Snowed In

Elsie stayed away from the rest of the group in her own dark corner with her knees pressed to her chest. Her eyes were focused on the ground as she tried to control her breathing. Breathing seemed to be the only thing she could control in her life, and everything else was just going down in a down spiral for her. Louis seemed to hate her as he ignored and avoided her not allowing her to even say one word to him. Though she was ecstatic for her best friend, she seemed to be spending all her time with Zayn, and lastly, the last days of her life may be ending with despair. She could be killed by wolves, and the thought made her shake violently with fright.

“Elsie,” someone was shaking her shoulder, and her head popped up as she was met with Sam’s face. She seemed worried as she shook her. “Finally, I’ve been calling your name for the last few minutes. Are you alright?” she asked as she removed her hands and sat next to her. Though Sam had stopped shaking her, Elsie was still shaking, and she wasn’t sure if the words she wanted to say would be able to come out.

Her eyes were burning with the want to cry, and her nails were digging into her palms as she slowly shook her head. “Sam,” she murmured as a few tears fell down her cheeks. Brenna, Zayn, Harry, Annie, and Niall sat by the dimly lit fire while Alicia and Liam were sat on the couch, and their backs were facing her. Louis seemed to have disappeared, so Elsie had no one but Sam’s attention. “I hate myself,” she cried softly as the tears fell down her cheeks faster. “Maybe I deserve to die,” she hiccupped as she turned her face away. Silence seemed to surround the two girls before Elsie felt arms around her.

Sam and she had never been close before they were stuck in the resort, and she was surprised for a moment. “Hey,” she scolded, “you shouldn’t say that. I may not know why you’re like this, but I know that no one deserves to die.” She offered a small smile that Elsie couldn’t return. “I know we don’t really talk, but I’m here if you want to talk.”

Elsie took a deep breath of air as she spilled everything she had pent up inside. “Louis broke up with me, and I don’t even know what I did wrong. We could die here, and I won’t ever know what was wrong, and it scares me,” she rambled on. “And though I’m really happy for my best friend because she’s in love and very happy and all, she’s been spending all her time with Zayn, and I don’t want to interrupt them because I’m the one who kept them apart for so long. I just I don’t know what to do anymore,” she finished. She was sure she seemed crazy and was a mess. She was sure that her eyes were bloodshot red, and her hair was disarrayed.

Sam was quiet, and Elsie focused her eyes back onto the ground as she returned to her earlier state where she was focusing only on her breathing. “Elsie, I’m not the best at giving advice, so bear with me,” she said as she cracked a smile. “I know breaking up is hard, and it may not even be your fault for him breaking up with you. Recently, Louis has been in the same state as you, and he’s actually hiding out in the bathroom. You shouldn’t worry about Brenna. She loves you so much, and I know that if she saw you now, she would hate herself for leaving you like this. Cheer up, Elsie,” Sam told her as she hugged her. “Go talk to Louis. He can’t avoid you forever,” she whispered into her ear before she helped the small girl up.

Elsie stared up at her for a moment before she hugged her again. “Thank you,” she said softly before she pulled away and wiped at her eyes. She offered a small smile in her new friend’s direction, but it seemed more like a grimace, so she dropped it. “I guess I’ll go,” she licked her lips softly as she turned to head to the bathrooms. She was nervous, and she rubbed her hands on her jeans as she made her way to the bathroom. She was sure Louis was in the men’s restroom, but she honestly didn’t care. As she stood in front of the restroom, she took in another deep breath before pushing open the bathroom.

Sam was right about Louis hiding in the bathroom in the dark. He was sitting on the sink with his shoulders slumped and his head down. He jumped when he heard the door close, and for a moment, he seemed confused before he realized it was her. Even in the dark, she could tell that his beautiful eyes were red, and his hair was crazy. It seemed like he had been pulling on it. “Louis,” she breathed out softly after breaking the silence, “we need to talk.”

He seemed to realize what she wanted to talk about and crossed his arms. “We don’t,” he replied.

“Yes, we do,” she replied as she took a step forward towards him. There was little light coming in from the window in the bathroom since it was mostly blocked by snow, but she could still see. She wasn’t going to let him go until he answered her questions. “I just want to know why,” she gulped a little as she saw his eyes. They were cold and sad, and she didn’t like the look at all. “Why did you break up with me? What did I do?” she could feel the tears build up, but she held them down.

“You know what you did, Elsie!” Louis had been silent for a very long moment before he was yelling at her. “You cheated on me! You’re off snuggling and cuddling with Zayn in the hallway, while I’m alone thinking we were looking for him and Brenna when it just a plan to get you and him alone. You don’t think I’ve noticed? You’re all lovey dovey with him like he was your boyfriend instead of me. You could have just ended it with me, but you didn’t so I did.” His voice seemed to get softer and softer, and Elsie felt her rage grow before she was hitting him on the chest with her hands clenched in fists.

“Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot,” she screamed as tears fell down her cheeks again. “You’re so stupid! I didn’t cheat on you, idiot! He was telling me about him and Brenna,” she had stopped hitting him as she looked up at him. “We were hugging as friends,” she muttered as she dropped her hands and let them hang by her sides. “I’ve only been in love with you and only you, yet you doubt me.” She crossed her arms, and when she looked back up at Louis, he seemed surprised.

“You love me?” he choked out, and she huffed as she stomped her foot. A smile broke out on his face as he hugged her close to him before he was picking her up and spinning her around. “I love you,” he whispered into her ear, and she felt her shoulders slump and relax at the words, though she was still angry at him.

“I love you too, idiot,” she wrapped her arms around him as she held him close to her. “If you do that to me ever again, you’re going to regret it, and I’ll even pull Brenna into the mix, so she could beat you up,” she threatened. Louis laughed softly as he pulled just a bit away, so he was looking at her.

“I promise I won’t do this to you again. I’m sorry,” he told her as he wiped the tears from her face. He gave her a small smile before he planted a deep and passionate kiss on her lips.

It was dark in the resort, and there were wolves outside that could come in any minute. She could freeze to death, but the fear of dying like that was gone because she had Louis. If she had him by her side, she was fine with anything.