I know it's been forever, please don't hate me. This semester's been the hardest out of all of my high school life. Today started a holiday break, so I decided to upload:)
You what, Edwin? You think you what?
I squeezed my eyes tightly only to open them and find that the pitch darkness wasn't a dream. The power really blew out.
I felt Edwin's grip on my shoulder tighten slightly as if to see if I was still there. I heard scuffling and realized he’d just stood to his feet. “Stephanie?” he whispered.
“Right here,”
“I think the power cut out.”
Total darkness and complete silence was filled in the entire store. I must’ve not noticed, but we were the only two in the store…in the very back, surrounded by clusters of equipment. Did I mention how clumsy I can be, especially in the dark?
“Oh, really, I didn’t know.” I whispered back sarcastically.
Then, there was a quick banging on the door in the front of the store. A round-shaped man with a hat stood outside.
“Um…” I mumbled, beginning to feel a little frightened but some random stranger trying to get in an obviously closed store. Edwin looked toward the door and slowly began making his way toward the front. Before he could get any closer, I grabbed his arm, holding him back. “Wait– no, where are you going?”
“Stephanie, he’s trying to get in.”
I gave him my craziest expression yet. Hasn’t his mother ever told him to not answer the door to strangers? I tugged on his arm. “Are you crazy? That man might be crazy murderer!” I tried my best to keep my voice calm, but Edwin’s actions were making me quite upset.
“That’s Angelo. He probably came back to get us.”
I looked toward the front door and let go of his arm. “Well, don’t leave me here!”
Bouncing to my feet carefully, I followed Edwin’s way. When I got close enough, I clenched the back of his shirt for better guidance through the dark store. As we neared the front door, I noticed a white fluff pouring from the black skies. The substance hit the ground swiftly, causing a blur as to what it was. Angelo’s shaking being caught my attention as he banged on the glass door once more. I carefully glanced at Edwin as I waited for him to open the door, only to find him in the same trance-like state I was a few seconds ago, staring into the white blur that was ahead of us.
“What is that?” I found my voice, looking back out into the outside.
“I don’t know,” he whispered, his voice sounding almost ghostly. “It can’t be snow. That’s impossible. It doesn’t snow in Florida.”
Then what could’ve been the strange white blur progressing right behind the glass windows we stood behind?
The flamboyant bashing from the door woke us from our stupor and Edwin was quick to place his hand on the door. With a swift pull, the door came back only a few feet then shut again. I could’ve sworn I heard howling from the wind or whatever that was out there. Edwin tried again, putting extra strength in it. It finally opened and Sam came inside spitting fluent Italian.
I stood there watching there facial expression to catch some of what was going on. As Angelo frantically spoke to him, Edwin grew serious and straightened up. At least seven times he ran a hand through his chocolate-colored hair. I patiently waited for the ending of this. As I waited, I watched the continuous white fluff fall from the black sky in awe until I heard the Italian frenzy go quiet. Turning to Sam, he gave a nod in my direction, looking dead at Edwin. His current character seemed completely changed from his earlier jolly one.
Before Edwin spoke, he cleared his throat. Then, opened his mouth only to close it again. After a calming sigh, he finally spoke. “We’re currently going through some blizzard, Stephanie.”
“Blizzard?” I repeated. How in the world was that possible?
“And, they’ve shut down all surrounding streets and stop lights.”
“How is this even possible?” I asked, my heart rate going up. I could feel the blood pumping behind my ears. “We live in Florida, we live in the southern United States.” I mumbled. Just yesterday the sun was giving off its daily shine, being as bright and happy as always.
“I know, but we can’t stay here. The power’s out so we’ll practically freeze overnight.”
Overnight? Did that mean that I wasn’t sleeping at home tonight . . . ?
“But, where else can we go? If the streets are shut down, how are we going to get anywhere?”
He quickly glanced at Angelo, then back to me. “There’s a Starbucks around the corner. It’s in the same center we’re in now, so it’s only a quick walk outside.”
All I did was sigh in reply. I didn’t know exactly what to say. I pondered for moment, but not about myself and this situation. What about Briana and Landon at the Formal? What about my parents? Surely, they’re snowed in, too. All I knew was that this was something that I’ve never even thought about. We live in Florida, for crying out loud! I guess I’d just have to go with instinct this time. Whatever felt right, we’d have to go on. And going to Starbucks somehow felt right. “Okay,” I replied simply, not showing any expression on my face.
Edwin glanced at Angelo again, who nodded once.
“You kids stay here.” Angelo said, grabbing a flash light out of nowhere and clicking it on. “I’ve got to get those keys I left for you two on the piano.” His voice sounded tight as he spoke, confusing me as to what else was going on.
When he was gone, Edwin turned to face me. “Listen,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I got you in to this, we should’ve just left a long time ago and we wouldn’t be stuck in this condition.”
“What – no, Edwin. Don’t put this on you. This isn’t your f–”
“But, it is.” He replied with finality in his voice and grabbed my hands in his. I gave an uncalled tremor as his hands wrapped around mine. I must not have noticed the freezing air outdoors that covered my body, what with Edwin’s hands being the warmest thing I could feel momentarily. “Stephanie, your freezing.” He muttered, uneasiness creeping onto his face. His eyebrows furrowed as his hands moved up to my wrists, probably feeling the cool temperature that I gave off. His jaws clenched and unclenched a few times before he closed his eyes.
“Edwin, what’s wrong?” I murmured, anxious of his new expression emotion. Before I could say anything else, he dashed to the left, leaving me there in the dark, the white fluff outside my only light. But, less than enough time for me to begin freaking out, Edwin reappeared with what looked like a large ball of clothing. Throwing the pile on the floor, he began digging through it.
“Here,” he yanked a large brown piece of clothing from the heap, a red material coming from his other hand. “Put this on, quickly.”
Without second thought, I grabbed the two and began to dress. The big brown thing was an oversized sweater that must’ve belonged to his Uncle Angelo and the red material was a soft, cashmere scarf. At least it felt better than the simple, flimsy clothing I was wearing before. I very slowly wrapped the scarf around my neck, brainwashed on how to tie a scarf . . . .
It’s been, like, a full year since I last put one of these on! I can’t remember how to don this thing.
Edwin gently removed my hands from the scarf as he tied it in his own way, making it do all kinds of loops and ties around my neck. Stunned, I glanced up and catch his little smile. As he finished, he placed his hands on my shoulders, warming them up, too. “It’s not suitable winter attire, but it’s the best I can do for now.” His smiled faded when he whispered, his voice barely audible.
“It’s fine, Edwin, really,” I said, speaking louder than what his tone was. “This could be . . .” I thought of a word that could describe this bizarre situation that I’ve never experienced before. “ . . . Fun.”
He chuckled as that, keeping his warming hands on my shoulders. “Fun.” He mocked while his gaze fell over my shoulder and at the white fluff falling from outside. “And, what exactly could that be?”
“I don’t know,” I grinned sheepishly. I then placed a hand upon his cheek, giving it a nice pinch. “Life’s what you make it, Buddy.” I gently slapped his cheek, the shock returning to my hand. Before I could remove my hand, his was placed on top of mine, gluing it there.
He rolled his eyes and whispered more to himself, “I just hope we’ll be alright,”
“What do you mean?” I asked quietly.
It was his turn to grin. “I don’t want us to freeze to death... in whatever that is out there.”
“We won’t freeze,” I giggled, removing my cold hand from his face. “Everything will be fine.”
“I trust you,” he truthfully smiled, two dimples popping from both cheeks. I snuggled my cheek in his chest as I gave him a tight squeeze. He returned my hug, nearly picking me up from the ground and I groaned.
Gosh, I hate being short . . . .
“You are warm,” I mumbled, feeling the extra warmth radiating his arms around me. How was it possible that even though it was so cold, he managed to stay warm?
“I know,” he replied and I could practically hear the arrogant smirk in his words. And then Angelo reappeared from the darkness of the store, a small jingling coming from his hands, and a few lines of irritation on his forehead. He seemed completely different from the happy-go-lucky Angelo from beforehand.
