Chapter 140 – The Winter Snow – Holly Hayfield

Lilith, Alyssa, and I were walking from the Meredith family estate to the Wilson family home. The distance wasn’t far, but it wasn’t exactly close either. We were being a bit foolish by walking to our destination in the dead of winter, but after Lilith suddenly walked out of the party we had little choice.

Val rode her motorcycle, with Jay riding as passenger. Alyssa could’ve used her scooter, but wanted to walk with me and Lilith for whatever reason. Instead, she handed her keys over to Sam, who claimed to have riding experience. I would’ve believed her too if it wasn’t for the fact that she almost crashed into a parked car on her way out of the parking lot.

Alyssa didn’t seem worried. She was more concerned with how close Lilith and I were getting during our walk. We were bundled up in winter jackets, and had even changed out of our Christmas attire, but soon it wasn’t enough. As long as we made it to Lilith’s home before it started snowing then we’d be fine.

Lilith didn’t exactly have her aunt’s expressed permission to leave the party early. When she casually waltzed out of the building without informing anyone I assumed it was because she cleared things with her aunt. She didn’t bother telling us that this was a prison break until we were too far to turn back.

I sent a text to my mother and Mrs. Wilson so they wouldn’t drop everything once they realized we were gone. I didn’t want them worrying about us needlessly. I’m sure Lilith wasn’t totally heartless and felt similarly. She was just probably overwhelmed by being thrust into such a massive social scenario.

“Maybe we should’ve asked your mom for a ride.” Lilith said in a trembling voice. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.”

I restrained a sharp laugh.

“I don’t know what’s funnier, the fact that you’re willing to admit that, or the fact that you made it this far before saying so.”

Lilith gave me an unamused look.

“Yeah, well, I was feeling a lot warmer when we left the parking lot area. The heat is slowly draining out of me.”

“We’re almost there.” I said. “Just keep marching one foot after the other for five more minutes.”

We were already linked arm-in-arm, so I came closer to her. It didn’t make much of a difference since we both had thick jackets on, but maybe she’d feel more confident with the emotional support. Alyssa tugged at me from my other arm, trying to keep me to herself.

“Alyssa, calm down.” I said for the third time this night. “There’s enough of me to go around.”

She refused to loosen her hold on me, but didn’t try pulling me away from Lilith again. It was unreal how aggressively clingy she could be. She had only become more so lately after I shared my personal history with her. Maybe she felt like this constituted a special or exclusive relationship between the two of us.

I loved the time I spent with Alyssa and I knew that she felt the same way about me, if not more so. I only wished she’d feel the same way about the others. Her integration into the student council was going slower than I hoped. She got along decently with everyone else, but she was still overly focused on me.

Val, Jay, and Sam were waiting for us on Lilith’s front porch when we walked up. It was nice to see that Sam didn’t crash despite her questionable driving skills. They looked to be faring better in the cold than we were. Maybe it was because they had the house to shield them from the random gusts of wind.

We met the others in front of the door and talked about our walk over. Val told us about how desperately Sam was in need of riding lessons. The group laughed about it together as Lilith searched for her keys on her person. After a minute of this we all gave her a worried look. She faced us with a dumbfounded expression.

“Oh no…” Lilith said. “I think I forgot…”

Everyone stiffened as Lilith continued searching her pockets. Lilith grinned.

“Just kidding,” She said, pulling the house key out of one of her jacket pockets. “I made sure I had it before I left.”

I let out a relieved sigh. Sam laughed maniacally.

“Don’t do that!” Jay said. “It’s way too cold for you to be joking around like that!”

Val laughed too.

“I thought I was going to have to drive back to that mansion. You all would’ve turned to popsicles by the time I made it back.”

Lilith pushed the door open and we all stepped inside. Sam once visited the place on the day that she came here with Naomi. I had been here several times after school, not to mention the times I slept over. Alyssa had also visited here with me after school on occasion. This was Val and Jay’s first time here.

Independently, this house was very impressive. It was only because we were coming from a mansion that probably dulled their responses to Lilith’s home. It was easy to forget that Lilith was from a wealthy family due to the way she behaved. It was easier to imagine someone like Alison or Megan living in an expensive place like this rather than Lilith.

“Home sweet home!” Lilith said as she kicked off her shoes dramatically, flinging them across the room. “I missed you, central heating unit!”

“It is quite warm in here.” Alyssa said as she shut the door behind us.

“Hey, is your cousin Ethan home?” I asked. “I didn’t see him at the party.”

“That’s because he’s staying with one of his snot-nosed friends!” Lilith said excitedly.

Lilith ran over to the living room couch and jumped into it.

“We’ve got this place all to ourselves for the entire night!” Lilith said. “I don’t get the house to myself that often. My aunt and uncle rarely spend all night out these days.”

