First Frost (ONC 2023 Novella, MxM Paranormal)

7: Cold Lines

Having finished eating, the kids leave their seats to play a game of "turn the couch into a ski slope" while I polish off a second portion of sausage and macaroni. I do wonder if my sister suspected I would come over, considering the endless food supply coming from the stove.

"Here," Ida says as I fork the last pieces of macaroni from my plate. I look up to see a glass of water with a fizzing tablet being pushed toward me. Resorb. A fluid substitute that is used to add fluid and salts to the body. It's something every parent of young children keeps at home for days of fever, and also common in university students' medical cabinets, as it's a known cure for a hangover.

"Thank you," I say, taking a gulp of the fizzy beverage. It tastes faintly of raspberry.

The fruity flavor makes me remember the blueberry drink from the night before. Perhaps it was the only reason for those fateful kisses.

"So you were out last night then?" My sister asks, having read my tell-tale sign of day-after behavior correctly. "With Anton? You told me he was visiting over the weekend."

I nod, avoiding extrapolating my answer by taking another sip of my drink.

"So where is he now?" Ida continues, unable to ever let anything go. She always sees right through me. "I assume he was supposed to crash at your place."

"I don't know," I sigh, pulling my hand through my snow-damp hair that is insistently falling in front of my eyes. "I woke up this morning and he was gone."

She raises an eyebrow. "Did something happen between you two? Like did you fight or something?"

Looking down into the fizzy bubbles, I shake my head. "Not exactly," I mumble, wanting to tell her everything but not quite finding the words. "Although... something did happen."

Our conversation is interrupted by Mimer letting out a loud cry as Embla hits him in the head with a couch pillow. "Kids!" Ida immediately has the attention of her offspring. "Put down the pillows. You can jump on them, or whatever you need to do, but don't swing them at each other."

Having resolved the crisis, Ida turns back to me. "They go stir-crazy being outside all day." Ida nods toward the kids, who have resorted to chasing each other around the couch to expel all their restless kid energy. "I'm considering just letting them loose in a snow pile." She shakes her head and clicks her tongue. "Anyway, we were talking about you and Anton, something happened and it wasn't a fight..." She trails off, expecting me to fill in the blank.

I don't quite know what to say. How do I describe magic without shattering the illusion of it?

"We..." I start, my cheeks blossoming red at the thought. Although I guess it could also be from the cold. If Ida asks, that's the reason for the scarlet hue. "We danced, I guess. And-"

I can't get the words out. It's too new and too fragile. If I say the words, maybe they will disappear from my memory.

Ida touches my shoulder. "Joakim," she says softly. "I've seen you two together. I've seen you look at him. I've suffered through all your excuses when I've tried to set you up or make you download a dating app. Whatever happened... it's not like a huge surprise. I've been kind of waiting for something to happen in that regard since you came out."

"He's not out," I mumble, hiding my blushing cheeks in the collar of my hoodie. "Anton has a girlfriend."

"I know," she says, ruffling my hair with a light hand. "But something did happen in that regard then?"

I nod, feeling lighter from the mere movement of confirmation. "We kissed," I finally reveal. Speaking the words changes nothing, I realize. The memories are still as vibrant and alive as a moment ago.

"That's great!" Ida flings her arms around me in an embrace. "I mean if that's what you wanted to happen."

"I did," I mutter, trying in vain to free myself from my sister's embrace. "But now he's gone. He probably regrets it all and will never talk to me again."

"Have you tried calling him?" Ida asks, finally releasing her grip on me. I shake my shoulders, like a cat dismissing a rough petting, but truthfully, the warm hug did thaw my worried mind somewhat.

"No..." I admit, as somewhere in the franticness of this morning, I haven't even thought of such a simple solution. I could just call Anton! Although, perhaps he won't pick up. Why would he, since he currently appears to be avoiding me?

"Then call him!" Ida encourages me, a little too loudly.

"Call him!" The kids chime in, from their fort of couch pillows, which has apparently been built while we were talking. They probably don't even know who I should call, but they like to yell.

I pick up my phone from my pocket, assuring myself that it hasn't cracked during my descent into the snow piles outside. Miraculously, it has survived.

My sister looks at me expectantly as I scroll through the contacts menu. I signal to her to back off. I don't want her whispering in my ear when I talk to Anton. If he picks up that is. Which I'm doubting he will.

Anton hates me. He never wants to speak to me or see me again.

One signal. Two signals. Ringing emptily into nowhere. It seems Anton has his phone on at least.

Then, there is a crackle on the line. A voice I recognize picks up. There's a lot of interference, probably on account of the snow, but I hear Anton say "Joakim" clearly before the static takes over.

"Anton!" I call out, not caring that my sister and her kids hear my desperation. "I'm sorry about last night! Can we talk? Where are you?"

Only static comes back. The snow has come between us again. It's ruining everything.

"Anton!" I yell again, making the kids look at me like I'm mad. A gust of snow whips against the window just as the cry leaves my lips. It's almost as if the weather knows my distress.

Through the static, I can make out only one word from Anton's lips. "Home," he says. "I'm at home, Joakim."

The line buzzes once again and then it goes quiet. The call has been dropped. The line is cold.

"He's gone home," I say in disbelief. "To Sofia... But how did he get there? The roads are closed and the trains aren't running."

"I think the trains still ran this morning," Ida says.

So he must have snuck out of bed early, without even saying goodbye. That's how much I meant to him. But still, he did pick up, which means he hasn't completely cut me out of his life just yet.

"For how long were the trains running?" I ask, trying to figure out how much of a headstart he has on me. Because I need to speak with him, for real. Not through a spotty phoneline.

"Until about ten in the morning or so," my sister replies, looking up the answer on her phone. "Then, the storm picked up again, just like it did late last night."

Ten in the morning... that's when I got out of bed. That's when I realized Anton had left, causing a storm of emotions to stir in my psyche and a storm of frost to stir outside. And late last night is when Anton kissed me, in a moment of glittering snowy magic, and it's also when the storm of the century descended on the city.

The correlation can't be pure coincidence, or can it?

Looking down at my hands, tinged with blue frosty lines, I lean toward the former. The storm and I are somehow one, and it's all connected to my emotions for Anton.

I gaze up and notice that my sister is also staring at the newly formed lines. There's a hint of fear in her eyes.

"When did that happen?" she asks, her voice suddenly void of any banter.

"I saw it this morning," I reply, taken by the seriousness in her voice. "But I think it may have started when I kissed Anton."

"I figured." She puts her hand over mine, enveloping it in a warmth that feels like a summer breeze. "You need to head home now, Joakim. You need to speak to grandpa. He will explain everything."

Author's Note: 8k is reached! Finally! I'll see if I also have the ability to finish this story before the next deadline (as I also have another story I'm aiming to finish first).