It was October, Cryso’s favorite month. She was out one evening with a friend, just roaming around town. Her parents thought she was at a football game. She had been, just long enough to get a ticket and make an appearance. Once she found her friends, however, she was gone. Cryso, Mari, Johanna, and Abby did this every week. It was custom. No one ever said anything to the 4 girls stalking down the middle of the residential streets. Most people smiled and waved, thinking to themselves that the girls were in need of mental help. After all, who wore black and red striped socks with black mini-skirts? Or leather trench coats held together by dozens of safety pins?
The coat was Cryso’s most prized material possession. Her parents hated it. Since it was her only coat (her letter jacket had disappeared shortly after she got it), they could say nothing about it. It was late October and she was out in the evening. She clearly needed some protection from the cold. Mari and Johanna could not make it this week; they were out of town. Abby and Cryso were left to laugh at the cheerleading rehearsal on their own. When Abby’s phone rang for her to go home when darkness fell, Cryso was left on her own.
This didn’t bother her in the least. She had actually been hoping to herself that it would happen. Inthel, her boyfriend, was at a friend’s house just down the street, and she wanted to see him. As she got closer, she developed a plan. Taking her phone out of her pocket, she called him. The news that a mysterious figure was lurking around his truck got him outside in a hurry.
When Inthel made it outside, he sighed. Where was this ‘mysterious person’? Suddenly, a person in dark clothing and a long coat stepped out from the other side of his truck. He jumped. Cryso laughed. Several curses and playful pokes later, Cryso was in his arms, feeling the warmth that was only found there. She sighed and lowered her head to his shoulder. There was music coming from inside the house, and they slowly swayed in time with it.
The door opened, and Gerard’s lanky figured half filled the space. Hey, Inthel, you out there? He called. Inthel answered with a quick Yeah and said he’d be in later. He felt Cryso smile against his neck. The night was cool, and his hands were cold, so he slipped them inside her coat and around her back. The effect this seemed to have on her made him smile. Her back tensed a little, as did her shoulders, and then she relaxed a little more and buried her face in his neck.
A shock went through him as her teeth gently closed around the flesh of his neck, and he pulled her a little closer. Turning his head, he returned the bite and she went limp against him. Her cheek fell against his shoulder and she stretched her neck a little more. He took the hint and kept going for a minute more before he kissed up her neck and jaw to her soft lips. The kisses were slow and short at first, and proceeded to get a little longer. Their emotions exploded as they opened up to each other and felt the burning love that they both shared. His hands slid up and down her back, and her hands went to the nape of his neck. Running her fingers through the short hair at the back of his neck, she felt the familiar burning touch of his hands on her back.
Again, the kisses shortened, and eventually stopped for a few moments. He stared down into her hazy, green eyes, and she up into his clear, blue eyes. Neither of them heard the door open, or heard Gerard sneaking up on them. When he tackled them from behind the tree, they both screamed. Within seconds, Inthel had him pinned on the ground. When he realized who it was, he let him up. They all laughed a little. Damn, you two. I figured you’d get cold out here, Inth. I was gonna try to get your bony ass back in there. Hell, you’re probably both on fire right now. They all laughed, and Gerard invited Cryso inside to hang out with them. She agreed, with nothing else to do.
It turned out that Gerard wasn’t the only one in the house. Jordan and Noah were there, and so was Jedidiah, the group newb. He was a Junior in High School that year while the rest were Freshmen in college. A couple girls that Cryso had never seen were there, sitting by Noah who looked entirely too comfortable and pleased. She smiled and stripped off her coat and combat boots by the door before she plopped down on the couch between Gerard and one of the girls. The girl glared at her, and when Cryso gave her a look of her own through eyeliner-caked eyes, she backed off and was friendly the rest of the night.
Despite the protests her parents yelled through the phone, Cryso wound up staying the whole night. Gerard had plenty of room after Noah and Jedidiah left with the girls. Inthel ended up staying too. By three o’clock in the morning, they were all asleep; Gerard in his room, Inthel on the couch, and Cryso contentedly curled up under some coats and blankets in the lazy boy recliner. It wasn’t until noon the next morning that they got up, and Gerard’s parents ordered pizza for lunch.