Only now was Val beginning to appreciate how nice this place was. This was in large part thanks to Margaret’s sense of décor. Everything had Christmas decorations on it. The far corner of the living room was dominated by a natural tree shining brightly with Christmas lights.

“I kind of want to take a look around.” Val said.

Lilith sat up in her seat.

“There isn’t that much to see.” She said dismissively. “Let’s do something else.”

“Maybe I can make us something to eat.” Sam said.

“No!” Jay and I said together.

Sam looked at us in amusement.

“What…? My sister taught me a few recipes since that last disaster.”

“Don’t you even dare,” Jay said. “Holly and I will make something. You just sit down somewhere that you can’t burn anything down to the ground.”

“Fine,” Sam said. “But I get to choose what we eat!”

“What’s available to make?” I asked Lilith.

“We have plenty of stuff. You can make anything you want.” Lilith said.

Lilith got off the couch and led the group into the kitchen. Lilith opened a few cabinets to demonstrate what was available. Interestingly enough it was Val that began laying down the plans for what we’d make. At first she was going through the cabinets and fridge only out of curiosity, but soon it turned into ingredient gathering.

“Gyros!” Val exclaimed.

“Gyros…?” Jay asked. “Do we have everything we need for that? Gyros are made with lamb and beef, aren’t they?”

Lilith poked her tongue out in disgust.

“Yuck, I don’t think I want to eat lamb meat.” Lilith said.

“You’ll love it, trust me.” Val said. “It isn’t very popular in this region, but it tastes great.”

Sam stepped forward.

“One of us will need to go to the store for the extra ingredients.” Sam said. “You could let me borrow your motorcycle.”

“Hell would sooner freeze over.” Val said sternly before turning to Alyssa.

Alyssa gave Val a blank look until she realized what she was getting at.

“I’ll do it.” Alyssa said. “But only if Holly comes with me.”

Why?

“Sure,” I said. “That’s a silly condition, but whatever. Let’s go now before the nearby grocery stores close. It’s getting pretty late.”

“Do you need money?” Jay asked. “I have some allowance I can give you.”

“No, I’ve got my own money.” I said. “We’ll be back soon.”

“We’ll have everything else ready by the time you get back.” Val said.

Alyssa seemed very pleased with herself for how things turned out. She was finally getting me alone, at least for a short while. I knew that she was hoping to spend more time with me over Christmas break. I thought she’d be happier with the fact that we were having a sleepover.

There turned out to be some reason behind her behavior, I soon learned. She wanted the opportunity to ask me about our former Christmas break plans. They were still on. I assured her that I still planned to stay over at her place too. Was that all she was so worked up over?

It was difficult for me to gauge the underlying behavior that caused her to act this way, but I assumed it was because of Sofi. Alyssa was probably with Sofi around Christmas time last year and was feeling the pain of not having her around anymore. Things were different with me because I had a group of friends, not just Alyssa. I wasn’t a perfect replacement for her in that regard.

We came back with the ingredients and I helped Val make the gyros. We chopped up potatoes for fries as a side dish. We all pitched in with the chopping to save time. Lilith cut the side of her index finger on the very first potato she tried peeling.

The cut was nothing serious. It was kind of unbelievable that she was able to cut her finger considering that she had a regular potato peeler and not a knife. From there I took over her portion of potatoes. Even Sam was more skilled with a knife. She bragged about ‘this’ being something that she could handle.

We ate together in the dining room and talked about our varying Christmas plans. I’d be spending most of Christmas day with my mother and a few relatives. I promised that I’d visit Alyssa’s place soon after that. Val was planning to go out of the country for a few days to visit some relatives. This was going to be her first solo flight.

Predictably, Jay was staying home with family members coming to visit her. Sam wasn’t doing anything special and just planned to hang out with her sister on Christmas day. Lilith was the same. Lilith said that her aunt’s Christmas party was her Christmas plan. She’d be able to relax on Christmas day proper.

As everyone talked I couldn’t help but to look between them and consider how far I had come this school year. This type of situation was exactly that I wanted when I was lamenting the loss of my old friends and my old school. It made me stupidly giddy inside to know that I made it.

Now I just needed to make sure that these bonds would survive well beyond the duration of high school.

Lilith brought her cousin’s video game system downstairs and we all played party games together. We paired off into teams. Alyssa and I were together, because Alyssa refused to be grouped with anyone else. Val and Jay were together, because Jay was similar to Alyssa in that regard. Sam and Lilith were paired together as the last remaining two people.

Alyssa and I ended up winning most rounds of the game we played. It wasn’t because we were outright better at the game. It was because Alyssa followed my orders and obeyed absolutely everything I said. We had the best team cooperation by virtue of Alyssa being an absolute follower. Of course, that didn’t stop Lilith from accusing us of cheating.

