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I furrow my brows, shaking my head as Espie snickers next to me. I could say something to shut her up, but if she’s in a good mood now, I’d rather not spoil it. A good mood equals the possibility of breaking through that wall she’s put up again.
I glance over at her and for a moment, she looks into my eyes like she wants me and then looks away. Interesting change of events. The light dim and I call the guy in our operating room to turn on whatever Olive wants.
She shouts at him, “Dirty Dancing.” And Espie sits up quickly.
“Olive, that’s not as old as the other movies we usually watch.”
“I like it, though.”
“I just thought you would want to watchSinging in the RainorRoman Holiday.”
“Nope.”, is all she says, and I can tell Espie is forcing herself to let it go. I thought she wanted Olive to choose the movies today. So, I find it rather intriguing that she’s so opposed to this one. As the movie begins, she pulls out her phone, scrolling through social media.
I usually have a strict rule about phones and movies, but I don’t feel like I can say anything. It’s too risky considering she’s already pissed at me. I glance over at her a couple of times and then the fifth time, she’s already looking at me.
“Why don’t you want to watch this?” I whisper, and she lowers her eyes back to her phone screen. “Come on, Espie. I didn’t mean to—”
“Oh, so I’m getting the nice Adrik now? What a treat.” She glares up at me, and I narrow my eyes at her, holding myself back from sending her a snide remark right back.
“Hey, I’m not the one who got all butt-hurt about— well, I don’t even know why you got shitty with me. I didn’t do anything—“
“That’s where our problems always stem from, Adrik.You didn’t do anything. You’re just living, not caring or concerned for anyone else or their emotions.”
“Emotions?” My brows go tall.
She crosses her arms. “The point is, you’re selfish.”
“Woah, backtrack. What emotions?”
“If you really don’t know, I’m not going to tell you.” She sits up straight, looking towards the screen and grimacing a little. It’s barely detectable, but I see it now. Somehow, I’ve hurt her.
I lean in. “Can you just give me a hint?”
“No! Could you just leave me alone?” Espie bursts out rather loudly, and Olive whips around, eyes narrowing at the both of us.
“Would you both shush it?” She snaps and twists back around.
“Yeah.” Espie snaps and stands to her feet, exiting out the other side of the theater. I chase after her before I realize I’m moving, picking up the pace when she takes the nearest exit and nearly tripping down the steps in the process.
“Espie!” I call after her, running at full speed now because I don’t see her in the hallway. And then I feel the draft, and it’s like everything happens in slow motion. Espie’s assumed that the back door leads to a deck, when in actuality it leads to a steep hill, one that is no doubt slippery from this weather.
“Shit.” I breathe, my heart-rate picking up as I sprint to the door, unsure of what I’ll see when I lay eyes on the blanketed world outside.
16
ESPIE
Idon’t know how this happened. My world is upside-down, cold, and dark, and I don’t think it’s because I made it onto the balcony.
The anger I had for Adrik is what led me to run outside just to get some fresh air, to stop struggling to breathe because I felt like I was in a cage— more so than usual.
Crunching footsteps from somewhere far off alert me, but I can’t see anything, it’s dark and wet and cold, and I think someone I’ve slipped into a snowbank. My body is frozen as the sound of feet sliding down towards me grows louder. Then a thud shakes the mound of snow where I’m stuck, revealing a stream of light from some fallen snow.
“Espie?” Adrik calls, tapping on the mound and loosening its hold on me. I wriggle my way free as he does this, and I end up pulling myself away so hard that I fall back onto the hill. His red, wet fingers are in my face as he offers me his hand to get up. I’m soaking wet, shivering and slowly stiffening.
“Please take it.” His piercing eyes are sad and worried, turning down at the edges like the corners of his pink lips. I shake, reaching for him the best I can. When he realizes I’m not just being obstinate and that I am, in fact, freezing faster than a popsicle in the arctic, he scoops me up and cautiously climbs the slippery hill that I slid down. The moment we’re inside, he carries me upstairs, and I am shaking harder than ever have. His speed is causing chills to rise on my damp skin, covered in soaking wet clothes. Somehow we make it up to his room, and he shuts the door with his foot before carrying me to a giant bathroom with a bath the size of a hot tub in the center of the room. He turns on the water, and it falls in steady streams from somewhere above.
Steam forms around us rather quickly, and he sets me down on a bench by a wall that’s just one long mirror. I watch as he grabs everything I need, sniffing and shaking in my wet clothes.
