When Winter Comes

Chapter 10: Winter Feels Empty

IGNORE ALL ERRORS 

Chapter 10: Winter Feels Empty

Nobody expected it to happen,

But it did.

It happened.

I happened. 

- Winter Ozlin's Diary 

. . . 

Austin wouldn't talk to me for a week after our fight in the lounge. Taylor snickered at me whenever Austin ignored me in the cafeteria and the hallway and the lounge. It was horrendous how mad he actually was, and I understood. For a whole year, I felt that way because he ignored me, but really it was me. I left and didn't come back. I didn't blink at the fact that I was gone. A year was how long I pitied myself. Poor orphan, but that wasn't true. Many people cared about me, I just didn't see it until now. The only person who didn't care was Carl, and of course that hurt. But realizing I had Austin and Marie, it didn't hurt as much. 

"Are you okay?" Penny asked as we sat in the library. Her huge eyes blinked at me. In the past, I used to make fun of how big her eyes. Now, I found them quite pretty. Big and blue. 

I shrugged and looked up from my journal. For her, I put on a smile. "I'll live." 

"You know you can talk to me," Penny said. "That's what friends do." 

Sighing, I nodded. I knew she was right. Even if it was to her, I should have probably talked to someone. It'd been a while since I'd done that. 

"Did you know I have a brother?" I asked her and closed my journal. 

Penny smiled and shook her head fast. "I had no idea!" She said loudly. Quickly, she looked around to make sure the librarian wasn't going to punish her. "What's his name?" 

Laughing at her excitement, I smiled. "Carl."

"Like from The Walking Dead!" Her face lit up at the mention from the show. To me, I didn't understand the excitement. The show was gross with all the blood and killing. Death was something I was trying to hide from nowadays, not watch a show that was built around it. Penny must have caught on to the feeling the show gave me. "Do you not like that show?" She gaped, not seeming to understand my disliking. 

"Not so much. A show about death, I can pass on that." I smiled, not wanting to hurt her feelings because clearly she loved the show, which I actually found hard to believe. Penny didn't look like a zombie lover, but then again, what did a zombie lover look like?

"That's okay." She smiled. "I get it." Her elbows rested on the table. "Well then, tell me about Carl." 

"He's a mess," I admitted. "He loves all this," I said and gestured to the library. 

"Books?" 

"Money." 

Penny sighed. "I see, and you don't?" 

I snorted. "Not one bit. It ruins lives. For so many years, I've been a bitch. I want nothing more than to ditch my money that I just got."