ῼ Ash Castillo ῼ
I watched Ella stare down at the snow-capped peaks we were currently flying over. I loved that part of her, the childish part that seemed to be capable of taking normal, ordinary life and making it something exciting. But even I had to admit the view from the window was impressive. That was the thing I loved about flying in a helicopter. You felt like you were above the world, looking down on it, gliding over it. You didn’t get that feeling in a jet or a private plane…or God forbid, a commercial flight.
We were nearing our destination and the pilot was dropping altitude. Already, I could see the ski slopes of Chamonix. I glanced at Ella, who was gaping down at the ski resort.
“You didn’t,” she mouthed, wide-eyed.
I didn’t move back, just smiled at her and looked away, watching the resort getting closer and closer. I could see the ski lifts already, and smiled approvingly when I saw they were empty. I’d had to book out the entire ski resort, of course, since I absolutely despised the idea of skiing down a slope surrounded by fat teenagers and their obnoxious parents.
We landed gently onto the helipad that had been especially built for our arrival. The blades slowed down and I pulled off my headphones. Leaning it, I did the same for Ella. As soon as the headphones were off, she started spewing a torrent of words.
“I can’t believe it,” she gasped. “You brought me skiing! Ash, I can’t believe you actually brought me here…Ash, I –”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, smiling. “It was nothing. When you have money, the whole world is within your grasp.”
But as soon as I said this, I remembered the conversation we’d had in the car. Ella clearly remembered too, because the excited expression on her face slipped for just a moment, before she hitched it back on.
“I don’t think I’m dressed suitably, though,” she confessed, as if it was a great sin. She was shivering violently in the tight-fitting dress she’d put on this morning, and I cursed myself for not considering the temperature.
“Don’t worry about it,” I smiled. “I have some warm clothes for you, and all the ski equipment we’ll need.”
She nodded, looking overwhelmed. I glanced at the pilot, who was pulling out the bag of equipment I’d asked to be packed into the helicopter with us. He tossed me the bag and I caught it easily. I glanced over and saw that the ski resort’s manager had arrived as well.
“Greetings, dear visitors,” he said, his voice deep and calm. Though his words were fluent, it sounded rehearsed. “And welcome to Chamonix, the leading French ski resort with some of world’s most –”
“Save it,” I said, interrupting him. Ella’s lips were turning blue. “Just tell us were the changing rooms are. And they better be warm.”
***
Ͼ Ella Castillo Ͽ
I came out of the room I’d used to change in, feeling very bulky in the padded clothes Ash had handed me. When Ash saw me, he doubled other, laughing. I glared at him.
“Shut up,” I muttered. “It’s not funny.”
“Sorry,” Ash smirked. “But you look like a snowman caught in a paint accident.”
Ignoring him, I decided to make my way out of the changing rooms and started following the signs to the entrance. In the unusually empty resort, I easily heard Ash run after me and a few moments later, he appeared beside me, the equipment bag slung over his shoulder.
“Are ski resort usually this empty?” I asked.
“I hired it out,” he replied simply. I rolled my eyes. Typical Ash. He wouldn’t survive five minutes with a regular credit card. I stepped out of the building, the cold wind immediately biting into my exposed neck and face, though thankfully my body stayed warm under the thick, insulated clothing. Then I started walking, moving towards the direction of a ski slope I’d seen.
“If you keep going that way,” Ash said, still behind me. “You’ll fall off the mountain. Beginner slopes are that way.” He pointed in the opposite direction.
Trying to maintain my dignity, I turned around and walked in the direction he was pointing in. Pretty soon, my feet left the concrete and I was enjoying the feeling of snow crunching under my boots. Snow didn’t happen often in a city like New York, and when it did, it was pretty much guaranteed to turn into disgusting brown mush in about five minutes. So the pure white snow made a nice change.
I almost slipped, but Ash reached forward quickly and grabbed onto my arm, keeping me upright. We both stared at each other for a moment and I blushed under the intensity of his stare.
“What are you looking at?” I finally asked, shy all of a sudden.
“Your ears. They’re bright red.”
Oh. Romantic.
“Hang on a second,” Ash said, dropping the bag to the floor and quickly unzipping it. I watched him curiously as he rummaged around the bag. Finally, he produced a bright orange hat with a giant bobble on top that was clearly not chosen by my fashion adviser.
He pulled it onto my head, so low it covered my eyes as well as my ears.
“There you go,” Ash laughed.
I pulled it up again to glare at him.
In moments like these, we were so close it made my heart warm. I wished every day could be like right now.
***
ῼ Ash Castillo ῼ
“I haven’t given you poles, because they’re really for turning and all you’re going to be doing is sliding,” I said, in instructor mode, “but what you have to do for the basic position, is to first turn your skis in, like this, making a V shape, and press down. This stops you from moving. You want your knees to be bent a little, like this.”
I demonstrated.
“But if you want to move, turn your feet out your skis are straight.”
I did this, and started to glide down the snow slowly for about a second.
“This move is called something I can’t actually remember, but I think it’s one of the beginner moves. Why don’t you try?”
Ella stared at me dubiously, as if to say, ‘Are you joking? I can’t do that.’
“Go on,” I prompted. “I’ll hold onto your waist until I think you’re ready to go it yourself.”
I unlocked my skis and grabbed her waist. Ella gave me worried look before clumsily positioning her legs into the pose I’d taught her. I held onto her waist as she slowly started sliding down the slope. This was one of the reasons I wanted to teach her myself, rather than have an instructor. I didn’t like the idea of anyone touching her.
“I’m doing it,” she gasped. “Ash, look at me, I’m doing it!”
I grinned at her childlike innocence and nodded along. “Yes, you are. Now go into the second position.”
