Page 3 of Frosted Hearts

"Don't tell me what?" my sister's voice calls out from behind me as she enters the study. "We don't keep secrets, Dad. You said so yourself."

My father glares at me before rising from his desk and stepping around it to face my sister. "No secrets, Sweetheart. We are just planning a surprise."

"Why would a surprise scare me?" she retorts confidently.

It takes everything in me not to laugh at her when I turn around to face her. My sister is almost an exact copy of me, just smaller and maybe a bit more straightforward. Her hair is a dirty blonde that will continue to darken as she gets older. Her hazel-green eyes are still sleep-filled, but she manages to stare down our father. She stands before us in her Disney princess flannel pajamas with her hands on her hips, showing us she means business. She’s even wearing her Grogu slippers that totally don't match her pajamas.

"It's just a figure of speech," I answer her when it's clear our father can't dig himself out of his own hole. "How about we getbreakfast before I have to get on the road and you need to get ready for school?"

She glares at both of us before nodding. "Fine, but don't think I'm done asking questions."

"I would never dream of it," I chuckle, heading her way to lead her out of the room. I look back to our father to make sure he has nothing else to say, which was a mistake. He's glaring at me like it's my fault that Grace overheard us. Normally she sleeps in until six or later. My guess is she had a bad dream and came looking for one of us. It still happens, but rarely. "Care to tell me why you're awake right now?" I ask, leading her into the kitchen.

"I had a bad dream, so I came looking for you. When I saw you weren't in your room, I came downstairs and heard both of your voices," she answers as she pushes open the swinging door separating the hallway from the kitchen.

Knew it. I had a feeling that was the reason why. "Sorry, I wasn't in my room for you. How about we eat a quick breakfast and then I get you back into bed for a little bit before I leave? I need to get to campus for class." Could she stay up? Sure, but I also know how cranky she will be all day if she doesn't catch a little more sleep. I'd rather save her teachers from that torture.

"Girls! What are you doing awake so early?" Mrs. Francine, our family's cook, inquires as we enter the room. "Sit, sit, I'll get you both some breakfast. What would you like?"

"Just some avocado toast for me please," I answer, guiding Grace to the large island where we have barstools to sit at.

"Maple and brown sugar cinnamon oatmeal for me," Grace answers, taking one of the empty kitchen stools.

Mrs. Francine begins to bustle around the large kitchen getting our food while we sit in silence watching her. Mrs. Francine is in her sixties and has been cooking for our family since I can remember. Today her gray hair is pulled back intoa tight bun with a couple of flyaways around her face. She's wearing the house uniform of black pants and a black shirt, with her white kitchen apron over the top to protect some of her clothing while she cooks. At five foot five, she is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. When I was younger, I would sneak into the kitchen just to get some of the freshly baked cookies she always kept stocked for me. When our mother died shortly after Grace was born, Mrs. Francine stepped up and did her best not only to care for me but also for Grace as much as our father would allow. When I'm having a bad day, she always knows exactly what I need to cheer me up. I just wish she could give me the answers I'm seeking this time for my little security problem.

"So, you going to tell me this secret?" Grace questions while we wait for our food.

God, I wish I knew how to get out of this mess my father caused. "Nope. Secrets are meant to be a secret for a reason. You'll find out soon enough." I shake my head and smile softly. My father and I do agree on one thing: Grace doesn't need to be worried about something like this. I'd rather her enjoy her childhood as much as possible. When I lived at home, I always made sure to shield her from everything I could and it still isn't going to change. She's my little sister, and it's my job to protect her in every way possible.

"You're no fun," she pouts right as Mrs. Francine places her bowl of oatmeal in front of her and my toast in front of me.

"Don't pout, Child. Surprises are meant to be fun. Trust your sister and father and stop pushing for answers. You are young, enjoy it," Mrs. Francine states, before wiping her hands on her apron and going back to the stove on the other side of the kitchen to stir something in a large pot. If the smell is anything to go by, I think she is making chili. It's one of my favorites when it's cold out.

"Eat up, Grace. You need to get back to bed for a little bit," I prompt when I see she hasn't touched her food yet. The comment is all it takes before she begins to dig in. I don't even have time to finish both slices of my toast before Grace is pushing her now empty bowl away from her.

"Done," she smiles at me. "Will you come lay in bed with me for a little bit before you leave?"

