Washington.
December 18th.
One week earlier.

The weekend flew by, and before I knew it, the following week arrived.

I'd gotten a lot of rest from our day two break considering I'd done nothing but stay at home, yet I still went into each day feeling drained of all my energy. I was starting to think that my exhaustion had more to do with all the burdens on my mind rather than the amount of sleep I got.

The school day was uneventful and finished rather quickly. It wasn't long before I found myself sitting on the same bench outside as I waited on someone to pick me up. Since Jude was still at home because of his injuries and would be for a while, I had to rely on Soren or Ezra to take me home. I would've asked Sage, but she had dance practice after school most days so she wasn't available.

When I felt like a little too much time had passed, I looked up from my phone and scanned the parking lot, irritation eating at me as I realized my brother still hadn't arrived. My red fingers moved slowly over my cold screen as I typed a message to them, slipping my phone into the pocket of my jacket along with my numbing hands. A shiver crawled down my body as I curled into myself, watching as my breath appeared like smoke in front of me.

Since it was starting to approach the end of December, the weather had taken a turn for the worst. These days, I often woke up to the sight of snow blanketing the trees that bordered our backyard. At first, I'd been excited to see the change but it was starting to get old, especially at times like this. I supposed I could've sat inside the school, but there were less people out here and I liked it better that way.

Right as I began to feel my cheeks turning numb, my phone buzzed. With frozen fingers, I reached for it and quickly read the message Ezra had sent.

'Something came up with work, won't be able to make it. Can you take the bus home?'

A scoff escaped my lips as I angrily tucked my phone back into my jacket's pocket and stood up, throwing my backpack over my shoulder as I began marching towards the bus stop. I had just reached it when I felt my phone buzz again, except this time, it was a phone call.

Taking it out, I froze as I saw Kieran's name flashing on the screen. I hadn't spoken to him ever since the day we'd visited that house. Swallowing past my hesitation, I brought the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey." I heard the smile in his voice. "You busy right now?"

I sighed as I glanced around. "Not really," I murmured and paused. "I'm waiting to go home."

"What? Didn't school end half an hour ago for you?" He asked, the confusion audible in his husky voice.

"Yeah, but my rides ditched me," I muttered. "I'm waiting for the bus."

"Jesus, Aspen," Kieran rumbled. "In this weather? Go back inside and I'll come get you."

I declined immediately. "No, you live far. It's okay, I'm fine with waiting."

"Aspen, go inside." His tone had hardened. I heard an engine start in the background. "I'm already on my way."

"No—" I started to protest, but he cut me off.

"Too late," Kieran said and hung up before I had the chance to protest. I stared at my blank screen for a few moments before I released a deep breath and headed back towards the high school.

Hardly fifteen minutes had passed before Kieran's car pulled up in front of the main entrance. I had to hold myself back from running to his car. When I finally got inside, I couldn't help the breath of relief that escaped my lips at the instant heat I was greeted with.