“Okay…” Brow furrowed with concentration, Ella bent her knees, gliding a little faster. “Wow,” she gasped. “Look how fast I’m going! Ash, am I doing it right?”
“You’re doing fine,” I encouraged. “Just remembered to put your weight in the middle, or you’ll collapse. Now, try and do the V-shape I was telling you about.”
Ella did as I told and her gliding slowed down again, until she stopped.
“How was it?” I asked her, grinning. “Wasn’t scary, right?”
She rolled her eyes. “As if I would be scared of something so stupid.”
“You were holding my hand really tight when we first got onto the snow.”
“Yeah, well, shut up.”
I smiled endearingly. “So do you think you’re ready to do it by yourself?”
Ella bit her lip. “Um.”
“Oh, don’t be nervous,” I laughed. “You have me, right? I’ll always be here for you.”
Ella suddenly turned to me. I expected a cheerful smile, but what I saw instead shocked me. Her eyes very wide and suddenly filled with an unimaginable angst, so bright and fiery it froze me to my spot. She ripped my hands from her waist with sudden venom.
“Why would you be?” she said, her voice cold. “When you don’t even like me? When you slept with Lucy?”
***
Ͼ Ella Castillo Ͽ
It was something so simple that had ruined the moment. I looked down at Ash’s fingers and suddenly I had a flashback. Ash’s fingers, locked around Lucy’s wrists as her skinny frame hung over his body. My mind froze. I was barely aware of the fact that I was sliding down the hill already. All I could think of was Ash’s fingers, on Lucy’s wrists. My chest constricted and my breathing hitched. Anger, sadness, desperation filled me. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. Memories returned to me in flashes. Oh God. I’d been so stupid, so caught up with the romanticism of the whole Paris outing, so caught up with Ash, that I’d completely forgotten that I was meant to be taking revenge on him. I’d opened my heart to Ash again and he, again, was in complete control of me. I was so damn stupid.
My hands beside me as I continued down the ski ramp. I was staring out at the scene in from of me, but I didn’t really see. My knees were weak, and I was no longer in the formation Ash had taught me. I didn’t realize I was moving too fast until it was too late. I vaguely heard Ash yell something from behind me, heard him struggle to put his skis back on, but I was past caring. I felt empty, hollowed out. It was as if someone had cut me open and ripped out every part of me that made me Ella. I was gone.
There was a bump and I blinked, snowflakes catching in my eyelashes. Realizing I’d somehow veered out of the ski slope I’d been on, and I was no longer on the nice, smooth snow, I was speeding down on slick, hard ice. Suddenly, I was caught by a primeval panic and I desperately dug my heels down but it was no use, it was too late and I could do nothing to slow down my velocity. My skis make harsh noises against the frozen ground as the freezing cold air bit into my cheeks. My eyes watered.
Some part of my brain, the part that had somehow managed to stay sane, yelled at me to do something, so anything to stop, but I was powerless. I bit down on the inside of my cheek, so hard I could taste blood, squeezing my eyes closed, suddenly grateful for my ski-goggles, feeling my blood pound in my ears.
I cracked open one of my eyes, just in time to see a sudden steep slope in the ice. I lost my balance and feel forwards, smashing my head against the cold ice. With the air squeezed out of my lungs, I registered nothing but pain and surprise as I tumbled. I could feel one of my skis rip off my feet as the cruel ice smashed into the exposed parts of my face.
It was over as quickly as it began. I hit something solid and hard, feet-first. There was a sickening crack and pain throbbed though my leg.
Looking up at the blue sky through my cracked ski goggles, my stomach still lurching and adrenaline still running through my veins, I just breathed. Blood trickled down my cheek. Every part of me hurt so bad I felt like I could never move again. All my senses were completely over-ridden by the shock so I couldn’t be completely sure, but I think I heard someone call my name.
Suddenly, the pain in my leg truly hit. I opened my mouth to scream, but the world had disappeared, replaced with black.
***
ῼ Ash Castillo ῼ
I followed her the way she’d gone.
“Ella!” I yelled. This was a bad dream. This had to be nothing but a bad dream. Slowly, but gathering pace, I started running. “Ella!”
My ski goggles chafed against my face. I ripped them off. Suddenly blinded by the pure white ice, I squinted but carried on sprinting. Already, I could hear some attendants behind us, who’d obviously seen what had happened and were going to get help.
What had she meant by those words? When you don’t even like me? I thought I’d made my feelings pretty clear already. I angrily wiped my face, unsure of whether it was sweat or tears. I’d been trying to show her in this whole trip that I cared. To any rational girl, they would have seen it by now. But for someone so smart, Ella was incredible stupid.
It was my fault, though, right? It was definitely my fault. I’d not told her truth when I had the chance. Maybe James had been right. Maybe I just didn’t know how to be honest to women. I knew how to talk to them, I knew how to woo them, I even knew how to please them – but did I know how to love them?
As soon as I find Ella, I’ll tell her how I feel. I promised to myself that I would tell her. She had to know and I had to say it. No matter what happened, I had to tell her.
I hated myself for not making sure the slopes were safe. I was so stupid. I had to apologize to her. I had to apologize to her for being such a tool when we’d first met, for trying to buy her with my money, for taking her away from her parents. It was all my fault, so it was only right for me to solve this.
I finally found her, leaning against a tree stump. My heart stopped. Though I’d run all the way here, I hesitated as I walked towards her unmoving body. Oh God. Ella, please, be all right. With shaking hands, I removed her cracked goggles. Her eyes were closed and her face was pale and cold. Trembling, I gently tilted her head back and pressed my ear to her lips.
She was breathing.
I collapsed, all the energy leaving me. Ella was alive. Thank God. Leaning over her face, my teardrops fell onto her nose as I held her close, crying with relief.
***
Author's Note:
Wattpad.
God, I've missed you.