"I'm sorry, Grace, I can't," I sigh with a sad smile. "I need to get on the road or I'm going to miss class, but I can come tuck you back in quick," I add in with the hope it eases the disappointment of me telling her no. I know she isn't going to ask to lie together much longer. These moments are fleeting, but I need to get to campus. I have a test this afternoon in Gothic Literature and now I need to see Dean James. It's going to be a full day.

"Leave your dishes, I'll take care of them," Mrs. Francine calls out as I rise from my seat. Grace does the same and then grabs my hand to pull me behind her and out the same door we previously entered.

It doesn't take long to get upstairs to Grace's room. Her door is slightly ajar and her bedroom light is still off. From the light provided in the hallway, I can see her room is perfectly tidy. She has her outfit for school laid out on top of her dresser, and her school bag is packed and ready to go. I continue to follow her across the room to her bed, where she crawls in. I fix the covers and tuck them nice and tight around her. "Love you, sis," I whisper, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her forehead. "Get some sleep. I'll see you on my next trip home."

"Love you too. Drive safe," she whispers in return before rolling over to grab her stuffed Belle doll. I stand beside her bed, watching her fall asleep. Once I know that she is out cold, I quietly leave the room, careful to not trip over my feet and wake her.

Going back to my room, it doesn't take me long to make my bed, pulling the white down comforter all the way up and placing the pillows at the head of the bed. Doing a quick walk-through, I ensure all my dirty laundry is in the hamper for our housekeeper, before grabbing my bag and purse off my desk chair. Waking out of my room, I head to the main staircase, pass Grace's room, and head downstairs. With it still being early, I don't pass any staff before I turn off the alarm by the front door and proceed outside to my white Toyota Rav4. The car is my baby, and it was a hard-fought battle with my dad to get it. He wanted to put me in a fancy Range Rover or something, but I insisted on having something that wouldn't stand out but was still good in the snow. I love this car and it's been reliable since I turned sixteen and began driving.

Walking to my car, I pull my jacket and scarf tighter around me. It's November, and it is freezing in Coventry. The snow hasn't started to fall yet but I fully expect it to soon. This is my least favorite time of year. Brings up bad memories of my mom that I would much rather avoid.

Opening my driver's door, I toss my bags on the passenger seat and start my engine. Waiting for a few moments for the car to heat up, I pull up my Apple Maps on my phone to get the best directions back to school. Thankfully, it looks like the commute is just under three hours. Now I just need to hope it stays that way. Once the car gets warm enough, I put it in drive and begin down our winding driveway. Time to crank the tunes and get this drive started. The sooner I get to campus, the sooner I can meet my jailer.

Yesterday, I was alerted that Illeana would be off campus and returning home for the night so her father could explain the situation. Knox let me know the Senator didn't want me to follow her home or back, so I had last night to do more research on the campus and know the areas I needed to be concerned about.

Westhill University isn't a large school by any means. The only thing it really has going for it is its hockey team. The Hawks are rated as a Division One school with the hockey team making the Frozen Four six years running. The school is pretty decent and they provide a good education according to the school’s website and alumni reviews. It's not surprising the Senator's daughter chose to go here. The smaller campus also helps to hide her identity on top of using her mom’s maiden name. I'm hoping this will work in my favor and we won't have any issues. Per Dean James's email last night, we have a meeting set for ten this morning so I can meet Illeana and explain what’s expected.

Checking the time, I still have an hour before I need to be at the administrator's building, which leaves me enough time to grab some food from the coffee shop on campus. Anything isbetter than cafeteria food right now. I'm sure I'll be eating plenty of it since Illeana has a meal card to use. I went to a nearby pizza shop for dinner, recommended by some students in the dorm, since I had the night off. They said it was a go-to spot, as dinner in the cafeteria wasn't great. The guys were also kind enough to let me know the only good meal the cafeteria served was lunch. I could work with that, I suppose.

After grabbing my black leather jacket, I toss a beanie on my head for good measure, and grab the black backpack I put my laptop in earlier, and exit the dorm room. One night and I'm already over this arrangement. My body aches from the twin bed I'm sleeping on, and the extra-long mattress really isn't that much longer. I wonder if it would be suspicious if I had a larger bed delivered. There's enough room in the dorm if I did. Though maybe drawing attention to myself right now isn't the best idea. I need to remember that I'm supposed to look just like every other college student right now. I can't do anything that makes it look like I don't belong here. I can't draw attention to Illeana or myself. So I guess I’ll have to make do with the smaller bed and grab some meds from the store later for the inevitable muscle pain.

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