Love Thaws: Frozen

Fading

"Oh, no you don't." Jack snatched her phone and tossed it on the ground.

                Anna gasped and tried to dash past Jack. His hand securely wrapped around her waist. Both sisters were squealing, screaming, and kicking within his grasp.

                "Anna, STOP!" Jack yelled.

                She was trying to bite Jack's arm through his sweater.

                "Anna, let me explain!"

                She stopped biting him momentarily. "You've got ten seconds, buster, before I chew your arm off!"

                "I thought you were a cute, preppy kind of gal."

                "I am. I just bite people's arms off on occasion. Explain. Ten, nine-"

                "Alright. It turns out Jessica has a reason for being a snob. She had a dad who beats her. She had to stay away from school for two weeks because of a particularly nasty beating after she tried to free her sister, who's locked in a room where her dad beats her." Jack inhaled deeply.

                Anna liften a slender brown brow. "And what does this have to do with you... doing whatever you're doing with Elsa?"

                Jack blushed. "I'm just carrying her. I need to leave her here for safe keeping. Jessica's father will shoot her little sister if she tries to get help or tells the police. He's done it before-"

                "Wait, he shot her sister before?"

                "No, a little brother. So, as you can see, this is a delicate matter and as much as I'd love to bring Elsa along there's a gun and an abusive father involved. Not a good combination, so I'm simply going to Jessica's, bust her sister out, and find a safe place for the family while the police finish the dirty work."

                Anna was silent for several moments. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

                "Tell her, Elsa," Jack instructed.

                "I don't know what you're talking about."

                Jack sighed. "Excuse us."

                He walked to Elsa's room and laid her gently on her bed.

                "Elsa," he scolded.

                "What?!" she cried innocently.

                "You're so caught up in your own little world, you're going to prevent me from helping Jessica at all unless you can come, is that it?" he snapped angrily.

                Elsa withered under his scorching glare. "Jack, I can help."

                "I'm sure you can."

                "Jack, really. I-"

                "After all, you've already proven to be a responsible adult today."

                Elsa looked down at the floor, filled with shame. "Well, if you want me to act like an adult, treat me like one."

                "If you want me to treat you an adult, act like one!" he retorted. He sighed. Elsa looked up. He stared at her for a long moment, his expression softening. "Elsa you don't understand. I..." He rubbed the back of his neck. Elsa rather liked that habit. It was so cute when he was bashful. "Please, stay here. I'll be back soon."

                Elsa nodded. He closed the door gently behind him. Elsa heard the muffled voices of Anna and Jack conversing. Without hesitation, Elsa walked to the window, opening it. There was a sturdy trellis running from her window sill to the ground. She'd have to thank Mr. Bennett for building it. Elsa scaled the trellis, jumping the last few feet. She sprinted to his car and hopped into the trunk, closing it after her. After a few minutes, she heard Jack shut the house door and start and his. It rumbled to life and he began driving. The trunk became hot and stuffy. The air seemed to get denser and harder to breath. Elsa prayed the trunk wasn't airtight.

                Perspiration coated her skin, making her clothes cling uncomfortably to her body. Elsa swiped at her forehead with the back of her hand. Her hand came away wet. She sighed and shuddered at the thought of suffocating. She'd probably just pass out from oxygen deprivation after a minute or two and then die within the next couple of minutes. It'd be a relatively painless death. Tears sprung to Elsa's eyes. She didn't want to die. The tiny, pitch-black trunk was beginning to make her claustrophobic. I didn't think this through as well as I should've.

She felt the car pull to a stop. The car shuddered as Jack closed the car door. Elsa closed her eyes tightly. She desperately wanted to call Jack for help. But she wouldn't. She couldn't. Elsa pretended she was somewhere—anywhere—else, but the feeling of sweat dripping down her face and coarse carpet underneath her finger tips brought her back to reality. The air was so stale. It tasted like it's been breathed multiple times. Elsa crept closer to the trunk opening, hoping to catch a small breath of fresh air, regretting that's she'd closed the trunk all the way. She felt Jack start the car again and take off.

Had he already been to Jessica's? Saved her little sister? Time meshed together in an undiscernible web of darkness. Elsa laid down. She was getting tired. Elsa gasped and abruptly sat up, hitting her head on the top of the trunk. Was she tired naturally—it had been a long car ride—or was she oxygen deprived? Panicked tears slid down her face. She began shaking, her mind became foggy. She frantically kicked and hit the unyielding barriers around her. Elsa vainly waded through her murky thoughts, trying to think some way to escape her inevitable suffocation. The car stopped again. Elsa didn't care whether or not Jack sent her home. She wanted out. Sweat began suffocating her skin, as if it was a bad omen of things to come.

                "JACK!!!" she screamed. "JACK, HELP ME!" Elsa screamed for all she was worth. Her vocal cords felt stripped raw from her desperate pleas.