Frost Bite

Chapter 4

Josie

For hours I watch Ryan. I watch his chest rise and fall. Jack doesn't bother me, doesn't say a word. The closest he comes to interacting with me is when he brings me more food so I don't have to leave.

He is surprisingly thoughtful.

And I know I should think he's crazy and that I shouldn't believe him but I listen to Ryan's chest clear up and I see his color return and his fever go down and his chest rises a little bit higher with each breath.

And I know that whatever Jack may be, he isn't a liar. And I shouldn't trust him, but I do. He's saved us more than once when he didn't have to.

Once I'm sure that Ryan will be all right I leave and go find Jack. His bedroom is as large and grand as the rest of the house – everything about it sleek angles and blue and masculine. Like Jack.

He's lying on top of his bed, eyes closed but they open the instant I reach the foot of the bed.

"I told you he'd live."

My stomach twists at the sight of those disturbingly blue eyes. "Thank you. For saving his life. You didn't have to but you did."

He shrugs. "I didn't want to have to deal with the body."

I smile because he could have left us out in the cold and there wouldn't have been any need for him to deal with our bodies. He could have left us to the storm.

"Right, well, thanks anyway." I sit down on the mattress and look him up and down. He's tall, somewhere above six-foot. And I've never seen anyone with eyes that blue or hair that black – he's all the colors of the night.

"You have questions."

I nod.

"Fire away, Josephine."

"You can call me Josie."

He cocks an eyebrow. "Josie?" But it's not judgmental — simply curious.

"It's what my mom called me," I say softly.

An understanding light enters his eyes. He nods. "Okay, Josie."

And well, there's not really a delicate way to put this, or if there is I have no clue what it is. "So you're Jack Frost?"
 He smirks and it's meant to be infuriating but somehow it's not. "Now you believe me?"
 "Well Ryan's not dead." I lean forward. "So that means your blood did something to help him. You cut your palm open and there's no cut, not even a scar. You're not human. You're something else. Unless you're a science experiment. But you don't seem like you grew up in a lab poked and prodded."

His smirk turns darker, more feral. "You aren't scared? What if I'm a vampire?" he asks baring his teeth at me.

I roll my eyes. "If you wanted to hurt us you would have. And you didn't have to pick us up out of snow, but you did it anyway."

He smiles. "You know that as soon as Ryan's better I'm kicking you out?"
 I shrug. "I'm not surprised. This house is big, not full. There's evidence of one person living here. You."

He raises an eyebrow. "How do you figure that, Josie?"
 "You have one computer. Very few dishes. No mess, no clutter, no dust. No finger prints on the windows or impressions on couch cushions. Everything is too...neat for there to be anyone but you here."
 He laughs. "You're an observant little thing."

I stare at him, and even though we could talk about anything else, there's really only one subject that seems worthwhile. "How are you Jack Frost? He's like... a little kid story."