This came as a flash of an idea, thanks to a line in Meetmeinstlouie's fic "Jolene". Its based on the amazing book "If I Stay" by Gail Foreman. As I still have "Family Duty Honor" to finish,I cannot guarantee how often I can update, but I will do my best!
Warnings: Character Death.
I own nothing. I make nothing from it. I'm just playing.
Elsie had always loved it when it snowed, the peacefulness of it, pureness and frigid cold that shocked you to the core. It was the kind of snow that fell almost instantly and coated the world around them with a white canvas, the only spot of colour being the green of the pine trees around them. It was like something out of a Christmas card and not for the first time in her life she almost wished they owned a donkey. She was almost sad to be leaving it, exchanging it for the heat of Africa and the gold of the African plains.
"ITTTSSSS HOLIDAY TIME!" She heard Thomas shout from the top of the stairs followed by a whoop and a giggle from Becky. Elsie smiled into her steaming cup of tea and continued to gaze out of the frosted window and contemplate the merits of snow. It was the perfect snow for building a snowman or having a snowball fight. Elsie, loved Christmas time because suddenly every children's book being written was about snow which let her paint different scenes of it over and over again. She wondered if it would be possible to sketch a quick drawing of the scene before they left.
"Don't tell me you're thinking of staying here, purely so you can play in the snow and catch a chill." Thomas said from behind her. She turned to find him leaning in the arch way that led from their sitting room to the kitchen, clutching his own steaming cup and wearing a knowing smirk.
"Its very tempting" she admitted with a shrug "I love snow."
"But you'll love the sun even more!" he said "and you've always wanted to visit Africa."
"hmmm" she replied, returning to gaze out the window "this is true."
Thomas smirked and slurped his tea loudly, earning himself an eye-roll from her. She sighed and watched the snow for a few moments more before knocking the last dregs of her tea back and standing up. She looked up to find Becky watching her from on top of the stares with an excited smile.
"Okay" Elsie said, a grin spreading across her face "Let's get this show on the road!"
Thomas ditched his cup on the table she had been sitting next to and grabbed her and spun her round in a circle.
"My Affrrrriiiicccccaaaaannnnn ddrrrreeeeeaaaaaammmm" he sang loudly, off-key and right next to her ear. She laughed as he spun her round one more time before catching sight of the clock on the wall and yelling
"Bloody hell! Is that the time? Dear god, we're going to be late"
)0( )0(
Before she knew it she was buckled into the back seat of their bright green station wagon, surrounded with luggage and was in the middle of a heated argument with Becky and Thomas over what CD to play as they drove to the airport. The snow was forcing them to go fairly slowly, and Elsie was slightly worried that they would be late for their plane.
"Becky" Thomas eventually said "you've already got shot gun and an iPod. I'm afraid your argument is invalid. Elsie and I win."
Becky frowned but dutifully inserted her ear buds into her ears and started singing softly to herself. Elsie hoped she would enjoy Africa. Becky suffered from panic attacks very easily; hence she was in the front seat instead of in the back with half of Thomas' luggage. She was twenty two but had never gotten past age nine, and many didn't know how to handle her. The rhyme "There was a little girl, with a little curl right in the middle of her forehead" described her well. When she was calm she was the sweetest person you could ever hope to meet, but when she felt insecure or threatened she would throw a screaming fit and would only calm down once Elsie had wrapped her up in a blanket. It was usually people that scared her, so Elsie hoped that with her and Thomas around her they would get through this trip without any outbursts.
Thomas fiddled a CD at a traffic light and soon the sounds of Freddie Mercury filled the car. He glanced over at Becky, who didn't seem to notice that there was anything playing apart from whatever was playing in her ears. Satisfied, he glanced at Elsie in the review mirror.
"So" he said, drawing out the o "have you heard from him?"
"He emailed last night to wish me a good trip." Elsie replied "I think he must have been working night shift because it came in at 1 in the morning."
"Still shaky then?" Thomas asked pulling a sympathetic face. Elsie nodded and sighed
"Well then this trip has come at the exactly the right moment." He said "it'll give him a chance to miss you and a chance for you to clear your mind and think. Of course, he's been a right royal idiot, because you are fabulous, and if you vanish for awhile he'll start to see that."
He, was Elsie's boyfriend, if one could call him that at their age, and he and Elsie were currently going through a rough spot. His name was Charles Carson and he was everything Elsie had ever wanted in a man. He was kind, sweet, charming, had a good job and was a hard worker. But there were days when his comments to her were downright rude and Elsie had enough on her mind to worry about changing for a man. She loved him and she was fairly sure he loved her as well. But recently they seemed to be growing apart and the harder they both tried to hold on the harder it got. Elsie was supposed to go and visit him briefly before her flight, at the hotel that he was in the process of opening in the city, but after their most recent blow up she had told him that she thought it was better not to as she would have Becky with her. To her surprise he had agreed almost instantly and they hadn't spoken since until the email last night.
She fished out her phone and scrolled through her emails until she reached the one he had sent. She hadn't told Thomas just how shaky they were.
To: Elsie Hughes
From: Charles Carson
Subject:Quick note.
Elsie, just a quick line to tell you to enjoy your trip to South Africa. When you get back would you mind popping into the hotel? We need to talk.
Charles.
It was unlike him to sound so serious, so short and to the point. It was almost as though he was writing to one of his many guests than a woman he claimed he loved. She had replied that she would stop by on her way home, and spent a good half hour watching the snow fall outside her window and debating whether to add "Love, Elsie" at the end of the email. In the end she had opted to write "Thinking of you, Elsie" instead and let him make of it what he will.
"You're not going to spend out entire trip doing that are you?" Thomas asked, raising an eyebrow "checking your phone to see if he's texted? Insisting we stop at everywhere with wi-fi so you can check your email?"
"Of course not." She answered a little guiltily. When they had first gotten together she and Thomas had gone on a day trip to the sea and she had barely looked up from her phone once. Thomas was not happy and threatened to throw her phone out of the car window. He eventually did, but it was accident. When they had gotten home, a fuming Elsie had gotten out of the car to find a very worried Charles sitting on their doorstep. Thomas had merely rolled his eyes and disappeared inside the house. "Besides, he knows I won't have any signal there and I doubt he wants to hear from me every day."
"Try every hour." Thomas muttered to himself and Elsie replied by sticking her tongue out at him.
"Oh I love this one! Turn it up! " She exclaimed and Thomas did so with a grin.
"CAN ANYBODY FIND ME SOMEBODY TOOOO LOOOVVVEEE" She and Thomas sang loudly, and Elsie threw in some dramatic dance moves with her shoulders
"You look like you have a stiff shoulder." Thomas said
"Shush!" Elsie hissed "You love me."
"I do." Thomas confirmed before singing the next line loudly and grinning when Becky removed her ear buds and sang along with him.
Elsie sat back in her seat and listened to them with a smile on her face. She was finally taking the trip she had always dreamed of, with two of the people she loved more than anything. When they got to the airport she would treat them all to a donut and one of those expensive coffees and she would deal with her love life when she returned, hopefully relaxed and happy. She listened to the guitars of queen and allowed herself one final look at her phone, where Beryl had just sent her a farewell text.
She felt as though the world was at her feet and she was about to embark on the biggest adventure of her life. She felt the car slow to take a curve and looked up from her phone to take in the scenery. It was then that she saw the large pickup truck heading straight for them
"THOMAS, LOOK OUT!" She screamed, just as everything went black.
If you could possibly find it in your hearts to review, I swear I will love you forever.