The funeral is surreal. Four Abernathy gravestones, all lined up. Hallie, Hannah, Jameson, and now Heather. The only one missing is me. No one seems to know how to treat me. Flint and Hazelle stand next to me, and Bran is nearby, but everyone else seems hesitant to get too close. I don't even pay attention to what is being said. The cold has returned and a few snowflakes fall from a dreary grey sky. The naked trees look like skeletons sticking out of the frozen ground.

After the ceremony, people me offer words of consolation and I shake their hands emptily. I'm not even listening to them. Hazelle wants to walk me home, but I wave her off after everyone else has left.

The earth is cold as I sit down, facing my family. I let the chill soak into me. It matches how I feel. I begin shivering after a while, but just lay down next to Heather. I need to go be with her. Freezing to death won't take long in this weather. It's snowing a little harder now. Soon, I keep thinking. It'll be over soon. My exhaustion allows me to fall in and out of a restless sleep.

I don't know how much time passes before I'm vaguely aware of being moved. I'm slung over a shoulder; a warm shoulder. I'm shivering uncontrollably now. Indoors. It feels stifling hot. My wet clothes are peeled off and replaced with clean, dry ones and a large number of blankets. I pass out, and when I awake, a mug of tea and a sugar cookie lay on the table beside the bed.