When Winter Comes

Chapter 9: Winter Hears Rumors

IGNORE TYPOS

Chapter 9: Winter Hears Rumors 

Memories are keepsakes.

Some like a reoccurring dream,

Others like repeating nightmares.

Haunting you deep within the brain

Haunting you deep under the skin

Memories are keepsakes, unfortunately.

They make the nightmares live on.

- Winter Ozlin's Diary 

. . . 

"Carl's been calling me," Marie spoke softly over the phone. "He's worried."

"Sure he is," I scoffed. For so long, I had been taking care of him. Our parents didn't watch over us like most. It was us and Marie, that's it. Desperately, I tried to hide Carl from the spoiled and self absorbed world we lived in, but when our parents died, he embraced it all. He wanted to go back to school immediately and show off all the new money he had inherited. To me, it was disgusting. How could he take mom and dads money? They were horrible people, corrupt and snobbish. It made me sick having a conversation with them that involved money. Carl had always been fascinated. I guess I never was able to hide him from the truth. It always came out eventually.

"He's your brother. He just wants to take care of you," Marie explained, but I knew that wasn't true. Carl would never give a second glance to his family. I meant nothing to him. 

"Is that why he left right after Mom and Dads funeral?" He claimed that he couldn't be away from school for that long. I needed a break. After all, our parents had just died. Nobody expected that. They were forty eight; they had a lot longer to live. They didn't even get to see their children graduate high school. 

"That was his way of copping." Marie tried to reason with me, but I knew it was only to make me feel better. She feared me going down a bad path again. 

"Yeah right," I snorted, knowing perfectly well Carl needed no time to cope. 

"Winter."

"Sorry." I wastn't. It was true. Carl changed when our parents died. It was no surprise if he was spending time with Taylor. "Taylor claimed she talked to him."

"Taylor's a liar," Marie said. It was true. Taylor lied an awful amount. Once, I asked her if I had a stain on my pants from my period. Immediately, she said no and allowed me to go on a date with Austin like that. When I got back to the dorms and screamed at her, she claimed she didn't see and that it must've happened on the date. It didn't happen on the date. I saw it as soon as I went to the bathroom at the restaurant when we got there. 

"It didn't feel like a lie."

"Oh Winter," Marie sighed. She was always like this: worried. Worry filled her constantly even since the death. It hovered around her like a plague or poisonous gas. Nobody could see it, but it was killing her slowly. I feared one day my actions will push your too far, and then I'd been alone. If Marie was gone, then so would Carl. He only stayed because Marie forced him to be civil with me. If it was up to him, he'd been living at his school 24/7 and coming home never.

"Do you remember Jason Calver?" I asked softly.

"Jace? Why of course! During the summer he was over practically everyday. It's a shame he isn't around anymore."