Page 37 of Frost
“Says the man who doesn’t even wear shoes.”
“I won’t freeze,” he shoots back. “But you will. I have to take care of my human.”
I pause while putting on my glove and look at him. “Yourhuman?”
Jack blinks at me, then averts his eyes to the table, his cheeks darkening. “A slip of the tongue.”
“Yeah, a Freudian slip.”
“I’ll wait outside,” he says, heading for the front door. “Join me once you’re finished.”
He’s out of sight within seconds. I stare after him with a deep ache in my chest. More and more, his feelings for me have become apparent. Mine have for him as well.
Suspecting we’ll be gone for a while and that he’ll get the munchies, I put cookies in a Ziploc bag and shove them into the inner pocket of my coat before zipping it. Jack takes care of his human, and I do the same to my non-elf.
I smile at the thought before leaving the cabin.
Jack stands in the snow, looking up at the moon. The clear sky shines with billions of twinkling stars. Being out in the middle of nowhere, away from city lights, makes them even clearer. My breath puffs out in front of me as I exhale and step toward him.
“I’m going to miss this when I leave,” I say, standing at his side and staring up at the same sky. “It’s not nearly as beautiful back at home. I can see the stars but nothing like this.”
“Then don’t go home,” he whispers.
“Huh?”
“Never mind.” Jack shakes his head before reaching for my hand. “Come with me. I want to take a walk.”
We’ve walked the trail many times during my stay at the cabin, and I’m not nearly as clumsy as I hike through the ankle-deep snow and maneuver over fallen branches and tree stumps. The beauty, the peaceful silence, still manages to amaze me. I’m going to miss it, but not nearly as much as I’m going to miss the wintery sprite at my side, one who holds my hand just a little bit tighter than usual.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Jack answers, though his voice sounds guarded.
“When I leave…” The words halt in my throat. Getting them out is even more difficult than I thought it’d be. “What will—”
“Let’s not talk about that right now.”
“We need to talk about it soon. I’m only here for two more days.”
“We still have time, Luka,” Jack says, his voice cracking on my name. “By the gods, can you please just let the matter rest for now?”
Refusing to face reality will only make it that much harder when the time finally arrives. But I understand how he feels.
“Okay. I’ll drop it.” Maybe I want to remain oblivious for a little while longer too. “So, are you gonna tell me where we’re going?”
“You know I won’t.” Jack softly smiles and bumps my arm as we walk. “You might turn around and run back to the cabin screaming if I do.”
“I think you enjoy freaking me out.”
“I think you’re right,” he responds. “This will be fun, though. Trust me.”
Twenty or so minutes into our walk, we reach a clearing. Since the sky is so clear, I’m able to see a lot more than I could the other times we’ve walked in the woods at night. Snow reflects the moonlight, and I breathe in the crisp air. My many layers are keeping me warm. The only thing cold is my face, but with my ears covered by a beanie, it’s not too bad.
Jack lifts a hand to his mouth and whistles.
“Oh no,” I mutter as understanding dawns on me. Flapping wings sound from above us shortly after the piercing sound of Jack’s whistle fades from the air. “This is how I die. January thirteenth, in the middle of the dark woods, Luka Summers was viciously attacked by an unknown animal.”
Laughing, Jack loops his arm through mine. “Stop being so melodramatic. Págos and I spoke earlier. He’s going to behave himself, so you do the same.”
