Oliver snuck into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Trying to be as silent as possible, not wanting to wake up his friends in the living room.
*TAP! TAP! TAP! Crack!*
He whipped his head around, a chill overtaking him as icy air hit his back. Behind him, in the abysmal moonlight a short, humanoid figure stood. Hand curled around the edge of the sliding glass door.
"You forgot to lock the door again, Olie." A little girl's voice giggled.
"Kirsikka!" He gasped, sighing in relief. "It's just you."
She turned, walking off to the left. A few moments later he heard snow lightly crunch and the wooden creak of the frozen picnic table.
He hesitated, blankly starting at the door. He bit his lip nervously, but walked over slowly. She sat on the table, kicking her legs and staring up at the cloudy night sky. He stepped outside, a sharp shiver rippling through him as he walked up to her.
"A blizzard is on the way." She hummed in a cheerful voice. "Seems winter doesn't wanna give way for spring just yet."
"And just when most of the snow had melted." He laughed, shaking some wet snow from his bare feet. "Wanna come in? I'll make you an ice cream float too."
She lit up, hopped off her perch and raced into the kitchen. Oliver chuckled as he walked inside, shoving the sliding glass door closed with his heal as he flipped the light on. The mild unease from a few minutes earlier had mostly disappeared. He couldn't help, but be spooked by her sometimes.
Kirsi sat on the stool at the island, her thin jacket haphazardly discarded on the one to her left. He locked the door before strolling over to the, still open, fridge.
"I noticed your friends are staying over. Are they staying for the whole break?" She asked, keeping her voice down.
"The usual?" He quietly asked, grabbing a can of coke for himself. "And yes they are."
"Yep, usual!" She softly chirped, wiggling in her seat like an excited child. "Oh! An' those pumpkin cookies ya baked this evening."
"They got pecans and pasticcio, is that okay?" He glanced over his shoulder at her.
"Yes. Yes. YES!" She beamed. "You know I love cookies with nuts! The added earthy crunch pairs great with the soft sweetness of the fresh cookie."
He nodded with an affirmative hum and a smile.
***
"There ya go lil lady." Oliver smirked, shoving a bendy straw in the middle. "One black raspberry-orange cream float with cherry-vanilla coke."
"Thanks Olie!" Wrapping her mint gray claws around the float, dragging it over to her.
He jolted, nearly choking on a spoonful of coffee-chocolate ice cream. He put his bowl down, coughing. The thought of Is she serious right now! crosses his mind.
Looking at her with wide eyes, "Wh- what're you doing?! They could wake up and see you like this."
Kirsi held up her hand to silence him. She straightened up with a sigh, "Since the day after the sleepover. I haven't been back here. I decided to lay low 'til things calmed down. But that whole time I've been thinking."
"You've known me a long time, longer then Colby. It's only a matter of time 'til I'm found out, but I've made my decision. I want them to know." Kirsi looked into his navy blue eyes for a moment. "I know a lot about Colby, but I know very little of the French boy. However, I can see it when I look in his eyes. I know Ronan is trustworthy."
"If your positive." Oliver sighed, shaking his head as he picked up and sipped his bowl-of-float. "I won't object then."
The duo glanced at the doorway as they heard footsteps rushing towards the kitchen.
"What's going on! We heard-" Ronan froze, eyes widening. He gawked, almost unable to believe the sight infront of him.
Colby walked around him, confusion on his face. That changed to utter terror in a moment. He jumped behind Ronan with a fearful screech.
"Winter Lily!" He shrieked, trembling behind his human shield.
Kirsi huffed, shoving more ice cream in her mouth.
"Quiet down, you'll wake Kasper." She grumbled, slurping her straw.
"Actually, my little brother's spending Easter break with those twins from his preschool." Oliver corrected, walking over to a cabinet. He grabbed the tin of fresh-baked cookies, opened and placing it on the counter.
"Wait a minute... I've heard that voice before. Kirsi?" Ronan exclaimed, taking a cautious step forward. "Is that you?"
The small, floral creature stopped eating and looked at him. She quickly turned away, sheepishly nodding with a soft 'yeah'. She suddenly felt nervous and finicky while having second thoughts about outing herself.
"You're far more expressive then usual tonight." Oliver teased, earning Kirsi's hazel glare. "And don't worry, she's safe."
The pair look at him skeptically, probably thinking he's crazy. However, they had to admit, seeing a Lily sitting in front of them while stuffing her face with cookies and ice cream made her look childish. If they didn't know any better they'd think she was this cute, harmless, innocent little flower. Considering she is sitting right here, acting like this she couldn't be that dangerous. Right?
"Wanna join us? There's a few slices of red velvet cake left in the fridge and some ramune." Oliver asked.
To everyone's surprise, Colby stepped forward. He took a deep breath, plopped down next to Kirsi and said, "Ronan grab the cake and some strawberries, Oliver EXPLAIN. NOW!"
"Wow! Since when are you this brave?" Kirsi quipped, side eyeing him with a teasing smirk.
Ronan just stared back for a moment, muttered a 'Well, this is happening' and walked over to the fridge.
"Dude, how in the world did this start?" He asked, sliding a slice of cake with too many chocolate chips over to Colby. "From what little research I've done since the sleepover, this ain't normal in the slightest."
"Jeez, where do I even begin?" Putting his float down and sitting on the stool beside him.
"How'd you meet? What made you trust her so strongly?" He glanced back at Colby. "Grape or Honeydew?"
"Both!" Colby replied, trying to keep a serious face as the bowl of strawberries was handed to him.
Oliver ran a hand over his face, letting out an agitated sigh. He hated remembering those traumatic and fear filled two years with a fiery passion. But if Kirsi was brave enough to reveal her biggest secret then so was he.
"Well, I was two an' a half when we first met." He started. "Dad was deployed and mum was living with her parents to save up for a house. Grandfather would work til late in the evening. But Gram was sick, only getting out of bed to make dinner. Mum always mad breakfast and lunch for us before leaving for work. Gram was proud of how hard she worked and wanted to make things a little easier for her. I also spent a lot of time with her."
"A year later, Gram passed. When she did..." He paused, digging his nails into his palms. "Grandfather changed, he'd come home reeking of alcohol. He was always angry and bitter. One night I woke to hear mum's muffled cries and leather striking skin as I heard him yelling. I didn't understand what was going on. I was worry about mum so, I snuck out of my room and started down the stairs when I froze. Mum was on the floor, the back of her shirt was pulled up exposing the new marks. Her back was absolutely covered in lash marks, some were even bleeding. Grandfather was standing over her, leather belt in hand and stepping on one of her legs so she couldn't get away. I snuck back to my room as quickly as possible while trying to stay silent. I was so scared he'd hurt me too if I was caught. I locked the door, climbed back into bed and tried to block it out. I layered there for hours, crying into my pillow 'til I finally fell asleep."
He paused, trying to calm his breathing before continuing, "A little over a week after that night I was playing alone in the back gardens, by the woods. I noticed a girl in a white dress hiding in the trees. The thought of it being strange didn't evan cross my mind, I figured she was just a neighbor I hadn't met. So, I got excited and invited her to play with me. She hesitated at first, but eventually we started to play together until mum got home. When she heard her car she said she had to go home. I stopped her and asked her to come back the next day after the adults left for work. She seemed surprise, but agreed then left. As soon as mum came in the house I told her I'd made a new friend and played with her all afternoon. She laughed when I realized I'd forgotten to get her name in all my newfound excitement. That was the first time mum laughed since Gram died. I was so happy, I had a new friend and made mum laugh in the same day. After that the girl came to play with me every day, we got close pretty fast. It didn't take long for me to confide in her about what Grandfather was doing to mum. She looked absolutely furious, but kept her cool and comforted me. Frankly she acted like a super cool older sister to me."
He smiled to himself, seeming a little embarrassed to admit it. But his mood quickly soured.
"Several months later, he came home in a rage. Mum tried to calm him, but that only directed his anger at her. Once again, she was his punching bag, but it only got worse. Eventually I heard something that made my blood run cold. I didn't catch everything, but the parts I did hear were 'your damn fault', 'useless excuse for a daughter' and 'never should of had you!' I peeked out of my hiding place when everything went quiet, thinking it was over. But I saw him come back with..." Oliver choked back a sob, tears threatening to spill. "With a knife. I shrieked as he plunged it into her chest. The moment he saw me he went after me, knife in hand. I bolted, hiding outside. I was crouched behind a tree trying not to panic and stop myself from crying. Then, he came out shining a torch around to spot me. As he got closer I was so sure I was going to die."
Ronan put an arm around Oliver's shoulders, trying to comfort him. He sniffed and continued, "He started walking straight towards my tree, I thought he couldn't really known where I was, but realized there was a thin layer of fresh snow infront of me. There was a trail of footprints leading right to me. I was too terrified to move, to keep my crying quite. I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking I would end up in the ground like Gram. Right as he got to the tree I finally noticed the sound of something running towards us from the woods, cold air rushing past me, a scream of horror and pain. Then, nothing. I waited a few moments, but there was only silence. I took a deep breath, shakily stood and came out to see what happened. Only to find a flower-like creature similar to the ones Gram told me stories of, a Winter Lily. A Lily resembling my friend was standing over him. He looked frostbitten, like a frozen statue on the ground. Cloudy, blueish ice covered the ground around him, seeming to radiate out from the Lily. It was difficult to register what I was seeing. I walked over to her, the air getting colder the closer I got. I just stared, wild-eyed, between her and Grandfather. Her angered expression softened after a moment and ushered me inside the house. She immediately sniffed the air, lead me to mum and disappeared into another room. A minute later, she came back with towels and the house phone. She used one to put pressure on mum's wound and called for an ambulance. When we heard sirens I finally came to my senses, she ordered me to take a towel and do what she was. So, I did. When we heard people outside she stood, told me that everything would be okay now and left out the back so they wouldn't see her. If she hadn't been there, we wouldn't have survived."
"Okay, no need to say any more." Colby said, now feeling bad and regretting having asked. "We get it."
"FYI, my lil sister's the lily that terrified you as a kid." Kirsi added.
"What?" Colby turned to Kirsi, dumbfounded shock written across his face.
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