Good evening! Welcome to the seventh story of my Advent calendar! :D Thank you so much for the review for previous stories. This one is a little darker than the others, but still has a feel of Christmas.
So cold.
A bitter, vindictive cold. an ice-in-your-veins cold. Flack had become too frozen to shiver. Somehow, stumbling along, shoes slithering on the icy sidewalks, he'd made it to Battery Park. The warmth of his drunkenness had passed, leaving him numb. He leaned on the railings, his breath leaving wisps in the air. His head sank and he stared down into the still black water. Pale and shadow-eyed, his reflection stared back.
Another reflection appeared beside his.
One he recognised with a cold thrill.
'Jess…' He whirled round so fast he almost overbalanced. A hand shot out and grabbed his arm. Steadied him. Held onto him.
'You don't want to go falling in there,' Jessica Angell said with a crooked smile.
'Wouldn't matter. I wouldn't care,' Flack mumbled, blinking at her.
'I'd care.'
'No you wouldn't. You're… you're dead. You died. You left me…' he staggered, and Jess tightened her hold on him.
'That doesn't mean I can't still care about you and what happens to you.' There was care, so much of it, in her eyes as he stared at her. He could even feel the grip of her hand on his arm. Flack blinked again, wishing his head wouldn't spin so much every time he moved.
'I wouldn't care,' he said again, but with a little less conviction.
Jess tipped her head slightly, studying him, not with pity, Flack realised, but concern. 'I think you would, Don. And you know your friends would, your co-workers, your family… all the people who care about you.'
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Flack grunted but took a step away from the railings.
'Why are you here? And how? I mean, what, are you a ghost?' Flack gave a mirthless laugh. 'OK, no, I get it. It's me isn't it? I'm drunk, imagining things, it's all in my head…' He shook his head, lurching sideways. Once again, Jess's hand steadied him.
'Maybe it doesn't matter how. Fact is, I am here, with you.'
'Then stay with me,' he whispered. 'Please. I miss you. So much. So, so much, Jess…'
Then she was in his arms, her cheek against his, her fingers caressing the back of his neck.
'I miss you, too,' she breathed.
How long they stayed like that, Flack had no idea. All sense of time had left him. So had the cold. A warmth like gold flowed through him. In the end Jess pulled away, cradling his cheek with her palm as she smiled at him.
'You're going to freeze standing here. Let's walk.'
'I'm not cold.' He caught her hand in his. 'Not with you.'
But he let her lead him from the water anyway.
They walked through the streets of downtown, the city's lights surrounding them. Everything so alive, suffused with energy. But for Flack, there was only Jess. He clung to every moment, each single one a memory to be stored away, prized and bittersweet.
He knew it couldn't last.
They reached his building and he grew weary, felt the cold creeping back into him. At his door, Jess took hold of his hands.
'Don't…' he began.
'You know I have to,' she said softly.
He closed his eyes, head bowed and she kissed his forehead.
'Be safe, Don. Care for yourself. I love you.'
'I love you, too…' He opened his eyes to an empty hallway and an echo of his words.
Alone, but with the first warmth of hope kindling inside him.
Thank you, as always, for reading. This one I'm a little unsure of, so I'd really welcome your reviews and opinions. Lily x