If Santa Had a Son

Chapter 5 - Sneaking Out

Chapter 5

Sneaking Out

I woke up in the middle of the night, freezing cold. Groggily, I felt around for blankets, assuming Mackenzie had snatched them from me, but then I felt a breeze. I froze. There shouldn't be a breeze in the house. I slowly stood up from the bed, wincing as the floorboards creaked. Mackenzie was a heavy sleeper but I was still afraid she would wake up.

My feet shuffled silently across the cold, wooden floor. I looked around, wondering what was causing the breeze. Suddenly, my eyesight fell upon my drapes that were blowing in the wind. I made my way to the window, looking outside. There was no one on the ground, but the window was opened.

"Wh-" My words were cut off as someone wrapped their hand over my mouth. My body went into panic mode, my heart racing a hundred miles per hour and my body thrashing of its own accord. Another arm wrapped around my waist, pinning my arms at my side so I couldn't move.

"It's just me Bree, calm down." I stood still, not moving a muscle. "I'm going to let go now, stay quiet, okay?" I nodded against his warm hand as he slowly released my body.

"What are you doing here Anthony?!" I hissed, spinning on my heels to face him. I could tell he was smirking at me, even in the dark.

"I came to see if you were up."

"It's one in the morning!" I crossed my arms over my chest, huffing. Was he crazy?

"You were awake when I got here." He said in defense, poking my nose.

"H..How long have you been here?"

"Only an hour, I got here just before you went to sleep." I blinked at him, trying to soak in the information. So he sat there for an hour watching me sleep?

"How the hell did you even get in my house?!"

"Climb up the ivy fence." He shrugged.

"We don't have an ivy fence!" He just laughed and pointed out the window, smirking at me. Hesitantly I peaked over the side of the windowsill, startled by what I saw. There were several ivy gates covering the side if the house. Ivy covered them, inside the vines were tinsel and Christmas ornaments. "When did those get there?"

"I don't know, they were there when I climbed up. The window was unlocked."

"Really?" I gasped, placing a hand over my mouth. He just laughed at me, rolling his eyes. "So what do you want?" Suddenly, my stomach felt uneasy. This stranger just broke into my room in the middle of the night? Seriously? And I was positive that ivy had not been there before...

"I don't know....want to go on a walk?"

"At one in the morning?" His eyes twinkled as he nodded his head with enthusiasm. For some reason, I couldn't say no to him, so I nodded, sighing. "Just let me get ready." Before I knew it I was bundled up and sitting on the edge of the window sill, staring down at Anthony. "Are you sure this is s..safe?" I'm pretty sure he could tell I was shaking, but he just laughed.

"Yes, now come on! And make sure to close the window!" He actually wanted me to jump. Wouldn't it make more sense to just sneak out the front door?! I was scared out of my mind. Who would want to climb down a two-story house with a plastic fence as your only support?! Taking a deep breath, I put my hands on the windowsill, twisting so I was just barely hanging over the edge. My feet found the little holes of the fence that were surprisingly sturdy. With shaking hands I pulled the window closed, taking one last glance at Mackenzie's sleeping form.

It took me ten minutes to climb down the ivy, slipping now and then and even falling a few feet at one time. Luckily I caught the ivy, and it was strong enough to hold me before I became a snow pancake. "See, it wasn't that bad." Anthony teased, poking me in the ribs.

"Was so!" I exclaimed, slapping his chest. He just smirked at me. "Where are we going?"

"This way." He grabbed my cold hand - I had forgotten gloves - and pulled me forward. Instantly heat exploded in my fingertips. How he was so warm I didn't know. he wasn't wearing gloves either, and yet heat just seemed to radiate off of him. We walked down the street in silence, both not knowing what to say. I was desperate for conversation, anything to stop the silence. "So where are you from?" I felt the muscles tense slightly in his arms. He squeezed my fingers of my hand he was still holding.

"Far away."

"And that is...?"

"Not here." I huffed, giving up. I would never find anything out about him. "What about you?"

"Just a little south of here, about three hours." It was silent again, I was racking my brain for something to get a conversation started. "I've got it!" I exclaimed, not really meaning to say it out loud.

"Got what?" He asked, giving me a funny look.

"Let's play the question game, I ask a question and you have to answer truthfully or the person gets to choose your punishment," I stated, smiling proudly. He hesitated, looking around us. What was going on?

"Um...Sure, ladies first."

"Okay!" I began to think. I didn't want to get right to it or else he would be scared away, so I started with the easy questions. "What's your favorite color?"

"Blue. What do you do for fun?"

"Shop with Mackenzie and go horseback riding. When did you get your drivers license?" We kept walking for who knows how long, asking random questions. I found out he got his license on his sixteenth birthday, his favorite dessert was chocolate cake, his dad was in charge of a large toy factory that delivered toys all over the world, and his mom was from right here in Minnesota. In turn he found out that my mom became pregnant with me when she was sixteen, my dad was my real dad - he didn't abandon her when she found out she was pregnant, - I had a little brother who passed away when he was six - three years ago, - and my grandpa had died last month - that's why we were spending so much time with my grandma

I tried to brush past the heavy questions, but it left a sour taste in my mouth. I tried not to think about Jared, my brother. Every time I talked about it, all I could see was his floating body as they dragged him from the lake. It had been the worst day of my life. Every time I thought about it, I was practically there. I could feel the sand in my toes, the burning of my throat as I screamed, and the raw, hot despair that ripped through my body without mercy. Coughing, I shook my head. Enough, Bree!

The questions he asked me were much more personal and I was pretty upset. Why couldn't he just tell me who the heck he was, or at least where he came from? "Where are we going?" I finally asked, staring at the blank snow-covered field. We had hopped a fence about ten minutes ago and now we were just standing in the snow, asking each other questions.

"This is my aunt's house." He said, lifting a hand to his lips. Before I could react he let out a low long whistle. I was baffled. What was the point in that? Just then, a beautiful black horse came running from out of the trees, heading straight for us. "My aunt's horse, Midnight." He pointed to the horse, which had slowed to a trot. It stopped in front of us, nosing my arm. I smiled and raised my hand, stroking its nose with my fingers.

"She's beautiful."

"Yeah, she is." I looked up to see Anthony sitting on top of the horse, smiling at me, "Come on." I stared at his outstretched hand for a second before taking it and swinging a leg in the air. It surprised me at how strong he was. He pulled me up no problem. Anthony made a clicking sound and Midnight started walking forward, slowly gaining speed until she was running at a full out sprint. I had never ridden bareback before. It felt different but good different. I tightened my grip on Anthony's waist as I took a deep breath, laying my head on his back. The wind flying through my hair was surprisingly relaxing as I closed my eyes, even though it did sting. The cold winter air bit my cheeks as it whipped past, but I gave into it, embracing the feeling. Besides, the heat still coming from Anthony was more than enough to keep me warm. I fell asleep like that, laying on Anthony's back, enjoying the ride.