Status: fin.
Love Like Winter
nine;
Aurora sat on one of the frail wooden chairs in the corner of the rather large cabin the stranger had brought her too. He was rifling around through some drawers eventually bringing out a pair of tweezers and gauze and a bottle of antiseptic. He dumped them all on the table and pulled a chair up next to her before taking a seat and grabbing her hand.
She winced; forcing back a whimper as the man examined her wound. She felt completely uneasy in this place—like any moment the beasts that had been chasing her would burst through the window and tear her and the man in front of her apart. As the two had made their way to his cabin, they remained mostly silent; they only spoke when she had asked him where they were going. Her question had been answered for her, however, when he pointed directly ahead at homely looking cabin.
“This is going to hurt,” he mumbled not meeting her eyes as he grabbed the tweezers and grabbed one end of the woodchip protruding from her palm. She cried out in pain as he slowly began to pull the wood from her hand and she could’ve sworn she could feel it splintering inside her skin. “What’s your name?” He asked and she couldn’t tell whether or not he was trying to distract her, or he was genuinely curious.
“Aurora,” she gasped, as he dropped the blood-covered woodchip on the table. He then began plucking splinters that had apparently also lodged themselves into her palm, but they didn’t hurt nearly as bad. “What’s yours?”
His met hers eyes then, and she saw they were a startling bright blue. “Lucas,” he said before none too gently pouring the antiseptic over her wound. She hissed in pain as she tried to bring her hand back to her chest to protect it from any further pain, but he kept her wrist tightly in his grasp. “What were you running from out there? It looked like you’d seen a ghost,” he said, completely seriousness on his face.
“Something much worse than a ghost,” she whispered under her breath and watched as he placed gauze against the wound and then continued to wrap it until he taped it securely against her wrist. He kept ahold of her for a moment too long before finally releasing her. “In all honesty, I think I was hallucinating. Must’ve wandered into a patch of poison oak or something,” she chuckled but Lucas was shaking his head.
“That wouldn’t make you hallucinate. Heat exhaustion, on the other hand would, but your soaking wet. I think you’re safe from that.” Lucas brought was washing his hands then before he turned back around to face her, propping his elbows on the sink’s edge. “So what’d you see?”
Aurora stared up at the man who she barely knew, and felt fear clench her chest. Who was this man? What did even know about him? Nothing. She swallowed thickly then and glanced out the window, searching for any hint of the monsters that had led her here. “Do you think you could take me back to town?” she said after noticing a rusted yellow pick up truck sitting just outside.
For one fearful moment she was afraid he was going to say no. But after wiping his hands, he nodded and grabbed a set of keys off the counter. “Come on.” He led her out the door and the both of them got into the truck—after a few engine stalls they were finally on the road and heading in a direction she knew. She sighed in relief that she wasn’t about to be slaughtered and thought maybe now that she knew he wasn’t actually an axe murderer he could be trusted with her silly hallucination.
“I saw a monster in the woods,” she said under her breath but he had heard her. He glanced over at her, his brow furrowing but that completely serious expression never truly leaving his face.
“What kind of monster?”
She closed her eyes momentarily, resting her head against the cool glass of the window. She remembered the way Isabelle’s skin seemed to tear apart and how Aiden had growled back at her like some rabid animal before fur ripped from his back. “Something with horrible yellow eyes...and fur, black as night. Something that doesn’t belong in this world,” she murmured. As they drove they passed a fallen tree and something from the night she had arrived clicked in her mind.
“Like a wolf?” Lucas said almost reading her thoughts, and she found him staring at her, those intense blue eyes staring her down, daring her to tell him he was wrong. She looked back at him, meeting his gaze.
“Yes. Like a wolf.”
She winced; forcing back a whimper as the man examined her wound. She felt completely uneasy in this place—like any moment the beasts that had been chasing her would burst through the window and tear her and the man in front of her apart. As the two had made their way to his cabin, they remained mostly silent; they only spoke when she had asked him where they were going. Her question had been answered for her, however, when he pointed directly ahead at homely looking cabin.
“This is going to hurt,” he mumbled not meeting her eyes as he grabbed the tweezers and grabbed one end of the woodchip protruding from her palm. She cried out in pain as he slowly began to pull the wood from her hand and she could’ve sworn she could feel it splintering inside her skin. “What’s your name?” He asked and she couldn’t tell whether or not he was trying to distract her, or he was genuinely curious.
“Aurora,” she gasped, as he dropped the blood-covered woodchip on the table. He then began plucking splinters that had apparently also lodged themselves into her palm, but they didn’t hurt nearly as bad. “What’s yours?”
His met hers eyes then, and she saw they were a startling bright blue. “Lucas,” he said before none too gently pouring the antiseptic over her wound. She hissed in pain as she tried to bring her hand back to her chest to protect it from any further pain, but he kept her wrist tightly in his grasp. “What were you running from out there? It looked like you’d seen a ghost,” he said, completely seriousness on his face.
“Something much worse than a ghost,” she whispered under her breath and watched as he placed gauze against the wound and then continued to wrap it until he taped it securely against her wrist. He kept ahold of her for a moment too long before finally releasing her. “In all honesty, I think I was hallucinating. Must’ve wandered into a patch of poison oak or something,” she chuckled but Lucas was shaking his head.
“That wouldn’t make you hallucinate. Heat exhaustion, on the other hand would, but your soaking wet. I think you’re safe from that.” Lucas brought was washing his hands then before he turned back around to face her, propping his elbows on the sink’s edge. “So what’d you see?”
Aurora stared up at the man who she barely knew, and felt fear clench her chest. Who was this man? What did even know about him? Nothing. She swallowed thickly then and glanced out the window, searching for any hint of the monsters that had led her here. “Do you think you could take me back to town?” she said after noticing a rusted yellow pick up truck sitting just outside.
For one fearful moment she was afraid he was going to say no. But after wiping his hands, he nodded and grabbed a set of keys off the counter. “Come on.” He led her out the door and the both of them got into the truck—after a few engine stalls they were finally on the road and heading in a direction she knew. She sighed in relief that she wasn’t about to be slaughtered and thought maybe now that she knew he wasn’t actually an axe murderer he could be trusted with her silly hallucination.
“I saw a monster in the woods,” she said under her breath but he had heard her. He glanced over at her, his brow furrowing but that completely serious expression never truly leaving his face.
“What kind of monster?”
She closed her eyes momentarily, resting her head against the cool glass of the window. She remembered the way Isabelle’s skin seemed to tear apart and how Aiden had growled back at her like some rabid animal before fur ripped from his back. “Something with horrible yellow eyes...and fur, black as night. Something that doesn’t belong in this world,” she murmured. As they drove they passed a fallen tree and something from the night she had arrived clicked in her mind.
“Like a wolf?” Lucas said almost reading her thoughts, and she found him staring at her, those intense blue eyes staring her down, daring her to tell him he was wrong. She looked back at him, meeting his gaze.
“Yes. Like a wolf.”