A Year of Winter

twenty-five

April 20th, 2013

I couldn't tell where I was, but there were faces hovering over mine. I hardly felt my body when it rocked up and down. I must've been in a car. I didn't know how I appeared in that car on that street at that time, but I was there, and I tried not to question it.

I knew little, but we moved down a busy street-lights flashed, and I could see nothing but blurry eyes and faded smiles.

My ears were clogged, and voices still sounded distant.

"I think he's awake."

"Let him sleep. He's had a rough night."

"We all have."

"No. Not like him."

My eyes closed. I didn't want to go back to sleep, but I felt a hand pulling me back under. Hands pawed at my face, brushing my hair from my eyes, whispering to me to feel better. But it felt empty. Somehow, it all felt empty.

❄

April 21st, 2013 - 1: 30 AM

I pretended to be asleep, long enough to hear what the others bickering.

"He's got to sleep," a girl said. Most likely, it was Noelle, but everyone sounded similar in my head when I felt like I was fading.

"But he might have seen Winter. He could tell us something," another girl insisted. Bronwyn, probably. The aching area around my forehead throbbed.

"Poor little man. He gets punched once and he's out." It was impossible not to recognize Tyrone's voice. "I say let the kid rest. You can pick at his brain in the morning."

"You guys can sleep on the couches if you want," Hattie's clear, upbeat voice offered. "I'm sure my parents won't mind."

"Thanks, lil' frosh. You're not too bad," Tyrone laughed.

"We'll stay here with Henry," Andrew's familiar voice offered.

Noelle said something, but I didn't catch it. And like day to night, I started to fade away, deeper and deeper into sleep.

❄

The morning arrived not long after, and by the time light had poured into my room and set my bed aflame, I'd already woken up. I rubbed my eyes and sat up straight, taking my glasses from the nightstand and putting them back on. My eyes readjusting to the rest of the world, I looked around to see a mess of sheets and pillows on the ground, taken from the den downstairs. Propped against my bed, Noelle and Andrew slept, huddled together like children, Andrew's mouth wide open and snoring.

I couldn't help but smile. In his sleep, Andrew's arm was wrapped protectively around Noelle, and her arm was draped lazily across his chest. I'd had half a mind to tell Andrew about what Noelle had confided in me, but I simply couldn't. Watching them in such a peaceful state, it was as if none of the heartache had ever happened at all.

❄

Downstairs, Bronwyn sat at the table, jittery with a cup of coffee in her hands. She sat beside Hattie and Tyrone, both of whom were silent in the wake of her introspection. At the sound of my feet on the stairs, she immediately looked up, her eyes pried wide open with alarm. She flanked me within moments, pleading for answers.

"Finally, you're up," she sighed with relief. She grabbed my wrist and led me to the table, nearly throwing me down in a chair. She sat down across from me, "I have a million questions."

I squinted my eyes, still a bit disoriented. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon," Hattie said, her hands wrapping around a mug of tea.