I sat in a chair in my kitchen, my legs dangling off the seat at the counter as I kicked them out like an excited child, though I wasn’t really paying attention to anything, just lazily spacing out.
The doorbell rattled my ears, covering me in a momentary shock as the noise snapped me out of my trance.
“I’ll get it!” Amelia said.
I heard the creak of the hinges that mom always said she’d fix, but never did.
But then voices filled my ears, my sister’s voice and someone unfamiliar.
A man; a teenage man.
“Does Winter live here?” the boy asked.
Winter? I thought. How? No. It can’t be possible. It’s not him, is it?
“Um… No. No, Winter here,” my sister lied.
I exhaled a sigh, relief washing over me as I heard the door start closing… but then I heard a loud bump and the door creaked open again.
“Wait…” the boy said. “I need to talk to her, please.”
“Oh no…” I whispered.
“Is your name ‘Jett?’” Amelia questioned suspiciously.
Jett? How could she have known about Jett?
“Or are you one of her friends?” she finished after a second, I could tell by her tone that she was watching his stance suspiciously.
“Yes,” the boy responded, “yes, I am. I’m one of her friends.”
I put my face in my hands. He lied, Amelia, I thought, don’t fall for it.
“Oh. Okay then, she’s in the kitchen,” my sister said.
WHAT? She BELIEVED him?
Crap, crap, crap…
I heard footsteps on the hardwood floor, and I scrambled off the chair, running around the kitchen like a maniac to find some hiding spot.
The footsteps got closer, and I crouched down behind the counter, trying to stay out of his sight.
Closer… and closer, then he was right in front of me, though behind the other side of the counter.
“I saw you, Winter,” he stated, sounding amused. “You should’ve hidden sooner.”
I gulped as he circled around the counter, pulled out the chair next to me, and settled down, resting his arms on the counter as I stayed on the ground, avoiding eye-contact.
“It took me a while to find you,” the mysterious man said. “It was hard.”
I took shallow breaths, hoping it was not another guy who planned to hurt me again.
“Who are you?” I breathed.
“My name’s Cameron,” the man said. “But I didn’t come here to chit-chat. I need you to come with me.” His voice suddenly edged with seriousness.
“I’m not coming with you,” I let out way too fast.
My anxiety was creeping up. Something was wrong, and he wasn’t going to let me go that easily.
“Sorry, but I don’t think you have a choice.” He didn’t sound sorry. I could feel his smirk burning into the side of my head. “Make this easier for both of us please?” He sighed. “Look at me?”
Slowly, I lifted my gaze towards him, noting his dark hair and ocean blue eyes. He smiled softly at my stare.
“It’s you. It really is….”
“Winter,” he said, cupping my cheek despite me being on the floor still. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” He looked sad. “You’ve been here the entire time?”
“I— I’m not Winter…” I let out.
“You are Winter,” Cameron said. “Why do you lie to me, huh?”
“How?” I whispered. “Did you find me?”
He put his finger to my lips, silencing me. “None of that matters right now.” He gazed into my eyes. “I need your help, Snowflake.”
“My name is not—”
He put his hand up and closed his eyes, annoyed. “Yes, it is.” He sighed. “Please. Just hear me out.”
I stared at him, confusion heating my body. “Alright.”
“Meet me outside the pet food store next to the grocery store.”
My eyes widened. “You want me to meet you somewhere?”
“Please?” he asked. “I need you to help me.”
“Why me? And define ‘help.’”
He smiled, though not innocently. “You’ll have to see.”
My brows drew together.
“Okay, then,” he said. “I’ll give you an hour, and if you’re not there, I’ll hunt you down and drag you, okay?”
He got up and kissed my cheek. Heat rose to my face, turning it beat red. Then he chuckled and stood up, walking out of the kitchen, out the door, and waved to me.
“Was that your boyfriend?” Amelia asked mockingly as I walked to the front door and locked it behind Cam.
I shrugged, concerned as to what Cameron needed my help with. I didn't show my confusion to my sister, though. I needed to keep it a secret so I could process this better without her asking me millions of questions. I didn't know what Cameron needed, but I was too curious to decline him of his so called “help.”
But... this all was probably in my head.
235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDhDczFgjD
*****
“Good ending,” Cameron commented, looking over at Winter. “And you wrote this?”
She nodded shyly.
“I see what goes on in your head,” he said then, staring back down at the papers.
“You already know that,” Winter said. “Seriously. You can read minds.”
“I know,” he said then. “I’ve read your stories before, but I think this one tops it.”
“Is it because it has you in it?” she questioned.
He smirked. “Partly.”
Winter rolled her eyes.
“That and I like your description. You could be an author, you know.”
“I was actually planning to…” she whispered, trailing off.
He looked up. “Huh?”
“I was planning on becoming an author,” she said again. “I had plans for
college and stuff.”
He blinked. “You did?”
She nodded.
“Then why haven’t you told me, silly?”
She glanced up at him. “You wanted me to tell you? Why?”
He lightly cupped her cheek. “I want you to be happy, Sweetheart. If you’re not happy, I’m not happy.”
She smiled down at her feet. “Thanks, Cameron.”
“Of course.”
They were both silent for a moment.
“So…” he said then, “we’re still in Paris, so… where do you want to go to college?”
“I don’t really know,” Winter responded. “I’m thinking about jumping right in and publishing a novel.”
He blinked. “You have to write it first, you know.”
She tapped the papers in his hand. “That’s chapter one,” she said.
“You mean,” Cam’s brows drew together, “you already… wrote it?”
She shrugged.
“How could you have done that without me knowing?”
She imitated typing with her fingers. “Vamp-speed.”
“Ah.”
“Anyway,” she said. “The novel is more like a memoir. About you and me, but I’m changing some scenes.” She tapped the paper. “Technically I can publish it as a fiction novel even though most of is true.”
Cameron chuckled. “That’s so true. You could.”
Winter giggled. “Yeah, thanks for reading it, though.”
“Of course.” He handed her back the papers and she walked off to her desk with them. “Don’t forget to put me in the dedication page!” he called to her.
She waved back at him in response.
He chuckled. “Winter…” he said more to himself, “I’ve known you forever and you’re still full of surprises.”
ns 15.158.61.20da2
