I sat beside Sirena on her bed, scribbling quickly to her, my heart racing as fast as my hand was. Running back as quick as I could with our notebook in my hand, I’d burst into the house and rushed past Stitches and Ashes, who were playing a hockey game on one of the gaming consoles in the living room. Stitches had sworn as Ashes scored, calling me a cocksucker for apparently startling him and making him lose focus.
I paused over my message and reread it.
Do you want to build a snowman? I know it’s sort of lame, but I’ve never actually made one before, and I saw the painting you’re working on. I like how the snowman’s head isn’t attached, and he’s in the cemetery.
I sounded fucking stupid, but I’d already written the message. Frantically erasing would just make me look even worse, so I cleared my throat and handed her the notebook.
She took it from me, clearly eager, and wiggled in her seat. The cute move made me smile. Her colorful eyes swept over my message for a moment before she wrote back to me. As patient as I could be, I waited. Finally, she slid the notebook onto my lap.
I would love to build a snowman with you. I could take your snow-ginity.
I smirked at her words before looking to her to see her eyes wide and full of innocence. A soft chuckle slipped past my lips, and I shook my head before responding.
I would love for you to be my first.
She clapped her hands excitedly before getting off the bed and tugging my hand to follow. Like a kid on Christmas, I did, my heart thrumming excitedly.
“What are you guys doing?” Ashes asked from his spot on the couch. They’d gone from gaming to watching a movie. I took in the way Stitches’s leg was jumping and how he rubbed his hands up and down his thighs. He was agitated. It didn’t take a genius to know why.
Me. Always me.
In the grand scheme of things, we were all on edge. Time was ticking. Everything had the potential for getting seriously fucked up more than it already was.
“Uh, we’re going to build a snowman,” I said sheepishly. Sirena grabbed her jacket and tugged it on. Dragging my gaze away from Ashes and Stitches, who shared a look, I grabbed her cute fuzzy hat with the dingle ball on top and pulled it onto her head, earning a sweet smile.
“Maybe go for a walk after. I’ll have her back soon—”
“Take your time. A week isn’t long.” Ashes looked from me to Sirena, a look on his face I couldn’t decipher, but the dread weighing down my guts knew. A week until Church returned. I could be dead this time next week.
I had to make this fucking count. A few moments were all I really had at this point.
“Angel, I—” Stitches raked his fingers through his mess of dark hair before he offered her a pained smile. “Remember, OK?”
She went to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. I watched him hug her tightly to his chest and whisper in her ear, to which she pulled away and kissed him gently. She went to Ashes next and offered him a kiss, which he took, deepening it quickly before abruptly breaking it off and clearing his throat.
“Have fun,” was all he said when she stepped away from him.
She came to me before taking my hand and pulling me to the door. I cast a look back at the guys to see them watching. Everything about the looks on their faces screamed their concern.
“I’ll keep her safe,” I said.
“You fucking better,” was my answer from Stitches.
I stepped out the door, her mittened hand in mine, and focused on the day ahead of us. I couldn’t bear to focus past that. The fear just worked that way for me.
I let out a laugh as Sirena tumbled over the massive snowball in her attempt to make it bigger. The thing had to outweigh her three to one. Her momentum in trying to push it only another inch had her rolling over the top and landing flat on her back on the other side with an audible huff of frustration.
I stopped rolling the middle portion of the snowman’s body and went to her.
She stared up at me, her dark hair a wild mess around her, her eyes wide and lips parted. The rosy red of her cheeks and the tip of her nose made me smile.
“Do you want help now?” I asked.
She’d brushed me off before when I offered and handed me a snowball as an indicator to get to work on my own. I’d done it, enjoying how she was taking charge. Now, it appeared she needed me.
With her bottom lip jutted out, she looked from me to her massive snowball before letting out a sigh and nodding.
Grinning, I went to it and gave it a push. I had to hand it to her. That damn thing was heavy. I was surprised she’d done as well as she had.
When I got it to the spot she indicated, she clapped her mittened hands together and grinned at me.
That made twinging my back worth it.
I gave her a wink and went back to rolling my ball. She wandered off and collected twigs for the arms and various other bits in the yard while I heaved the snowball onto the bottom portion. Taking a step back, I surveyed my work.
It was decent. Perfect, actually.
I looked around to see Sirena coming back toward me with her sticks and a few other things in her hands.
“What’s this?” I took one of the pinecones from her and eyed it before looking back to her.
She smiled and dropped the pile into the snow before starting another snowball. I watched, taking in how serious she was. Once she had the ball the size she wanted, she placed it beside the bottom portion and came back to me.
I helped her gather the items she’d gotten and held them while she used the pinecones for ears and broke others apart to create eyes and a small mouth.
She pushed a small limb into my hand, and I stuck it into the snowman’s torso while she placed the other arm. We took a step back and surveyed our work.
“Not bad,” I murmured, drinking it in. “It’s a masterpiece.” I wound my arm around her waist.
After a moment, she turned to me and went up on her tiptoes. Her lips swept softly against mine, making me let out a contented sigh before she pulled away, her pretty eyes sparkling.
“What do you want to do now?” I asked, brushing a snowflake from her rosy cheek. I looked past her to the sky. It was getting dark, and the temperature was starting to fall even lower. Despite that, she wrapped her mitten around my gloved hand and gave me a gentle tug to follow her. I did without a moment’s hesitation.
I’d follow that girl to my very death, that much I was certain.
