I wake up to the dull thumping noise. I can't identify what the sound is. It's like a loud clapping sound coming from another room. Maybe from outside. I get up, wrap myself in tie blanket and go to the library window. Looking between the books, I see a bundled up Leo outside in the snow. He is hacking at a dead, frozen cottonwood tree with some sort of axe.
"What the hell?" I wonder quietly to myself. I am not in the mood to bundle up and go back out into the cold, so I figure I will ask him about it when he comes back inside... if he comes back inside. I don't care at the moment. My house is surrounded by trees, so what if he destroys one? It doesn't really matter anymore. I care more about staying warm.
I decide to put away the food that Marci brought back. I checked on her throughout the night, and she is getting progressively better. I hope and think she will be okay. Physically, anyway...
The backpack contains a few candles, a box of matches, four boxes of noodle soup, some canned green beans, a box of oatmeal, a couple of protein bars, and a bottle of water. In the duffle, I find several packs of jerky, crackers, cereal, canned chowders, some paper and notebooks, a few Gatorades, and a large bag of trail mix. I silently congratulate and thank Marci for her work.
I am startled by a tapping sound. I whip around to see Leo through the fireplace. He points to the door and I meet him there, unlocking it and opening it to face him. Leo is standing there with an armful of branches and wood chunks.
"Firewood." I whisper without meaning to.
"This oughtta burn better than paper." He says quietly with a smile. "Plus I can't watch you burn another book." I smile back. His nose and cheeks are red and he looks generally freezing. I move aside to let him into the library, and he sets the pile on the ground against the wall gently. He sticks a few pieces into the hot coals of the fireplace. Well, now the chopping makes sense.
"Um... thanks. You didn't have to do that." I say. He shrugs.
"I don't mind. You needed firewood." He says, smiling at me again. His eyes lift and light up with his wide smile. There's a slight dimple in his left cheek beside his contagious grin. His skin looks pale and his features dark. Those deep blue eyes glow back at mine. I cannot help but stare...
"Hey." Marci says suddenly, breaking the awkward eye contact between Leo and I. I turn to see her sitting up. She looks confused at Leo, but then seems to remember.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" I ask, moving away from Leo. My blood pressure and pulse are elevated, but I try to ignore it. I focus on Marci.
"I'm okay, I think. My toes hurt. And my nose. I kind of sore in general, I guess, but I feel fine." She says. "I was back to the mile marker and I tried to call you on the walky-talky, and then I was falling out of nowhere. I smacked my head and then I just remember being dizzy and stuck in this hole. I lost the talky, and I was cold... the next thing I remember is you. You helped me climb out and you brought me home." Marci explains what happened yesterday as I sit beside her. She was talking to Leo, though, not me. For a second I think she is going to cry. But instead, she lets out a small laugh. "Why would you help me?" She asks him. He looks at her like he doesn't have an answer.
"I couldn't just leave you there." He says finally. Marci continues to smile as if she can't believe he would do something nice.
"I mean... thank you." She says, a little more normally. I can't help but feel like something else happened that she didn't say. Leo just nods at her. Then he looks at me almost sad or remorseful. He quickly disappears into the living room without another word. I am about to interrogate Marci, but Benji starts to sit up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "So... who is he?" Marci asks, pointing towards the living room. I have to try not to smile.
"That's Leo." Benji says.
"I'll be right back." I say as I get up and follow Leo to the living room. He sits on the sofa, lacing up his boots. His backpack sits beside him and his coat.
"Hey." I say, joining him on the couch.
"Hey." He responds. His voice is gentle.
"The sky is pretty dark." I tell him, really just now noticing for myself. "I think it might storm." He follows my gaze out the window.
"Maybe... guess I should get going if I'm going to find a place to wait it out." He says, looking back to his boots as he finishes putting them on. I look at my own feet.
"You could wait it out here." I say quietly. I don't know what is making me to want him here. I slowly look up to see that he is looking right at me. "Why go out and risk your life in a blizzard? If you want, I don't mind if you stay a couple days." I force myself to remain straight faced.
"Really?" Leo asks. I nod. Then his wonderful smile appears. His hand touches mine. It is electric and tingles my entire arm. "Yeah. I'll stay. Thanks." He says. Only then do I smile back.
A/N- So I'm posting because I forgot to yesterday, and please keep in mind that this is not a finished/100%edited copy of the story so I apologize for typos and/or parts that need tuned up! Anywho, thanks for reading as always, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment. Like I'm begging you to comment and of course, VOTE, because I can't grow as a writer is I have ZERO reactions to my work!! How am I supposed to know what you're all thinking?
Just tell me something. What do you like so far, hate so far, want to see in the future, etc..?
Til next time, Bookworms.
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YOU ARE READING
130 Days
Science Fiction*Don't be threatened by number of chapters- most are 1-3 pages* "Negative temperatures in June." "Riots, power outages, traffic jams, accidents, looting, panic, hospitals understaffed and backed up, disease, injury, death." "Stay indoors. Stay warm...