His flashlight was turned off and he made a bee-line for front door. “Let’s go, kids. The ground’s already a bit icy from the storm, so be careful.” He stressed the last few words making sure we both understood carefully. The concentration and seriousness influenced me to be the same. I straightened my back, but when I caught sight of the flimsy shoes on my feet unsuitable for the icy sidewalks, I lost more confidence.
This is never going to work out, I sighed deeply to myself. I know how clumsy I am, and I promise to the world that this will never work . . . .
I felt Edwin take my hand and we were out of the door.
Angelo was right, the ground was definitely not normal . . . at least not to North Florida.
As soon as I took the second step out of the door, I slipped up – regardless if Edwin was holding my hand or not, I still slipped and fell...
It took me longer than usual to figure out what was happening. It felt as if the bitter ice swallowed my foot and ankle whole, numbing each and every cell. Then, right in that same second, it was like a hot metal rod clutched onto the same area and twisted it.
Oh my gosh.
What in the world was happening?
It was dark until I realized my eyes were closed, so when I opened them, the picture came into view. Edwin’s arms were carrying me bridal style as he careful moved forward. The blinding white flew everywhere, chilling my ears and fingers. A thought occurred to me that if Edwin slipped, it was going downhill from there… But, I dismissed the thought as fast as it had come. I trusted Edwin. I trusted that all three of us would get to that Starbucks any moment now. It was only in a matter of seconds left, then I could assure myself we’d be safe. I closed my eyes and clutched the material in my fingers.
There was a familiar ringing, like the kind you’d hear as soon as you open the door to someplace. My eyes flew open as soon as the bitter cold went away. It wasn’t warm – in fact it was cooler than room temperature – but it was better than that cool wind nipping at the hairs on my skin.
I had forgotten about everything else as soon as the pain in my ankle – that I’d also forgotten about – resurfaced and I realized Edwin was putting me back on my feet. I squeezed my hands into fists and unintentionally dug the nails into my palms, but the pain was worse than before. I forced back down the whimper threatening to come out, out of pain. As Edwin picked me back up, I let out a long sigh.
“Did she break an ankle?” a new voice asked. It was warming, but my eyelids refused to open.
I felt Edwin’s chest vibrate as he spoke. “I think so, she slipped and fell on the ice coming here.” There was something off about his voice, though. Like a numb hollowness… ghost-like if you must. My arms, which were wrapped around his neck, tightened. It was my attempt at making him feel better, but the way he uncomfortably shifted his neck and arms proved it wasn’t helping. “And, she’s freezing.”
“Here, put her down.” Said the voice. “We found blankets in the back room, it has to help her somehow.” And, then I felt cold, like, Edwin’s warmness wasn’t around me anymore. Like darkness was invading my mind and body. Like, if I’d let go, he’d be gone forever and I would be forever alone in this dark place. I gripped whatever clothing on him I could reach before he’d leave me here.
“Stephanie, it’s alright.” I heard him say. And, I thanked God that he wasn’t as far and distant as I thought he would’ve been. “I’m not leaving your side. I’m right here.” His arms, thankfully, reappeared around my neck, calming me. “You slipped and fell on the ice, so we’re trying to help, okay?” I nodded my head slowly as my dang eyelids still refused to open. “Look at me, Steph.” Edwin sighed when I didn’t listen to him. “Look at me,” I willed for at least one eye lid to open, but it just wouldn’t bulge.
Stubborn eye.
“I need you to open your eyes, Stephanie. You can’t fall asleep on me, I need to know you’re alright.”
I slowly nodded my spinning head again, putting all of my concentration into opening my eyes. And when I did, I missed his face and the picture around him surprised me.
This no longer seemed like a Starbucks… it was more like a shelter with handfuls of people. People everywhere, their eyes glued to me like I was a freaky green creature just born from a giraffe. Some were sitting on the counters, some standing along the walls, and the rest sat on the empty-spaced floor where tables and chairs should’ve been. I swallowed out of nervousness of the near dark place, and made an accidental glance at the windows. The storm outside was still going on…
I didn’t even know where to begin on questions…