When Winter Comes

Chapter 33: Winter Spills

IGNORE ALL ERRORS

Chapter 33: Winter Spills 

Deep down, we're all cable of things that scare ourselves. We don't want those things to exist, but they do. We try to hide them away from the outsiders, so at least only one person has to deal with the horrors. 

- Winter Ozlin's Diary 

Once the car reached the mall, I hustled out of the vehicle. I knew that it would take a little while for Carl and Jace to make it to the doors, so I had a head start. 

As I started for Bloomingdales, I realized something. I had nobody to buy presents for. Sure, I bought gifts for Carl, but he returned them the next week. Marie always stated how happy she was just being able to take care of us. When my parents were alive, we didn't buy them gifts. They told us not to waste their credit cards. In exchange, we got trips aboard to Europe or Bali. Our parents used to gift our other employees extra cash, so I figured thats what Carl and I were doing. In the past, I had to buy gifts for Taylor and Emma and Austin. But now it was only Marie and Carl getting something. Maybe, I would send something to Penny to apologize and Reese to thank her for everything. 

I got to Bloomingdales fast, since it was one the closer department stores to the parking lot. I headed for the men's section right away, picking up a green polo sweater for Carl. He always looked good in green, but since his uniform was that color he rarely wore it outside of school. I hoped that buying the sweater would hint for him to start wearing the color. 

Next, I headed to the accessories. A purse of a nice scarf would have been good gifts. Then I remembered that Penny had once complimented my Timberlands when I wore them out, but said her parents would never have boughten her boots like those. She claimed that her parents found them too industrial. My parents would have thought the same. I bought the boots a week after they died. 

I was searching the shoes when I heard him calling my name. It wasn't a surprise. He was bound to find me. I did really shop anywhere else besides Bloomingdales. Carl must have told him. 

"Winter," he breathed when he finally clasped next to me. I watched him sit on the seat and continued to roam the shoes. 

"Hello," I mumbled. I picked up one of the shoes and checked the prices. It read $49. No doubt it was not a good quality shoe. My Timberlands were $150, so Penny deserved those, especially since I broke her nose.

"Aren't you going to talk to me?" Jace asked. He was panting quite hard on the bench. It must of been difficult to hoist himself around on the crutches. 

"I said hi. It wasn't like I ignored you. Did you say something else that I didn't answer to?" I continued to shop without glancing at him. It hurt to stare into the playful blue eyes that he had.  They made me want to forget the entire reason why I was distancing us. 

"No, but it's just that-" He stopped and thought about it for a second. He didn't see the problem. "Why are we fighting, Winter?" He sighed and I finally looked over at him. His head was in his hands. The crutches rested beside him. "I don't understand. I forgave you." Jace looked up from his hands and noticed I was looking at him. I tried to look away, but it was too hard when it came to him. "I forgave you, Winter, and now you're the mad one. Why? What could of possibly happened?" 

"Jace, you just need to stop. Move on from trying to save me." 

"I'm not trying to save you, Winter! I'm trying to be with the girl that I love, but you're making that very difficult."

"Stop it, Jason," I hissed. I moved over to where he sat. "We're not talking about this." 

"Why? Just tell me why, Winter."