Chapter 9
On December first, Lucia woke up with a chill. The cold air rushed from her window, causing her to shiver. She stood up and quickly shut the window roughly. Her skin was cold, as she wore short sleeves and shorts to go with it. She decided that it was best to dress warm for the day to come.
When Lucia turned away from her window, she noticed something and turned right back to where she was. There, on the ground, was snow. Sure, she’d seen it all the time out of the window when she was living with Joshua, but she’d never felt it. Everyone on television told Lucia that it was cold and soft, sort of like a cloud. Was it really like that?
After getting dressed in warm clothes, Lucia ran down the stairs and into the living room. “There’s snow!” She squealed softly. Jon looked up from the paper he’d been hiding behind and nodded.
“Isn’t it dreadful? So cold…”
“So it is cold, right?” Lucia whispered, pressing her hands against the window of the door. “Can I go out? Please?” She smiled at her father.
Jon shook his head. “You’ll end up getting sick, Lucia. Maybe later.”
Lucia frowned and debated whether to just go outside without permission. She decided that it wasn’t the best thing to do and let out a sigh as she went into the kitchen for something to eat. The phone rang and she jumped to answer it. “Hello?” She said.
“Lucia?” Mason’s voice rang in her ears. A blush appeared on Lucia’s cheeks as spoke.
“Hello, Mason. Need something?”
A chuckle left his lips. “Yep, I want to take you sledding today. What do you say?”
Lucia had heard about sledding – you went out in the snow on that thing called a sled and went down a hill. She’d seen many people have fun in the winter time, doing it and she knew that she’d have fun as well. “Yes, I do. What time?”
Lucia knew that Mason was smiling when he spoke again. “Eleven, so get ready now. Bundle up, it’s cold outside!”
**
Lucia pulled on her mom’s winter coat. It was a pale purple, but it was cute in her opinion. Her neck was covered with a matching scarf and her feet with boots. They were comfortable; inside it was furry and soft – she hoped that it would keep her warm, though she was sure that it would.
Throughout the few months, Vance had become more distant and less responsive to Lucia. She hoped that it wasn’t because she was spending so much time with Mason, but she knew that that was probably what was happening. She’d planned to watch a movie with Vance tonight, just the two of them – there was no way that she could afford to lose someone else she loved.
The doorbell rang and Lucia stood up and opened the door. Mason stood there in a black coat and beanie. His blonde hair was snug over the sides of his hat as he walked into the house. “Burr,” Mason exclaimed, “are you ready to freeze?!”
Lucia nodded. “It’s my dream, you know.” She stood up and took Mason’s hand in which he had held out to her.
“Well, I enjoy making your dreams come true,” Mason winked at her and waved at Jon, whom was watching the two of them. “See you later, Mister P!” Then, the two of them walked out the door.
The cold and windy breeze hit Lucia when she walked outside. She shuddered from the sudden cooling and grasped onto Mason’s hand tighter. She’d never been out in the cold, at least not that she could remember. She wanted to dash back into the house and curl up in front of the fire, but she had a feeling that today was going to be fun – just Mason and her.
“So where are we going?” She wondered as they got into his car.
“It’s a surprise.”
**
The car stopped and Lucia climbed out and into the snow. She stared at it for a moment, wondering what it would feel like on her hands. She then bent down and touched it, instantly pulling her hand back. It was just as cold as the air and it felt like a cotton ball. Lucia was so interested in the substance that she barely noticed that Mason was pulling her towards a hill with a red sled in his hand.
Lucia gazed at it, studying the plastic board. “I don’t want to go down that big hill!” She exclaimed as she saw how big it really was. It had to be the largest hill she’d ever seen – this scared her. “No, this is not happening!”
“Take a chance for once,” Mason smiled at the dark-haired girl as they climbed to the top of the hill. It was hard, considering how steep it was. Mason plopped the sled down and picked Lucia up, easily setting her onto it.
“Mason!” She yelled, blushing as he climbed onto the back of it. “No…don’t you dare,” she cried, but it was too late – Mason had pushed off and they were sailing down through the snow and down the hill. Lucia screamed as Mason held onto her from behind, laughing and throwing his free hand into the air. The sled stopped abruptly at the bottom.
“I hate you,” Lucia laughed as she stood to her feet.
Mason grinned as he stood up as well. He wrapped his arm around her waist and shook his head. “You can’t hate me, it’s impossible.” They stared at each other for a moment…as if the cold air didn’t bother them at all. Mason’s green eyes clung to Lucia’s blue, as though if he broke eye contact, he’d lose her forever.
“Is it?” Lucia breathed. It was one of those perfect moments when there are people all around, but there was only one person that was noticeable in the eyes of the two. Mason leaned in, pulling Lucia closer to him. She didn’t object one bit as her hands caressed the jacket he wore.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” a voice came from behind Lucia. Mason dropped his gaze and looked up.
“Not at all,” he grunted, moving to pick up the sled. Lucia turned around to find her brother, standing there with a smirk on his face. A blush clung to the girl’s cheeks. “We were about to make snow men, would you like to help?” Mason asked.
Vance nodded and looked down at the snow. He bent down and rolled a large piece into a ball with a large grin. Lucia ducked as Vance threw the ball of snow at Mason, which hit him straight in the back of the head. The man slowly turned and glared at his friend, but the glare was soon replaced by a grin. “Oh…two can play at that game.”
The inner boy came out from inside of both Mason and Vance. They began hiding behind trees and bushes and throwing snowballs at each other. Lucia stood there, smiling. “Come to my side, Lucia! You know you want to!” Mason yelled.
“No, mine! I’m smarter and sweeter!” Vance laughed.
Lucia had an idea; she wouldn’t join one of them…she’d secretly make her own snowballs and throw them at the two. When Mason peaked out to throw a snowball at Vance, Lucia threw hers straight at him, aiming for his head. She succeeded and Mason glanced at her, grinning. “Oh no, you too!?”
Lucia turned and threw one at her brother as well; that was when she got attacked with them, being hit over and over again. She finally threw her hands into the air and giggled loudly. “I surrender!”
Soon after, Mason taught Lucia how to make a snow angel. She’d always loved angels and the color of them as well. The girl lay there, moving her arms and legs as she smiled. There hadn’t been a time – not even since she’d come to live with the Patton’s – since she’d had so much fun. There was no doubt that she loved the snow more than anything she’d experienced.
The girl got into Mason’s car and waited for him and her brother to get in as well, but it seemed that they were talking.
Vance grasped onto Mason’s arm, pulling him back from the car. “Wait,” he muttered, waiting until he saw that his sister was into the car. His gaze traveled back to his friend. He hesitated for a moment, debating whether he should just let it go, but there was no way that he could. “Don’t you dare think of hurting her,” he hissed at the man. “If you do, I swear on my love for her that I’ll come after you.”
Mason glared at Vance. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” he yelled.
The other man rolled his eyes. “Don’t give me that bull shit. I see the way you look at her, the way you talk about her! You spend all of your time with her. I remember when there was another one in between our friendship, do you not? I didn’t forget, Mason.”
A frown appeared on Mason’s lips. So what if he was falling in love with Lucia, what was it of Vance’s business? He remembered vividly when Julia was there. He’d spent all of his time with her and forgotten all about Vance – he could see how he would be afraid of that happening again.
“She’s your sister, Vance, lighten up a bit.”
Vance’s face turned a shade of pink. “I know that, but you promised that it wouldn’t happen again. Let’s keep it that way.”
**
It wasn’t everyday that Mason felt like this. He’d been searching for years for someone to help him overcome the pain that Julia left him with; the pain that he knew he’d caused. There was no doubt that it was his fault that she’d died, at least in his mind there wasn’t. He’d never be able to let go of that day, not without someone’s help.
Mason had always wondered about Lucia – what would she look like? How would she act? And now he knew. She was beautiful, as her mother was. She was sweet as candy and acted as though she needed someone to protect her.
He wanted to protect her, but what if things ended the same way? What if Lucia ended up dead or leaving him? What if she didn’t even want him?
There was one thing that Mason knew – that man had done something to her and he needed to know what it was. Not because he wanted to know, but because she needed to let go and that’s what he wanted. Mason wanted Lucia to open up to him and tell him anything that she felt she needed to. Was that so weird?
“Mason,” a voice said quietly. He looked over to find a blonde haired girl with dashing brown eyes. Her name was Emily. Emily had always been there for Mason when he needed her, no matter how he needed her. Now was one of those times.
“I’m sorry,” Mason said quietly as he took her hand, kissing up to her shoulder. This was what Mason did to let go, to forget about Julia. What else was he supposed to do? Having sex made him feel so loved and wanted. He leaned forward and kissed her pink lips. He felt so together as he picked her up off of her feet and pressed her against his chest. Many things ran through Mason’s mind as he did this – Lucia, Julia, why he deserved any of this.
“More,” Emily whispered to Mason, so that’s what he did – he gave her more of what she wanted. He kissed her neck and touched her everywhere. He slid off her clothes and caressed her body, causing all of his thoughts and feelings to go about but one – pleasure. That’s all he felt and he was glad. That’s all he wanted to feel.