[ONC 2022 SHORTLISTER] She was running from something while he was running to something. When strange circumstances throw them together, they realise that home isn't just where you sleep at night.
When Lily Gilmore visits her family home over Chris...
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"For four in the morning, it's looking quite light out there, isn't it?" Wyatt mentions. He's standing beside me at the train doors so we can glance at the Wiltshire plains. I can just about make out the shiny halos of the people who are meant to be clearing the line out there; they've been at it for a while now, but still no word on when we'll be moving.
"That's because it's still snowing, genius," I joke.
"Surely that makes what they're doing out there redundant then?"
I shrug my shoulders. "I think the point is to get us moving along the line, even if it's just to the next stop. Then we can at least get out of the train, you know? I don't know about everyone else, but I'd rather be trudging through the snow even if it's to a hotel, rather than be stuck in a cold carriage all night."
He quirks his lips into a grin. "I'd rather be wherever you are."
"Smooth," I retort.
His lips claim mine, but it's not possessive, it's gentle, careful and oh-so-sweet. It's not as cold as our lips mould together, it's as if spring is blossoming around us. My hands wind around his neck.
When we part, he grins as if he's proud of himself. "Well, if being smooth gets me that, then I'll carry on."
I chuckle and tap his arm as an answer.
"But yeah, I suppose that's the point is getting us out of here. We're not that far from the next stop. They'd probably put on a coach or something to Wales for everyone. It's not that far, anyway," Wyatt continues.
"Around the same time as the train, if not like twenty minutes quicker? I looked it up a while ago. What will you do if they get us off at the next stop and you're not back for visiting time?" I ask.
He sighs. "I don't know. Either I'll hire a car, get a taxi, or find the next quickest way to Wales. I have a phone and a charger, so I can see her and speak to her. I'm not going to disturb her until at least seven so she can sleep. It just is what it is, I suppose."
"It's awful, though. It's not fair," I complain.
"I agree, and I hate the thought of not seeing her, especially when time isn't our friend, at Christmas of all times. But there is nothing I can do, so there's no point getting stressed or angry, you know? I'm just thankful I can at least video call her, albeit it's shitty quality. But it's something."
I stare at him in amazement. I swear this guy has been sent down from the heavens. Maybe he's a lie; a trick of my imagination. Maybe he's a hallucination and I'm really in this carriage alone. Maybe he's an axe-wielding murderer just biding his time until we're moving again so he can't get caught properly.
