Darkness Will Come to Light [1]

XXVI. Cold AF

Carlisle delicately sipped at his coffee while Esme puttered around the kitchen making Melaina's lunch for school. Alice bounded down the stairs with Jasper in tow. "Hey, Mel, don't forget a coat today. It's going to snow later."

Mel looked at Alice and then glanced out the kitchen window. It hardly looked like it was going to rain, much less snow. "I checked the weather. It said only twenty percent precipitation," Mel said doubtfully.

She finished her glass of juice and stood to place it in the sink. Esme swooped in to take her dishes before Mel had the chance. She handed her foster daughter an insulated bag full of homemade food. "Thanks, Esme," Mel murmured. She stuffed the bag into her backpack on the floor beside the table.

Alice rolled her golden eyes and placed her hands on her hips as she scoffed, "Those meteorologists give their best guess." 

Mel didn't bring her coat, not that she was trying to go against Alice's prediction. She had worn a hoodie and forgot to grab the extra layer before they left for school.

By third period, Alice's knowing guess about the weather proved to be true. Like small bits of shredded paper, snow sprinkles from the scatter of clouds in the sky.

When Mel left for her next class, she narrowed her eyes at the snow like it had betrayed her. Wrapping her arms more tightly around herself, Mel hurried to her locker before English Lit.

She twisted the lock to her combination and swung the locker door open. A thick black peacoat hung on the hook against the back of her locker. The white board held to the door by magnets had Alice's curly writing on it: Stay warm.

At least she didn't write "I told you so," Mel thought to herself as she pulled on the coat over her thin Black Veil Bride hoodie. It made her look bulky, but she was warmer now.

~*~

The autumn to winter temperatures continued to drop.

Edward and Mel waited in the cold for Alice and Jasper. They were taking ten years to leave the school building. Rosalie and Emmett had already left for home.

Edward looked like a winter model in his pea-coat compared to Mel in what she dubbed her "jumbo marshmallow" parka. The wind tried to pull her hair free of her fuzzy wolf-eared hat.

"What? Are you cold or something?" Edward snickered.

Melaina shot him a glare but didn't answer. Her lips were turning blue and her fingers were numb. Yes, she was a little bit cold.

Mel caught sight of a head of spiky dark hair and exhaled in relief. Her breath puffed a cloud in the frigid air.

"Edward!" Alice admonished as she got closer. "You have the keys to your own damn car. Let Mel in before she freezes."

"Sorry, Mel." Edward hurriedly unlocked the doors. "I wasn't thinking, Alice."

"Obviously." His pixie sister narrowed her eyes at him. In a lower voice that Mel couldn't hear, she said, "We have to be careful with her. Humans can die of a mere cold."

"I know, I know."

Alice and Jasper joined Mel in the backseat of the Volvo. Edward hopped in the front seat and peeled out of the school parking lot.

The car heater was roasting Mel to her very core and she loved every second of it.

~*~

Snow blanketed the earth one thick layer at a time. Mel lazily watched from inside the warm house. She held a mug of hot cocoa in her hands and continuously sipped the liquid even though it was scalding on her tongue.

She was not a fan of wintertime and wished autumn could stay year-round. 

"Mel!" Emmett's voice called from two floors down. She rolled her eyes. He thumped his fists against her door a moment later, then opened it before she could respond. 

Emmett's built frame was shaking in excitement. "Build an igloo with me!" It wasn't even phrased like a question.

"Em, it's cold out there and it's warm in here." Her tone implied the duh.

He rushed over to her body wrapped in blankets. "You can bundle up. Come on, it'll be fun."

Somehow Emmett convinced Mel to face Mother Nature head on. She wore layers upon layers while her foster brother only had on a simple jacket and sweats. Mel glared at him. "Why do guys have so much body heat? I'm freezing and you're not even affected."

Emmett shrugged. His smile morphed into a smirk and Mel was suddenly pelted with a handful of snow. "Gah!" she cried out. Emmett laughed loudly.

A snowball fight ensued. Rosalie came out to Mel half-laughing, half-screaming at Emmett and ended the hurdling of snow between the siblings. They started to make an igloo, which turned out to look more like a castle.

Emmett was really into it, and Mel enjoyed watching his eagerness in building with snow. Rosalie and Mel chatted while the burly vampire focused intently on carving a dog into a mound of snow and ice. 

Rosalie hated on his dog when he finished, claiming to be a cat person, so Emmett made a cat companion for his dog sculpture. Mel used all her creative juices to build a lopsided snowman in the middle of the two. 

Although Mel caught a cold from being out in such low temperatures for so long, she actually didn't mind. Laughing and bonding with Rosalie and Emmett was worth a day or two of the sniffles.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Sibling bonding ♥ Things are going to be picking up next chapter and we'll start seeing more of Mel's best friend, Savannah. I can't wait to share more with you!

PS. Votes inspire me to make early updates, no pressure(: