Rowan

Freezing Nights and Searing Pain

-Nineteen years and ten months later-

"I knew I'd find you here." A familiar voice, smugly stated from behind me.

"Then why haven't you found me earlier?" I asked rhetorically. Not needing to look behind me to know that it was Alex.

Seriously the guy is like my personal parole officer.

He shrugged, "I figured, you'd need time to cool off." Without asking, he planted himself next to me on the ground.

"How considerate of you." I turned and gave him a smile filled with sarcasm, "now leave." I dismissed, fixating my gaze back onto the waves that violently crashed against the shore like it had a vendetta against the sand. I watched as a wave crashed so hard against a rock, that the splashed water in the air, mimicked a fireworks display.

Violent beauty. That's what the ocean was today, violently beautiful.

"You know me, always oozing consideration," he winked and added after a beat, "It's understandable for you to feel upset but don't take anything that Mia said to heart, she was just angry."

It's weird how he actually believes that to be true. I am the one who has to live with her.

"Alex, leave me alone," I begged in exasperation. Sometimes it's nice to wallow in self-pity.

Unsurprisingly, he ignored my request and instead stared at the ocean in silence. I smiled to myself, enjoying the peace. At least he's being quiet.

"It's b****y freezing out here." He complained about an exaggerated shiver.

I closed my eyes in annoyance and partial frustration. "Then go back to the cabin." sometimes I genuinely think that he uses his brain simply for ornamental purposes.

All I wanted to do was enjoy this weekend with a thick fantasy novel near the beach, munching on popcorn. I did not sign up to have Mia join me.

He scoffed "Not unless you're coming along with me."

"I don't want to spend the rest of my night stuck in a confined cabin with Satans mistress." I admitted, "besides it's beautiful out here."

"Fine, then I'll just stay glued to this spot and await my inevitable, frozen demise," he stated.

"That's good with me," I commented nonchalantly while burying my toes into the soft sand.

It was silent, the gentle breeze and waving water was our only company. It lasted for a full three minutes and thirty seconds before he was at it again. Well, he lasted longer than I gave him credit for.

"Rowan, it's almost midnight." He spat with slight distaste while he rubbed his hands together. "Why don't you have any empathy in you?"

Softly laughing at his dismay, I turned towards him. "We'll leave right now, on one condition," I smiled, trying to get him the least bit curious. Getting a rise out of Alex is my sole reason for existence, okay maybe I'm being a little dramatic but the guy makes it way to easy.

"No, I'm not going to to have s*x with you." He said blandly and made a show of moving an inch away from me, in overdone terror.

My face contorted into pure, unfiltered, disgust. "Ew Alex, you're as appealing as toe fungus."

He chuckled at my repulsed demeanor. "Calm down Rose, I rather put bleach in my eyes, than even think about seeing you naked." He fake gagged, trying not to laugh at my unimpressed expression.

"Haha, you're so funny, you're killing me," I stated with sarcasm dripping out of my mouth. I could practically taste it, fortunately for me, it was a taste that I grew to love.

He rolled his eyes, "So what's the condition?"

I gave him a look laced with mischief. "Come with me for a swim."

"Were you not listening to me rant on about how cold it is?" He asked in disbelief.

"Then I'm not coming with you, simple." I coated my face in a mask of disinterested, a tactic that I knew would get on his nerves.

A string of incoherent mumbling forced my attention towards him. I raised an eyebrow in question when I saw him removing his clothes.

Once he was done wresting off his shirt, he turned towards me and stated with the utmost seriousness, "My death will be on your hands one day, hope you can live with that."

Shaking his shoulders in preparation, he sprinted towards the violent ocean and dived headfirst into the chaos of water. "Holy s**t, I can't feel my body" He exclaimed, the cold chattering his teeth.

laughter disturbed the air. I laughed till I ran short of breath. The look on his face was enough to make me want to put it on a shirt.

And a cup.

And a banner.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" I disregarded my cardigan and shorts, following in my dumbass of a friend's direction with childlike excitement.

Now this, this was fun.

Without hesitation, I climbed up a rock and dived into the dark abyss of the sea. The water felt like liquid energy. I was the personification of peace. My hair danced around me like a halo of crimson flames as I stared at the surface of the water. I really didn't want to go back up, Water caressed my body, soothingly, coaxing me to stay under and relish in the comfort. In the serenity.

It was Silent.

Pure silence.

Every trivial thing that once consumed me faded into nothing. Down under, it was just me and the water.

I floated there, suspended between the coral seabed and the moonlight kissed surface. A muted heaven.

With each second I felt more and more rejuvenated until my thoughts muddled and there was nothing I could other than bask in rapture.

Under here, nothing really mattered all that much. My problems felt insignificant.

Bliss crawled it's way up my spine when a pair of frantic arms, hauled me upwards, breaking the surface and abruptly dragging me back to reality.

Frosty air sucked onto my skin, giving me a glimpse of what it would feel like to be an ice cube.

"Rowan, b****y hell!" Alex wailed as he pulled me towards the shore, huffing "You piece of s**t, I thought you were dead!" he panted.

"Why are you panicking?" I wheezed out in confusion.

He looked at me the way someone would look at a four-headed chicken, "You were underwater for at least eight minutes," he grabbed my head hurriedly, looking for any indication of an injury. "No one would still be conscious after that." He released my head and looked at me with worry.

"Okay.... firstly, whatever you've been smoking you might want to lessen the dosage," I suggested with Suspicion. "I think it's pushing you onto the loco side," I whispered.

"You nearly die," he clenched his fist, looking at me as if I'm an i***t. His eyes swept over me one last time, seeing if I really was okay.

With furrowed eyebrows, I admitted, "It only felt like a few seconds."

He pressed his lips together and looked at me a minute longer before smacking the back of my head, "Never do that to me again."

"Dammit Lex, I did not mean to scare you, I'm not suicidal." I glared at him while rubbing the back of my head.

I slowly got up and did my best to dust the remnants of sand that was glued to my damp body.

"Where are you off to?" He asked.

I gave him a blank look as I started to squeeze water out of my hair. "After all that, you don't want to go back to the cabin with me?" I smirked, "Well, I guess we can stay if you want to."

without a word, he stood up, grabbed my hand in his and dragged me towards the forestry path that led to our cabin in the woods.

Guess he really didn't want to stay a moment longer.

_______

We walked in silence for a while, admiring the splendor of the forest. A Symphony of sounds danced throughout, weaving between the trees and climbing up the branches. Spellbinding. That was the only word to describe it, purely Spellbinding.

"You're still mad at Mia?" And just like that, my mood dampens.

"She called my mom a w***e," I reminded. "Pardon me for not taking that in stride."I finished with heavy sarcasm.

"Yeah, but she's your sister."

"Stepsister!" I emphasised.

A gust of icy wind made me fold my arms together, trying to retain whatever body heat I have left. "Alex, we should've gotten our clothes first," I stated, walking a bit closer to him, in hopes of robbing him of his warmth.

"Nah, you look stunning coated in goosebumps." He snorted.

I blew out my cheeks in irritation. Sometimes I really wanted to kick him in the face, and by sometimes I mean all the time.

"Hold up, look at that," Alex whispered, gesturing to a deer prancing along not too far from us.

In a quick movement, he roughly pushed us behind a bush, forcing us to painfully squat low, in order to observe the animal without startling it.

Dead leaves, as well as rogue twigs, weaved themselves into my damp hair. I gave Alex a scornful look, vividly picturing, him being hit by a train.

"Shut up, don't scare it away!" He smiled goofily, being well aware that I hadn't spoken a word.

Idiot.

I have to admit there was something exciting about observing an animal in the wild.

He stared at the deer in admiration, "It's beautiful," he admitted, as he slowly tore his gaze away from the deer and onto my awkwardly, crouching figure beside him.

I unattractively spat a few stray hairs out of my mouth and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, it's nothing." A c***k of laughter broke through his tightly pressed lips.

"Just tell me!" I asked, feeding my curiosity.

"It's nothing really, just that you've got a spider on your neck." He shrugged casually like he was talking about the weather.

My blood turned to frost as I let out a panicked wail and shot up from the bushes like my a*s was on fire. I started to wildly shake myself until a huge, hairy ball with eight legs sprung off me and onto the ground.

I grabbed my knees in exhaustion and huffed for air like a smoker running the marathon, only to be met with Alex's breathless laughter, "highlight of my night" he spoke, trying and failing if I might add, to catch hold a poker face.

"Not cool, you know I hate spiders." I glared.

With the deer being long gone and the mystic atmosphere being broken, I decided to continue our journey alone. Before I could make it two steps, a pair of warm arms wrapped themselves around my torso. Restraining me from moving forward, or even breathing for the record.

"Cheer up Rose!" Alex chuckled, pulling me closer until my back hit his chest. "Next time I'd slay the pest for you. A valiant knight if you will."

Whatever I was about to say died in my throat as a searing heat coursed into my veins and manifested right on the birthmark on my wrist. I hissed in pain. The sudden burst of agony welcomed black spots to paint my vision in affliction. I could almost hear my skin sizzling as my knees grew weak from pain. What the hell is happening to me? Did that damn spider bite me? I knew those eight-legged demons were no good.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked in panic as he frantically let go of me, eyes searching for any hint of something out of the norm.

And just like that, the pain instantly ceased, the second he let go of me. That seemed too real to be my Imagination. "I think that spider bit me," I confessed although I doubted it.

"Let me see." He stretched his arm, waiting.

"Don't sweat it, I'm fine, we'll check it out when we get back to the cabin."

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, looking skeptical.

"Yes," I smiled, to assure him. "Now, may we please leave, this cold is really not helping the situation."

He scratched his head, "Don't worry, we're almost there, I bet Mia is worried sick." he snickered and walked a few steps ahead of me.

Ignoring his sarcasm I glanced down at my seemingly fine wrist, not sign of bite marks anywhere "Weird." I murmured in curiosity.

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