Heart of Christmas

~18~

"Alycia?" I say walking down the stairs of the cabin. I woke up and the girl was nowhere to be seen. I was hoping she was down here but looking around I'm not seeing any sign of her, and Christmas is tomorrow. Surely, she didn't leave, right? 

"Alycia?" I call out again, walking into the kitchen. My eyes glancing around before seeing a note on the refrigerator. I walk up and look at it, reading it. 

Went out to get more logs for the fire for tonight.
and ran to the store. If I'm not back by 12 P.M I would come looking. 

                                                                           -Your girlfriend :) 

I smile and shake my head. Alycia and I really made it official last night. That's crazy. Who knew? I never would have expected it to be honest. But there's something so magnetic about the girl that I- Wait a minute. Did the note say she was going to the store? In the snow? In the blizzard? 

Swiftly I glance over at the clock on the stove and see the time read 12:05 p.m. I bite my lip and rush over to the front door, slipping on my boots and grabbing my coat putting it on swiftly. I grab my hat and put it on my head before taking off outside. I pull the door shut with me and glance around. The snow was still somewhat falling. Not as bad as yesterday. It's definitely died off but there's no way in hell she made it to the store in this. 

Maybe I'm just overreacting. There's no way-

A loud, echoing screech erupts into the air. My chest thumps as my breathe hitches. My eyes looking around towards where I think the road is. Panic strikes through me. My body trembling. Just give it a minute, Y/n. It was probably just her coming down the road. She's just being cautious, II think to myself. My eyes squinting and I wait. And I wait and wait before shaking my head and launching myself off of the porch. I hit the snow softly, it was soft. But I knew below the soft snow was just pure ice. The temperatures out here were below zero no doubt. 

My legs travel through the packed snow. Finding it kind of difficult to get through this white fluffy stuff. This is why I am not a fan. It's just a bothersome especially when you have to get places. Damn it, why'd she have to go out? She knew the roads would be bad. What was so important she had to go to the store for? We have everything, I think. Maybe she did need something. Damn it, damn it, damn it. 

I get to the main road. It wasn't as bad as the yard but still bad enough. I stand in the middle and look up and down not seeing anything but trees for miles. I clench my jaw and think for a second. If she went to the store, it would be this way. I point to the right and start running, knowing it's pretty stupid to run due to possible slick spots but if that was her, she could be injured. She could be dying. I can't even think about that right now. 

I round a little corner and my heart stops. My legs stop for a brief second seeing a car damaged and against a tree. My eyes go wide, and I shake my head. The sound of Christmas music filling the void loudly. No, no, no.

I take off running towards the car. My legs on fire at how fast they carry me to the car. 

Upon arriving I can see blood oozing from the woman's head. My eyes take a second and tears fill my eyes as I grab the handle of the car, pulling it open. I reach in and carefully push the woman back. Instantly I'm met with Alycia's face. her eyes closed. Her head bleeding and glass shattered. 

"Alycia- Alycia hey baby," I say quickly, placing my hands on her shaking her slightly. My hand wraps around her getting inside the car a bit. The sound of the Christmas music playing loudly. "Alycia, hey you got to wake up. You got to wake up baby." 

I look at her and reach into my pocket, pulling out my phone. I go to call 911 but my phone informs me I have no reception. I go to throw my phone but stop myself and shove it into my pocket. I move slightly out of the car and look at the damages. I clench my jaw again and shake my head, placing them on the top of my head. Panic rushing through me. This literally cannot be happening. It can't. I can't lose Alycia like my mother. I can't. 

My chest rises up and down swiftly. It burns. My stomach twists and I stare at the unconscious girl. Without another thought I take off away from the car, tears streaming down my face still hearing the haunting Christmas jingles as I get further and further from the wrecked car with Alycia inside.