December: A DNF Novel

Chapter One

The winter air was crisp and bit at the tan skin of a tall man with dirty blonde hair and piercing green eyes. It being nearly two in the morning, the slim but athletic man shuffled throughout the surprisingly quiet streets of London, where he was visiting from the USA for the whole month of December. He walked slightly slumped over and dragged his legs in his heavy combat boots across the snow-dusted sidewalks.

He stopped briefly past a lamp post to throw out a nearly gone cigarette butt that he had been nursing for the entirety of the twenty minute walk. He had begun to memorize this walk- it's turns, it's sounds, it's people- after walking it for the fourth time this week. He would walk each night, shortly after dinner, to the closest pub to his aunt's apartment, and would stay and drink pints until the bartender cuts him off, and then he would sluggishly walk back to the apartment alone, in silence.

This nightly disappearance went unnoticed by his family members, and also rarely did pub-frequents give him attention or chat to him on his nightly outings. He was generally a pretty social person, but the new acclimations to an entirely different country whenever he visits each year have always been difficult to deal with. That, and the "friends" he makes in this city rarely stay in touch with him after he goes back to America.

As he approached his aunt's apartment building he noticed the light on in the room of his fifteen year old cousin, Lindsey. He was surprised because Lindsey, as is true with most fifteen year old girls, had school the morning and usually didn't stay up past midnight. Her mother was very strict and usually Lindsey abided by the elder's rules, but it seemed she had other plans this Thursday night. Dream gripped the freezing handle of the building's exterior door and jostled it slightly until it finally opened, sending a warm wave of heated air towards his rosy, frost-bitten cheeks. This made him sigh slightly as he shut the door behind him- he was finally saved from the harsh London weather.

He hadn't correctly estimated the sheer level of bitter cold that seemed to inhabit every corner of London. His outfit, aside from the clunky boots that had no insulation whatsoever, consisted of: dark grey sweatpants with a black drawstring, a dark red long sleeve shirt, a black coat thin enough to pass as crepes to the untrained eye, and black fingerless gloves. The long, slightly pointy ears of this twenty two year old stung a bright pink in response to the chilling wind.

A hat, he thought.

He forgot a hat on his month-long vacation to a place that is notorious for its harsh winter weather. Of course a thicker coat, boots that would probably make him look ridiculous but would warm his toes up, and gloves with fingers would help a smidge as well.

When he finally reached the third floor, he furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of his aunt's front door propped open by a thin hardcover book. He picked up the book and walked into the apartment, gently closing the heavy door behind him in attempt to not wake any of his relatives. Thankfully, the only being he seemed to wake up in entering the apartment was his aunt's tiny, grey kitten: Henry.

Henry trotted over to him, the bell on his collar gently dinging with each dainty footstep. He crouched down to pet the cat, and then stood back up and hovered the hardcover book just above the marbled kitchen counter. He brought the front of the book into the only light source in the kitchen (just above the stovetop) to read the title.