Cryso did not want to go home, and her ride was still sleeping. Inthel offered to take her home. She accepted without protest, and they got in his truck. She didn’t realize until later that she left her coat at Gerard’s house. That should make them happy, she thought of her parents. Inthel didn’t seem to notice, so she didn’t say anything.
When they got there, Cryso’s father was in the basement. She knew what that meant and asked if Inthel could stay for a while. Her mother, distracted by making dinner and worrying about her drunken husband, agreed, and after a quick change of clothes, Cryso was snuggled up on the couch next to Inthel. That evening they watched The Crow and Nightmare Before Christmas. It was one of the evenings that they would not forget for a long time to come.
For Cryso, however, it was a nightmare when her boyfriend left. As soon as he had gone, she was informed that her grandfather had cancer and that he was not expected to live long. Cryso withdrew into her room and began to write anything and everything that came to mind. She couldn’t bear to think that her grandfather was dying. She told no one, except Inthel of course, and avoided nearly everyone. Her weekend walks with friends were cut off, and she was often late for class. Her professors began calling her to give her the day’s assignment, and she eventually gave up answering her phone for that.
Then, one night in November, she got the news. Her grandfather had passed away. Her family had been waiting by the phone, knowing that the doctors would call. When her father answered it, there was hope on all of their faces. The instant his face fell, they knew they would not want to hear the news. He hung up the phone and without saying a word, went to the kitchen. Cryso’s mother followed, silently begging her husband not to drink. Cryso turned away, not wanting to watch as her father took out a bottle of beer and popped the cap. When he started on his third bottle, she went to her room. Soon she heard him sobbing. Her mother, she knew, would be trying to soothe him, and she knew it would not work. Cryso couldn’t take it any more. She grabbed only what she needed and called Inthel.
Soon she was sitting outside in the cold November air, waiting for Inthel. She had no coat, only her light sweater and backpack, which was packed with all the things she would need to get to her grandmother's. There was no way she was going back to her house. She couldn’t face her father's sadness and her mother's distress at not being able to cheer her husband. The grief alone was all ready too much for her.
It wasn’t long before she heard his truck coming down the street. To her surprise, she actually smiled, something she had only done on rare occasion since her parents told her the news. Inthel was the only one that could make her smile for no apparent reason.
Upon seeing her smile, he felt a little better. It cant be that bad, he told himself. He pulled up to the curb and stopped. She's got to be freezing. Without thinking much about it, he got out and hugged her. She nearly collapsed in his arms. Whether she was shaking from the cold or the tears now streaming from her green eyes, he couldn’t tell, so he took off his coat, warm from his body heat, and put it around her shoulders. She looked up at him and smiled weakly. He helped her into the truck and they started driving.
Before long, she was curled up on the seat asleep, wrapped in his coat.
When she woke up, it was morning. The sun had come up, but it was concealed behind a wall of gray clouds and fog. They were still driving, just as they had been since he picked her up. Cryso opened her eyes and yawned. Sitting up, she stretched her arms as best she could. When she looked at him, she saw that he was very tired. They were almost there, and then he could sleep.
Her hand fell to the seat and Inthel put his over it. They both smiled. Drowsily, he asked what had happened. For a few moments, she sat quietly, the smile now gone, watching the ominous wall of dark gray fog getting closer. It looked as if the sky had collapsed and crashed into the earth. That's what I feel like, she thought.
She quietly told him of her father's drunken yelling and sobs at the news that his father, her grandfather, had been taken by cancer. She told him about her mother’s frustration at her husband and herself. Added to her own pain, watching her parents' was too much.
She was silently crying now and he stroked her hand gently, trying to comfort her. She lay back down and he stroked her hair, feeling her shake slightly at the tears that threatened to break forth and stream down her face. He whispered that it would be ok, that everything would be all right, and for a moment, she believed that it would.
Cryso’s grandmother was not at all surprised to see them, and took them inside. Before long, Inthel was in the spare room and sound asleep. Cryso sat up talking with her grandmother and asking about options. Her grandmother promised to talk to her mother about it, and then started asking about Inthel. Cryso took the couch that night when she was calm enough to go to sleep.
The next morning, she got up off the couch and snuck into the spare bedroom where Inthel had retired to get her bag. He was still sleeping, and she figured he would be most of the day. Her bag was across the room, though, and she'd have a hard time getting to it without making some noise. Damn, she muttered. It had been moved to the closet, and that door creaked when you even looked at it wrong. She decided to take her chances. He would go back to sleep, after all.
