The boy from Neverland

Secrets

Baelfire's POV

The icy wind hit my face and neck again causing an uncontrollable shiver to run through my body. My scarf untangled from around my neck causing it to fly out of my coat for the third time now as the wind rushed past. I quickly released my hands from their designated pockets of my coat to wrap the soft material back around my neck, now twisting the two sides tightly together and quickly tucking it back into my coat before the next blast of cold wind could rush past. Even out in this weather, there were still crowds of people rushing through the streets, cars driving carefully on the snow-filled roads, shops, and cafes frozen to the windowsill in snow as the winter season dreaded on for months on end.

I've managed to survive on my own so far but trying to adapt to all these new changes in a foreign world has not been easy. It had been almost two years now since the night he abandoned me. I remembered the strain in my voice as I screamed begging for him to leave his dagger behind and come with me through the portal. I remember the look on his face as he let go of my arm and held onto his dagger to keep him falling through. I wanted a better life for us, a fresh start in a land without magic. I was so desperate to make him change that I believed he would come with me and leave his power behind. I was wrong. It hurt to know that magic was more of a risk of losing than his own son. He proved that when he chose to stay behind. He clearly didn't want me and I didn't need him...not anymore. I finally got what I wanted, to be free of magic and its power. Living in this world has proven that so far.

I had only walked a block yet my fingers were nearly frozen to the bone as I pulled open the ice-cold door handle of the convenience store. I sighed in relief as I stepped inside to the heated store, hearing the familiar beeping sound of the door shutting behind me. I turned to the old cashier who gave me the same warm smile he always did as he unpacked a box on the counter. I stomped off the snow from my boots before walking into the first aisle, my stomach instantly growling as I eyed the stacks of packaged food on the shelves.
I grabbed my usual before glancing around the store to see that I was the only other customer in here except for another man who was standing in front of the fridges full of cold drinks. I grabbed two small chocolate bars and shoved them into my coat before walking to the counter, now grabbing the attention of the cashier who had been keeping busy unpacking boxes. The only thing I did miss in the enchanted forest was that you could easily trade for food outside of the kingdom. Here, however, I quickly learned that money was the only way a person could afford to eat. For a sixteen-year-old who was not even close to becoming an adult yet...living life on your own was not easy.

I forced a smile as I fished out the money I had sitting in my pocket, placing it on the counter. The cashier returned a smile as he began scanning the items. I glanced along the shelves behind the old man before stopping at the circle mirror that was sitting in the corner of the ceiling reflecting the entire store. That's when I noticed the man from earlier. He was still standing in the same spot in front of the cold drinks. Why would he want to buy a cold drink on one of the coldest snow days of the season?

I quickly averted my eyes when I saw him suddenly turn around, his eyes meeting with mine for a split second before I turned to the cashier. I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach as I heard his footsteps walking down the aisle. The cashier handed me my purchased items in a bag and I quickly thanked him before rushing to the door. I walked down the street quickening my pace. The cold didn't seem to take the same effect now that uneasy feeling had permanently settled in my stomach.

I glanced behind me once reaching halfway down the block to see the same man quickly walking after me. I looked over my shoulder and my stomach tied in a knot. He was still following me and now he was running. I turned back around moving in between people who gave me strange looks as I quickly ran through the snow. I was almost out of breath until I reached my apartment building. I wasted no time in running up the old stairwell before rushing down the hall until I reached the apartment door. I was fiddling with the keys that were hidden in my coat pockets, my numb fingers eventually fishing them out before jamming them into the lock of the door.