As time went on we turned off the game and watched a Christmas movie that we found on TV. The first person to fall asleep on the living room floor was the same person that said she’d stay up all night. Sam was sprawled out on the floor at an awkward angle, her legs resting on Alyssa’s lap.

Alyssa was too stubborn to move away because she didn’t want to lose her spot beside me. She fell asleep leaning against me, with her arms hanging around my shoulders. I was drifting in and out of sleep with my back leaned against the couch. Jay and Val were sharing the couch by sleeping on opposite ends.

Lilith brought blankets for everyone and then cuddled up beside me. I was pretending to be asleep when she decided to put her arms around me, same as Alyssa. I couldn’t help but to smile at how cute that was. Today was a great day for me. This was the sort of relief I needed after all my recent troubles.

Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling of incompleteness.

There was still more work that I’d need to attend to over the school break and it loomed heavily over my mind. It was impossible for me to sleep when I thought about it. After an hour or so I got up from where I was resting to stretch my legs. Funnily, Lilith and Alyssa unknowingly ended up wrapping each other into a hug as I moved away. I was tempted to take a picture of this.

Quietly, I snuck out of the house and walked barefooted onto the front porch. It was snowing outside. Without my jacket, the chill of the cold air hit me in full force. I felt goose bumps forming on my arms as I walked over to the porch’s deck railing. I lifted myself up to sit on the railing and watch the snow fall.

The icy bite of the wind washed over me. My hair was blown back by the strength of the gust. I used my hand to comb it back into place as I looked over the snow-white scenery. This place was beautiful, even in the middle of winter. The fresh air was nice too. I took in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled it, letting my worries fly away with it.

“Holly…?” A voice asked from behind me.

I turned to see that Sam was standing in the doorway.

“What are you doing out here?” She asked.

I turned to face her and got down off the railing.

“Nothing, I just wanted a breath of fresh air.” I said. “Sorry, did I wake you up when I came outside?”

Sam closed the door behind her and stepped onto the porch with me.

“Not really. I got back from the bathroom and noticed you were missing. I looked out the window and saw you staring out at the snow.”

I turned back and leaned against the railing.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked. “I remember going ice-skating with my friends once and it looked just like this. It was during a New Year’s Eve event a few years back.”

“Hm,” Sam hummed noncommittally. “Shouldn’t you put a jacket on? You’re going to freeze to death out here.”

“It’s not that bad.” I said. “I wasn’t planning to stay out here that long. I was just thinking about some things.”

“What things?” She asked.

“Nothing too important I guess. It’s just that I have a lot of work on my mind.” I said with a sigh. “I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. This has been a nice vacation though.”

Sam studied me from behind a moment before walking over to wrap me into a hug. I let myself sink into her embrace and enjoy her warmth. She rubbed my arm with one hand and kissed me on the forehead.

“You’re too stressed these days.” She said. “You should take things easier on yourself.”

“I know…” I said. “There’s just so much going on lately and it’s been getting to me.”

“You aren’t made of ice.” She said. “You might be a counselor, but you’re just as human as everyone else. Don’t be afraid to rely on your friends from time-to-time. If there’s anything that I can help you with, I will. I’m sure the others feel the same way.”

“Thank you.” I said. “Alyssa is already helping me both inside and outside of school.”

“That girl…” Sam said. “She’s trained like a dog at this point…”

“She means well.” I said. “She just has her own issues to get over too. We’re helping each other.”

“If you say so,” Sam said. “I wouldn’t want her following me around like that.”

That’s when the door opened up behind us. We both turned to see who it was.

“Speak of the devil…” Sam said.

“Holly…” Alyssa said, slowly walking up to me. “You went missing…”

Alyssa came to put her arms around me too. Sam let go of me and headed for the door.

“Geez, Alyssa. You’re like a little kid looking for her mommy.” Sam said lightheartedly.

Alyssa ignored Sam’s comment and looked at me curiously.

“I’m going back to sleep.” Sam said. “Don’t stay out much longer.”

Sam closed the door behind her, and Alyssa gave me another funny look like she was expecting an explanation. I laughed. In some ways, she was like a little kid.

“It’s nothing.” I said. “She just noticed that I walked outside and came to ask me what was going on.”

“Oh.” Alyssa said sheepishly. “Why are you out here anyways?”

“I’m just thinking over things.” I said and rubbed her shoulders. “It’s no matter though. I’ve got you to help me sort things out, right? Like Sam said, I should stop worrying so much.”

I kissed her on the forehead the same way Sam kissed me on mine. Although my kiss was more awkward since Alyssa was slightly taller than me. She seemed to appreciate the gesture.

“Come on, let’s go back inside.” I said and smiled. “I don’t want you freezing out here just because you wanted to follow me. Something tells me you’d stay out here no matter how long I planned to.”

“I’d stay out here with you forever if you asked me to.” She said in full seriousness.

I laughed.

“That’s why we need to go back inside right now. Come on.”