Page 52 of Frozen Flames

I like this girl.

I mean,reallylike her.

I won’t let anyone fire her and remove her existence from my life.

Not even Gemma.

And I fear then that my decision might already be underway.

Claire fetches Audrey and talks to her outside. Her sister’s crying, and it looks pretty serious to me. I can hear her sister talking loudly about a schoolboy who broke her heart.

Ah, to be young again.

Claire dries her sister’s tears and hugs her tightly. In that moment I can picture it so clearly, her leaning down to comfort our child.

What the fuck?

I shake my head, disturbed by my thoughts.

I tell myself to relax, that it’s just a stupid crush because I feel lonely, but deep down, I know the truth. It’s like a misty cloud vaporing through my entire being. I might not see it, yet it’s there, and I feel it no matter how hard I try to push it away.

Claire’s growing on me—each and every day.

Yet I still love Gemma.

“Hi! I’m Audrey. You’re Harvey, right?”

I turn to face Audrey, sitting in the back seat. “Yeah, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You as well. Hopefully I didn’t ruin your day. This idiot I was seeing thought it was a good idea to break things off by text while I was in class.”

I stare at Claire, who looks worried. “Boys are a waste of time at your age, Audrey.”

“I know they are, but I’m bored,” her sister answers without a beat.

I chuckle, shaking my head, and Claire smiles like,See what I mean?

“It’s all good,” Audrey goes on. “His friend’s cuter anyway.”

“Audrey!” Claire chastises her. “You have to be careful.”

She snorts. “For what—my reputation? I am who I am.”

Claire sighs, and if I were to guess, I’d say that this is a reoccurring theme between the two of them. Audrey lives fearlessly, and Claire worries about her. Which is interesting to me, since Claire’s the epitome of a free spirit when she’s with me.

I get it. I worry about Henrik at times too.

A lot less than I used to, though, since drowning in your own melancholy causes tunnel vision. It makes life dark, endless, full of rust and pain, with no light in sight.

I look out the window, wondering where we’re heading to next.

Claire drives us to a hot dog joint that still operates in winter. One, it’s phenomenal, and two, it’s been so long since I’ve been out and about like this.

Chicago hot dogs are amazing.

I take mine spicy with a ton of relish.

I finish my poppy-seed hot dog in the van in a few bites as we share a large fry.

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