Page 88 of Snowman

BREE

I sat on thecold stone steps outside, picking at the edge of my sleeve, while inside, he moved around with a glass of whiskey in his hand. Thor called Erik to take me to the doctor and said he would wait for my decision. But I hadn't given him one yet. The truth was, I didn't know. I didn't want to live with him, but I wasn't sure I could live without him either.

The sound of tires crunching over snow broke through the quiet, and I looked up to see Erik's black car pulling up. I stood slowly, brushing my hands over my legs, and I walked toward the car, but when I opened the door, it wasn't Erik behind the wheel. It was Julia.

"Get in," she said, her voice light, but her eyes sharp. Her long brown hair fell loose around her shoulders, and she gave me a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

She knew.

I hesitated, then climbed in, and as soon as I buckled my seatbelt, she pressed on the gas.

"Erik told me what happened," she said.

I kept my eyes on the road ahead, the lines on the asphalt blurring in the headlights.

"Do you even want this baby?" she asked. "Or is this just a baby fever ever since you met Aurora?"

Her words hit hard, and I stiffened. Aurora. Her baby. Her life. I swallowed and shrugged. "I want him," I whispered.

"That's not an answer."

I didn't respond. I didn't know how to. I pressed my hands against my thighs, staring out the window, watching as the woods outside sped past.

"Bree, you're nineteen," she said. "You haven't had a chance to live yet. And Thor, he lived too much, he has seen more than anyone should."

I turned to her, my heart pounding. "What do you mean?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line as if deciding how much to say. Finally, she let out a small sigh. "He had a girlfriend once," she said. "He lost her."

That landed like a punch to the stomach. "I didn't know," I murmured.

"Not many do. And there's more to it. We still don't know if she… if she did it herself, or if he—" She stopped and shook her head. "It doesn't matter. What matters is, that Thor cares about you. He really does. But too much of that kind of care, Bree, it can smother you."

I turned to face her, "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying, you need to figure out if you're choosing this for yourself, or if it's what you really want. Because if you're not sure, Bree, he'll drag you down with him. Not because he wants to, but because that's all he knows."

"If you decide to keep this baby, run. Change your name, your address, everything. Just run."

"But—"

"Thor's a good guy, but there's something dark inside him. If that dark resurfaces, he'll find you. And when he does..." She hesitated, her gaze heavy. "You can say goodbye to your life."

I froze, my hand drifted to my stomach, trembling as it rested there. Tears stung my eyes. "What if I lose the baby?" I whispered, my voice breaking.

"You won't. I can see it in your eyes. You already love this child."

The words lodged in my throat. "What if I lose him?" My voice cracked, and before I could stop it, the tears came, spilling down my face.

"You already lost him," she said, her hand settling gently on my thigh. "But you can do this. You're stronger than you think."

My shoulders shook as I tried to hold back the sobs. "I can't," I choked out. "I just can't."

"You can," she said, her voice pulling me back. "And you will."

Soon she turned the wheel and pulled the car in front of a small house. A woman stood on the porch, waiting. Her long gray hair curled softly at the ends, and her face was wrinkled with worry. But it was her eyes that caught me, there was something familiar about them. My breath caught in my chest.

"That's her, isn't it?"

---