Conspicuous Secrets

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I posted chapters 26-27 so make sure you read them in order!!

We all stood at the edge of the steep hill behind the large hotel we were staying in. The long slope ended with a flat deserted bottom, but a few trees and rocks dotted the hill until it reached the bottom. We had just rented six sleds and planned on going to a place on the end of */town specifically for sledding, but Jaxon had just spotted this giant hill behind the hotel and stopped us. "I think this is going to be awesome!" he grinned widely.

"I disagree," Marla spoke up

Holden nodded. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"Are you trying to get us killed?" Aria exclaimed.

"There is a fine line between genius and crazy," I added.

My brother shrugged and stared down the hill in admiration. "And I like to use that line as a jump rope."

I looked at Kason, wanting to know his opinion, but he just looked at me and chuckled, shaking his head at my brother. I sighed, realizing how excited my brother was. "Alright, then. Who's going first?"

Aria shook her head, determined to not sled down the slope. "This looks dangerous."

"Yeah, what if we hit a tree or rock on the way down?" Marla questioned.

Jaxon shrugged. "We won't. Not if we go down at the right spot."

"Then it's settled," Kason said, placing his sled down in the snow, preparing to go down. "Jaxon, do you want to go first? It was your idea, to begin with."

I watched my brother nod. "Yeah, I'll go." He set down his sled and sat down on it, but when it came time for him to push himself off the top, he hesitated and stared down the slope.

We waited for a long moment, but he didn't move a muscle. "Do you want me to go first?" Kason asked after a while.

Jaxon immediately nodded and moved off his sled. "Yeah, you better go first."

Chuckling, Kason pushed himself forward so he sat on the very edge of the hill. "Ready?" It was a long way down.

"Go," Holden said. And he did.

We all held our breath as we watched him speed down through the snow. He was about halfway down when suddenly, he sped into a tree and flew into the air. All five of us gasped. It looked bad from our point of view. He separated from his sled and hit the snow with a loud thump. He rolled a little further down before he stopped. And once he stopped rolling, he didn't move.

"Kason!" I screamed. Instantly, I took off running down the steep hill, not letting it slow me down when I slipped and fell in the deep snow. I continued on, even after I was dusted with snow from head to toe. The only thing on my mind was him.

I heard the others chasing me down the hill, all of them just as eager to get to Kason at the bottom of the hill. Because of my head start, I reached Kason first. I fell to my knees beside him. His face was pink and his closed eyelids were dusted with snow. Using my thumbs, I wiped the snowflakes from his face. "Kason," I shook him, but he didn't respond. "Kason!"

Holden and Jaxon fell down to their knees on the other side of his body, while Marla and Aria, stood behind them with their hands over their mouths, looking afraid to step any closer.

I frantically shook him again, but he didn't respond. I hardly noticed the tears rolling down my cheeks. "Kason!" Placing my fingers on his neck, I looked for a pulse. After a moment, I found it, but he still wasn't responding when I shouted his name. "Kason! Come on, wake up!"

Just as I was about to order Holden and Jaxon to start carrying him back up the hill so we could get help, I was met with the stare of his deep-blue eyes. And then...he started laughing. The boy who I thought had gotten seriously hurt, was laughing in my face. The five of us stared at him in shock as his laugh filled the silence of the freezing air. My tears stopped, but my face was burning from the cold, where my tears had soaked my bare cheeks. "You guys," he managed to speak in between his laughs. "...that...was so...funny..."

I slapped him in the chest as he rolled around in the snow from laughter. "You scared me to death!" I yelled. Nonetheless, his laughs didn't stop. Growling with anger, I stood and stalked away from him, managing to start my way back up the hill.

"Come on!" Kason called behind me, still laughing. "Lydia!" I ignored him and continued on my way. "Lydia, come back!" I heard his voice getting closer, informing me that he was chasing after me, but I started climbing my way back up the hill even faster. I had only made it twenty feet up the hill, when something cold smashed into the back of my head, making me freeze in place. Laughter, once again, sounded from behind me. I turned around and saw them all smiling, but Kason was the guilty one. He was standing at the bottom of the hill, bent over with his hands on his knees, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

Crouching down, I picked up a handful of snow and molded it into a ball. I chucked it in his direction. It missed, but landed near his feet and caught his attention. Looking up at me, I froze in his stare as he took my breath away. Words couldn't describe how relieved I was that he wasn't hurt. His smile seemed to brighten and I continued to get lost in his eyes; I couldn't help it—they were absolutely hypnotizing. I think we would have stood there forever if it wasn't for Holden throwing a snowball at Kason, making him turn around and throw one back.

In seconds, I was standing beside a snowball war-zone. Spheres of snow were flying in all directions and soon it became impossible to figure out which ones were coming from who. Racing back down the hill, I joined the field of laughter, suddenly feeling calmed down after seeing Kason with a bright smile on his face.

At one point, I caught Kason with his back turned and didn't even think about what I was doing when I tackled him from behind. We both fell to the ground and somehow, I ended up straddling him. We both froze for the second time in a short fifteen minutes. His bright smile disappeared into a content line and his eyes softened as they stared into mine with an emotion I didn't recognize. I noticed his eyes drift down to my lips before meeting my eyes again. I had no idea what to do. The chaos around us disappeared. I even forgot about how cold my face was, as it was still damp with my shed tears. Very slowly, he took off one of his gloves and reached up, before wiping my cheeks with his thumb. I couldn't breathe.

Just then, he cupped my cheek with his hand, warming up the skin. I didn't think about what I did next. Reaching down beside me, I grabbed a handful of snow and smacked it on his face. Yes, I really did. Immediately, I burst laughing and fell off him from my lack of balance. I landed in the snow beside him and couldn't contain myself. In between laughs, I rolled over and faced him. He wiped the snow off his face with his glove-free hand and afterward, he smiled at me with an intense happiness I had never seen from him before. It was a look I hadn't even seen him give his sister, mother or father. It was like it was reserved for me. With him looking at me the way he was and that bright smile on his face, I was filled with joy. I forgot about all the negatives in my life and all the danger. The only thing on my mind was the boy in front of me. He laughed, still wiping the snow off his face, making me grin wider than I had ever before.

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What are your opinions so far on Kason and Lydia??

Hopefully, there will be another chapter or two posted next Friday!

~Emily