Winter (Snow White, No. 2 Modern Prince Series)

Chapter 8 - Glass Coffin

The return to Seventh Heaven feels bittersweet. I'm looking forward to seeing Pepe, but I don't know what happened with Winter. One moment we are making plans for dinner, and then he stops writing altogether.

Fate brought me to him. On the day I delivered the cupcakes at ENVY, I was stunned by his looks and worried about his circumstances. He was thin and looked miserable. Something told me none of the sweets I delivered ever made his lips. He was hunched over that coffee table, looking at his task with disgust. Winter looked at me on that day and the dark marks under his eyes told me something wasn't fine. He was so young that finding him early in the morning in an office made me suspicious. His careless shrug was all I needed when I asked if he shouldn't be in school. The moment I got in the delivery van, I called social services. Maybe I was wrong but better be safe than sorry.

I went other times to ENVY to deliver cupcakes, but didn't see him again. I could only hope he was safe. When I got to Seventh Heaven and saw him, my heart knew before my brain it was him. He looks happy and healthy. While he played with Pepe, I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. Barely anything is left from the kid of five years ago. He looks hot. I kissed him on his cheek to say goodbye, but the truth is I wanted to kiss his lips.

When I wrote to the pension to check on my dog, I hoped he would answer. I was surprised when I received his answer from a personal email. Our correspondence started in a friendly way laced with flirting. My heart flipped when he invited me for dinner. I'm hoping one date turns into more. But then he stopped writing. Maybe his connection is down or he is too busy. I hope...

The wooden sign of Seventh Heaven receives me and I drive on the muddy path towards the pretty house that serves as a reception. The clouds have turned dark. I hope they let me drive to the kennels to get my dog before the sky opens. I enter the reception and find a woman at the counter. She stares at the wall and has a pen in her hand. Her face shows signs of distress and exhaustion. A big contrast with the colorful necklaces that adorn her.

"Good afternoon," I say. The woman startles and gives me a smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

"Hello! How can I help you?"

"I'm here to pick my dog. His name is Pepe,"

The woman stares at me with her mouth open. She shakes her head and looks at the system. "Yeah, sure. He's had fun with his doggie friends. And your name is?"

"Zoe. I was also wondering if Winter is around,"

Her eyes close and I fear she will cry.

"Delia, I'm leaving. I will try to convince Daisy to come home. She needs to sleep," a woman coming from a side door says.

"Dora, this is Zoe," the woman called Delia says.

Dora let out a deep breath.

"What is going on?" I ask. 

"Winter is in the hospital," Dora begins. "I'm on my way there,"

"Hospital? What happened to him?" my heart races.

"Do you want to come? I can tell you all in the car,"

I make my mind in a second and join her. Dora tells me that Winter got poisoned with arsenic and is not doing well.

"Who did that to him?"

"We are not sure, but we have a good idea. Until we have proof, we can't point fingers. Our darling Winter is in danger. I hope whoever did this gets punished,"

We arrive at the hospital and I feel scared at what I will find. Dora walks faster to a woman surrounded by nurses. The woman sobs and looks as if she will pass out at any moment.

"Daisy, what is going on?"

"The doctor came by," Daisy says between sniffles. "His heart is too weak. We need to get the rest here and take a decision,"

Dora looks shocked as she sits next to her. 

"Can I see him?" I dare to say. Both women look at me.

"This is Zoe," Dora says.

"He loves you," Daisy says. "He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he fell in love with you. He was daydreaming often and I would tease him. Telling him he was thinking of you. He would blush. I'll probably never see my boy blush again," she breaks into sobs.

Dora hugs her and motions for me to enter the department. I hesitate at the double doors, but go ahead. All patients are separated by glass walls. I look at the names on the rooms until I find one that says Winter Noble.

I've never seen so much medical equipment in my life like the one surrounding him. Even in this terrible state he still looks beautiful. I hold his hand as I come closer. This is so difficult to believe. The same man who almost rolled on the floor while playing with my dog is laying here wearing a cream gown and connected to wires, tubes and hoses.

My chest tightens. I also fell in love with him. I tried to convince myself he was only a crush, but once again, my heart knew before my brain he was the one.

"Don't leave me Winter. Not when I have found you," I whisper.

I grab a small stool and sit next to him. I want to remember every tiny detail about his face. His black hair falls over his forehead. His right eyebrow looks wilder than the left. His jaw is strong and dark stubble covers it. The room darkens and the hard rain against the window muffles my sniffles. He can't die.

My back aches. I stand up and look at my watch, a few hours have passed. The door opens and a group of ladies enter, followed by a doctor and a nurse. Their somber faces say it all. They come to say goodbye to Winter.

"No, please," I beg.

"He won't wake up. We arrived too late," one woman says.

Each of them take a moment to say goodbye. Some of them tell him how happy they are to have known him. One of them tells him he will see his parents soon. Daisy hugs Winter's body and tells him how much she loves him. I feel a hole in my chest when Dora nods at the doctor. The man moves to one machine and switches it to another stand. It goes still. The nurse removes the tube between Winter's lips. 

The women comfort each other as the man of my dreams leaves us. I move to the bed and whisper in his ear.

"I love you Winter,"

I press my lips to his cold ones. Then his eyes go wide open and he gasps.