𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒾𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝓁 // BL

𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘯𝘰𝘸 || 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦. (𝘟𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝)

"You don't remember what happened to Aunt Susan?"

Kace's eyes look tired and unreadable as he rested his hand gently on my arm. I stare at him blankly as I search the back of my mind for a memory. I remember kissing him, and snow. Lots of snow. I can feel my forehead furrowing deeply in thought, and Kace sighs as he senses my confusion.

He moves his warm hand off of my arm, and as I feel the chill of the cold hospital room my eyes dilate.

I remember.

***

It's cold.

Everything is numb. My hands, feet, arms, I don't even know where they are.

It's dark.

There is nothing but the dark, and the cold.

But then there is Kace. I feel him moving next to me, pulling me, pleading with me. His voice is lost like a sigh to the wind on my ears, but I want him to know I am here. I don't know where, but I know it is somewhere with him and that's all that matters.

I can feel the ground jostling under my feet and suddenly I remember slipping. Hitting my head.

Disturbing the snow.

I have to warn Kace. The ground is shuddering, sweltering, and the boy next to me holds on with all his might. I use all my strength to open my eyes, and when I see the snow lurching towards us I don't have the strength to keep them open. I have to save him somehow. But I'm starting to feel so warm, and all I want to do now is sleep.

I feel the lights of Aunt Susans front porch glowing through my eyelids, and it feels so warm. So nice. Maybe this is where the warmth is coming from. It's telling me to rest.

So when I get swept off my feet into the dark chasm of ice and snow, I rest. I feel like a rag doll being tossed around in the washing machine. Hitting the sides over and over and over again with that same factory-made complacent smile. I hear bones crack, but are they mine? Are they bones?

There is a light pressure squeezing my exposed elbow, but soon that slips away too. Now there is only darkness.

There is only aloneness.

***

I'm not sure how long the darkness lasted. It couldn't have been long because when the dogs found me I was still reeling from the dizziness, and then I lost my lunch.

As I emptied the contents of my stomach out on the snow for all to see, the man who dug me up smiled at me. I felt arms around me then, but they weren't the mans. They were Kaces arms. "It's a good thing I was in town today. Wanted to head down South to see some family for the winter and I was just leaving today when this avalanche hit. If my hounds hadn't found you, you and your friend here would've been a goner."

It was Aunt Susans neighbor, a nice older man named Bruce. His dogs, an old beagle and a younger looking hound mutt were furiously wagging their tails as they came over to lick us. I could feel myself drifting again, but a shaky voice struck me as I fought back the darkness.

"Where is Aunt Susan?"

I could hear in Kace's voice that he was trying to stay calm, but the despair still leaked through.

"Susie? We haven't found her yet."

My eyes flashed as I suddenly remembered seeing her. She had grabbed Kace, pulling him by the front of his shirt. She'd thrown him to the side hoping to shove him closer to the porch. Before I went under, I could see her nightgown disappear into the snow, washing her away towards the bottom of the hill.

I pointed weakly to the hill, willing my mouth to make words. "There."

My strength gone, I rested my head back into Kaces lap, letting the warmth in my veins overtake me. As I closed my eyes, I could hear the paw-steps of Bruces dogs taking off excitedly in the direction of the hill. And then, with Kaces hands resting on my forehead, I fell back asleep.

***

I make an attempt to sit up in my hospital bed as I look at Kace, fear and sadness twisting my heart. He settles me gently, taking my hand in his as my throat gets choked up.

"Is she....."

One of his wonderful smiles stretches across his tired face. "She's in ICU recovering." I stare at him dumbfoundedly, still not fully understanding.

"Xavier, you saved her life."

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I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas❤️

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