When she opened the door, she wasn’t sure if the nails-on-chalkboard noise was louder or if it was just because the house was still quiet. Her eyes widened in distress when she discovered that her bag had been put under his. The day had hardly begun and she was all ready wanting it to be over. Whispering a curse at her luck, she stood. Her shower would have to wait.
What are you doing? She jumped. Inthel had waken up. She quietly apologized and turned to leave. He reached out his arm and stopped her and scooted over. With a smile, she crawled into the bed next to him. He put his arm over her and they both went back to sleep.
When her grandmother got up and didn’t find her granddaughter, she looked in the spare room. Upon seeing them, she smiled and turned back around. In the kitchen, she made coffee and called her daughter. The conversation went relatively well, and many things were sorted out. Because they were taking the winter off from classes, it was decided that the two teenagers could stay there for a while if they wanted to. Due to the situation, however, it was also decided that he would have to stay in a separate house.
At noon, when everyone was awake, fed, and clean, her grandmother told them about her phone call. No objections were heard, and it was arranged for them to go back and get enough clothes for a week or so. Since he lived by himself, it was not a problem. He was very happy to have the opportunity to spend a while away from his normal life, anyway.
When her grandfather went to work, Cryso left her grandmother and Inthel at the house to talk about where he would stay and went on a walk by the lake. She needed time to comprehend what was going on. Cryso didn’t know that her ex-boyfriend had gotten an apartment in the area and was greatly surprised when he stepped out from behind a tree that was slightly behind and to the left of her and put one hand over her mouth and the other arm around her. She nearly panicked and then smelled his cologne. He laughed and let her go.
They sat down on some rocks and got caught up on each others' lives. He was sorry for her loss, but glad that she and her new boyfriend were doing great. She found out about the girl he had met and was overjoyed that they were going to get married. When it started getting late, she started back up toward the house. He had to go the other way, but he gave her his phone number to call him anyway. They agreed to get together and go on a double date some time while they were all up there.
She walked up to the house and smiled at the home-ish scene that it made. The porch light was on, illuminating the yard in a soft yellow light, the frost on the ground shimmered in the light, and everything out there was perfect. Inside the door was the living room, where her grandmother and boyfriend were sitting, watching television. She sat down on the couch and was immediately wrapped in his arms and kissed on the forehead. It's perfect in here, too, she thought as she slowly drifted into sleep.
The weeks drug by slowly, as everyone hoped they would. Some days, he would take her out for lunch or dinner, other’s they would go out on a walk. They had a lot of fun together. Her entire family loved him, especially her aunt, whom he was staying with. Things could not have been any better. They had gotten jobs at the local café so they could have some extra cash and were having a blast with that. Everyone was happy to see that she was not taking things too hard. The couples’ favorite memory of that winter was one that they would both dream about for years to come. It happened one unusually warm night late in January.
He was sitting in his window looking out over the trees at the full moon. His long coat reached the floor from the height of the seat, and he pulled it up to prevent it from getting dirty. The lights in the house had gone off long before. Something moving in the trees caught his eye and he watched as a dark figure moved closer to the house. That was his cue.
He stood up and grabbed his backpack, opened the window, and jumped out. As he stepped inside the line of trees, he saw her leaning against one. Her head was leaning against the tree, but tilted back so she could look up at the moon. He took her hand and they walked to the edge of a lake. She had already laid out a blanket, and they sat down and watched the moon. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep, and he watched her.
She wasn’t beautiful, but there was something about her. He was drawn to her like moths are pulled to flame. Covered in moonlight, she looked almost elven. He stroked her hair and she stirred. He stopped. She continued to sleep. He laid down next to her, never wanting that moment to end.
She watched him sleep in the light of sunrise. The golden light lent him a god-like appearance. He seemed to let off a soft glow. She turned to the sunrise to watch. He woke up. That sat in silence, her watching the sunrise, him watching her. "It's beautiful," she whispered. "Yes, you are," he answered. She jumped, not knowing he was awake. They moved closer. He lightly kissed her lips. They finished the sunrise listening to the birds and each other breathing. She felt the warmth of his arms around her, and never wanted that moment to end
