One Chance [ON HOLD]

ONE

I don't think I've ever been so cold. The airbags puff up around me, stealing my breath, and my seat belt snaps against my chest. I brace my arms on the steering wheel as my little Volvo crunches against the ice. A window must crack, because icy air whips inside my still-running car. Then the engine cuts, and I wish for once that I had listened to my mum and packed something a little thicker than a North Face fleece-lined windbreaker. She's always telling me that I need a thicker jacket, even if I am just in the car. And now look at me. I zip my jacket, then stuff my phone, earbuds, charger, and wallet into my pockets and zip them tight. At the last second, I add the small paper bag from work, wishing I had brought home a hot chocolate.

The hardest part is getting out; I'm so deep in the snow that I have to climb over the console and go out using the passenger-side backseat door. The driveway looks unfamiliar in the fading light, snowflakes swirling in the corners of my vision. I lick my lips as I examine my car: I'm not getting it out of the snow, still falling fast. My best bet is to walk up the hill and see if they can tow me out.

I'm wearing soft Bearpaw boots tied in the back with laces that always come undone, and I stuff them into the back of the boots, not to be bothered with constantly re-tying them. The driveway is long and winds up the hill the road is cut into; I'm going to be exhausted by the time I reach the top. As I climb, I drift to the side of the driveway so I don't have to walk on the slick pavement, even though the snow is already at least two inches thick and sticking to my shoes. I can feel the cold in my toes and fingertips, and I'm already shivering as I try to shake the snow off of me. It's getting really dark, and of course it's so cloudy the moon can't be seen, so there is virtually no light to see where I'm going. Just in case someone decides to come flying down the driveway and squish me, I pull my phone out and fumble around to open the flashlight. I shiver and push my cold, wet hair out of my face and continue walking, trying to ignore the fifteen-percent battery warning on my screen. The driveway curves back on itself ahead of me; just as I reach the curve and crest a small hill, my phone dies. I register the time right before it shuts down: six forty-five. Almost seven o'clock, and I haven't finished climbing this damn driveway.

Maybe it's not a driveway, I think in desperation. Maybe it's a road to a bunch of houses, and I should have used my phone battery to call home instead of attempting to climb this stupid hill. My dad would have come to get me, I think. My stepmom, anyone. My sister or brother. They all would have come for me if they knew I was in an accident. But no. No one knows what's going on with me right now; the last text I sent my dad was saying that I would be late from all the snow and traffic, and I might just stay the night at Emily's house instead since it was closer to work. No one knows that I'm standing halfway up a hill wearing skinny jeans, wet boots, and a thin jacket over my work t-shirt, still smelling like the coffee and croissants I spend four to six hours around every day. The smell reminds me of the small bag I shoved in my pocket, and I untangle it from the earbuds in my pocket and open it as I keep walking. Out comes a slightly squished croissant; there's still one in the bag. The perks of working at Starbucks. I also pull out a cherry-chocolate energy bar and then push the bag and the bar back into my pocket, taking a bite of my croissant and attempting to keep it shielded from the snow. That attempt fails, and it ends up slightly soggy in my mouth. But food is food, even if it is slightly-cold Starbucks while I'm out hiking in the snow.

By the time I crest the next curve, gasping for breath, my croissant is long-gone and the power bar is nothing more than a crumpled wrapper in my back pocket. But I can see a light up ahead... a house! So this is a driveway, not a road. A house, where I can dry off, warm up, and call home. And perhaps a tow truck while I'm at it. A red pickup with a rusty grey plow attached to the front sits in the driveway, facing out. Another truck, a large brown SUV with a red license plate, sits behind it, windows covered in snow. The pickup has been hastily brushed off, though a light layer still dusts the windshield. Footprints lead from the truck to a front door, dark grey with a holly wreath centered over the doorknob.

I run towards the door, but my legs aren't working. They feel the way they do after I run at a cross country meet; like rubbery Jell-O. I fall to my knees, and since my hands are still in my pockets, I fall hard onto my elbows, my ankle twisting beneath me. I cry out in pain, voice scratchy. I lick my lips and get up again. Pull my hands free of their small amount of warmth. I'm on the porch, stumbling up the stairs... my vision is blurry and I pant from exhaustion. My legs give out on final time and I reach for the doorbell as I fall. I knock from where I sit, leaning against the door frame, breathing heavily.

Voices, sounds... the door creaks open and a blast of hot air sends me into a pleasurable oblivion. Someone screams, and then there's a face in front of me, hands lifting me up. I'm cradled against a warm, strong body, fingers brushing my ice-encrusted hair away from my face.

"Magnolia," a voice whispers, and at the sound of my name I look up into light blue eyes that freeze and melt me at the same time. His face is the last thing I see before I fall asleep in the arms of the one person I thought I'd never touch again. Sighing, I lean closer into his arms and let my heavy eyelids close, letting the fact that I am safe in Devin McKinley's arms set my little boat off into the sea of dreams.

A/N: It's here!! And now you have names- though you already knew them if you read the description! Hope you enjoy chapter one of One Chance; don't forget to vote and comment. This chapter is dedicated to mimiam14 for her amazing comments on the prologue of this stories.

PS: check out 'Wherever You Go' by my friend @jamiekate13! It's really good and I know she'd love any other readers!

Thanks for reading! x Ella