The Spirit Guardians Book 4: Liberated

Chapter 24

Cassie had returned to the cabin before Conny realized it. Her short excursion to her family's house to Christmas had ended, and he was reminded of how soon he would be returning to the military. He was beginning to feel saddened as he left his family here behind, but he was getting antsy to finally fight and make a difference, and perhaps see a pair of brown eyes.

Conny ran his fingers over the silky gray scarf on his desk. He hadn't worn it out of fear someone would question where he had gotten it, so it had been sitting in his room on his desk his entire trip home. Occasionally he would run his fingers across it, admiring the warmth of it. Shamefully, he admitted to sniffing it once or twice, just to see if he could catch Carly's scent.

"Hey, Conny!" came a shout outside his door, followed by rapid pounding.

Conny swung the door open, strangely finding Irene standing there.

"Do you have extra toothpaste I can borrow?" she asked.

"I think there's some extra in one of the cabinet drawers," Conny stated.

"Got it. Thanks," she said, spinning around and heading off to the bathroom.

That was strange, Conny thought. It felt like he had been transported to the past, when they'd all been living together in the cabin of their childhoods, when Irene hadn't betrayed them. How did asking for some extra toothpaste become a normal conversation between him and Irene again? She had been acting more like herself, but Conny doubted that cabin dynamic would ever return, especially when it consisted of many more people now.

He glanced around, wondering how he should go on with his day. With only a few days left of his holiday break, he felt as if he needed to take advantage of every moment, especially when the next time he would meet with everyone, it would be on the battlefield. Conny hated to sound grim, but he wasn't sure when he would have free time like this again or who he would get to share it with.

Conny shrugged his shoulders and headed downstairs, finding Lillian sitting on the couch while reading a book by the fire. Francesco was napping nearby on a couch, as he normally did these days.

"Hey, do you want to go out in the snow?" Conny asked Lillian.

She glanced up from the book, her eyes lighting up. Slowly, she turned behind her, inspecting the weather no doubt, before she nodded her head rapidly.

"Give me a second to get something warmer on," Lillian said, setting her book down and gently touching his arm as she walked past him. It had been a while since Conny had spent time with Lillian. They used to be frequent companions when they were younger, and Conny always considered her an older sister, of sorts.

He put on a large coat and some snow gear himself as he prepared to venture out into the cold. His hands reached for the scarf. Conny was about to pull away, but he grasped onto it. Hadn't Carly given it to him to keep him from the cold? Why let it lie around in his room all day?

Lillian was waiting by the door to the back porch. She happily opened it and stepped outside, Conny following behind her. He glanced around at the powdery snow, admiring how the sun made it sparkle.

"I've barely come out here at all these past few months," Lillian admitted, leaning against the icy porch ledge.

Conny joined her, staring out at the backyard that was coated in feet of snow.

"I feel like I deal with the snow too much when I train," Conny joked.

"Ugh, I bet. Good for you though. Are you liking it a lot, Conny?" Lillian asked. "I know Marc was a little lenient on letting you go, but I thought it would be good for you."