ICE (The Benders Series) (4 page)

Britney rolled her eyes and made a quick dash for the stairs with Kenna following directly behind her.

“And what have we here?” one of the men asked, Kenna assumed a brother-in-law entered the hall and stopped the pair before they could get up the steps. He was wearing a smirk and holding a beer as he leaned on the railing. “Britney never brings friends around.” Before either of the girls could come up with an explanation, the man noticed Kenna’s appearance a let out a, “What happened to you?! Steph get in here!”

“Shit,” Britney whispered under her breath as she began to push Kenna back down the stairs. “Steph’s a nurse. She’s going to freak.”

Kenna’s eyes went wide with fear as she thought about being poked and prodded by her friend’s family. Within a few seconds, a shorter woman carrying a one-year-old stepped into the hall. The woman immediately dropped the child and took Kenna by the hand.

“What happened?!” she interrogated as she dragged Kenna into the kitchen and sat her down on a chair. Britney stood behind Kenna as Steph began to examine the cold blond. In complete nurse-mode, Steph inspected the girl from head to toe. Meanwhile, most of the rest of the adults made their way into the kitchen to observe the scene.

“She went under for a few seconds,” Britney explained, doing her best to downplay the evening’s events. “She’s fine. I was just going to get her into a hot shower and into some new clothes.”

“Hot shower?!” the woman shot back. “Sure that’s fine if you want to send her into shock! A lukewarm bath at the warmest, got it?!” she ordered as she squeezed Kenna’s fingers. “Can you feel that?” she asked. “Do you have feeling in your fingers?”

“Yes,” Kenna answered quickly. “They are still a little tingly, but I have feeling in my fingers and my toes.”

The nurse nodded. “Just let the poor girl into the bath, Steph,” came the voice of a sympathetic, curly haired woman. “Like she hasn’t been through enough.”

“Fine,” Steph agreed reluctantly, “but I want you both down here afterward so that I know you are okay before we send you home. You really should be in the emergency room right now.”

Kenna and Britney nodded as they made their way into the upstairs bathroom. “Sorry about them,” Britney apologized as she began to run the water.

“No, they seem nice. I’m a little jealous, to be honest,” Kenna argued as she tested the water’s warmth. In all her life, Kenna had never been in such a house. The noises. The smells. The feeling of family and love and belongingness were all foreign to her. But here, in this bizarre blue house was a group of twenty people all choosing to share their time in each other’s company, all choosing family over work and money, all happy and lively and just together. “Your family seems awesome actually.”

Britney rolled her eyes. “Yea, I love them obviously, but don’t ask me what peace and quiet is cause I never have it when I’m here,” she laughed while shutting off the faucet.

“Be thankful. I’d take the noise to silence any day of the week,” Kenna contended as the pair exchanged a brief bout of eye contact.

“Oh, I am. You’ll just have to come around more often,” she laughed as she exited the room. “You’d get sick of them sometimes, too. Trust me!”

Kenna was exhausted as the conversation ended and she undressed to take a hop in the tub. Luke-warm at the warmest was about right. Despite her little dip in the river, the bath seemed cool and cringe-worthy. As a result, Kenna washed her hair quickly and got out as soon as possible. Just as she began to dry, Britney tapped at the door and slipped on a pair of dry clothes.

Sweats and a t-shirt. It didn’t come much better than that, Kenna thought as she threw on the outfit and stepped out to where her friend was waiting for her.

“Sorry, I figure that’s the most comfortable thing,” Britney said as she joined the girl.

“No, it’s perfect,” Kenna disagreed as they made their way down the stairs again. “Now for an hour of being watched I guess,” she said with a raise of her eyebrows.

“Joy,” Britney remarked as they made their way to the first floor where all the noise and action was. “Just promise that we’ll still be friends after this?” she added with a sigh.

“Of course,” the blond laughed. “I really think I’ll like your family.”

And to Britney surprise, the couple fit right in. The family welcomed Kenna kindly, and each introduced themselves one by one, even the toddlers. Though the girl knew that she had no chance at remembering all the names, she appreciated the sentiment and found herself feeling somewhat at home.

“Oh my goodness, I love your hair,” one of the sisters complemented. “You have to let me do it before you leave.”

Kenna agreed as it would hopefully distract her father from all the other differences in appearance that he might observe when she went home. And as her hair was getting done and the children were running and screaming and playing while the adults chased after them or chatted amongst themselves, Kenna actually began to relax for a few moments.

“Okay I think she’s fine after all,” Steph admitted as she approached Kenna, Britney, and the other sister. “You are free to go as you please,” she went on to say as she went to help a child reach a book from a nearby shelf.

And so, shortly after her hair had been dried and straightened, Kenna and Britney made their way back into the Buick.

“Well off to your house we go,” Britney breathed, relieved to be out of her crazy house.

“Home it is,” Kenna agreed feeling an odd sense of fulfillment.

This town was her new home. Sure, it was small, but it was still diverse and even fun. Britney’s family and even some of her new classmates had welcomed her with open arms. For once in her life, she felt not so lonely, and like she might really fit in. Even if she’d botched her chances at popularity by confronting Chelsea and then falling so foolishly under the ice, Kenna felt oddly satisfied and oddly content.

After all, what says home better than being rescued by a handsome, arrogant, abnormal acquaintance? Yes, it was really beginning to feel just like that… home.

CHAPTER THREE

Water.

Everywhere.

Suddenly Kenna found herself once again submerged in the freezing liquid. Darting left and right in a wild fright, her eyes searched for an escape. But no light, no break in the ice appeared. Her hands pressed themselves against the thick ice above her as small bubbles began to escape her lungs. Though initially she saw nothing, two glowing blue orbs began to appear above the frozen surface.

Morphing her numb hands into fists, Kenna pounded at the barrier, begging the orbs to help her. And as she persisted in a frantic panic, like a raccoon caught in a hunter’s trap, the orbs somehow mutated into a pair of staring blue eyes.

Questioning, searching, studying blue eyes.

She pounded once again in desperation, but the ever arctic eyes never wavered in their examination of the drowning girl. In an intuitive anger, Kenna let out a shout, but instead of noise came the death sentence that was the last of the air that her lungs contained. But she held on longer as a familiar chill shot down her spine. She shivered and made a last bang at the surface between her and the cruel, mesmerizing blue eyes.

As the eyes began to fade and her limbs began to weaken, she took a deep inhale and…

Kenna shot up in her bed, breathing at an alarming rate and gasping like she’d actually been drowning. Her hands instinctually grasped her throat as she took a few more winded breaths. But the dreaming girl quickly realized that she was not really under water and that the realistic and convincing nightmare was just that- a nightmare.

Throwing her head back down and closing her eyes, she tried to find some peace of mind. None came, however, as she lay restless and altogether awake.

“You okay in there?” her father’s voice questioned from the hall beyond the doorway. All the commotion had obviously woke the worried man.

Kenna sighed. “Fine. Just a bad dream,” she explained as she threw her blankets over her head in frustration.

“Just get me if you need something, okay?” he said in a hushed tone though there was no one else in the house to hear their conversation.

“Will do,” she replied as she turned over to find a more comfortable place in her bed.

Kenna figured that this would be a new routine. Bad dreams and her father’s anxiety. She supposed she only had herself to blame, though. After all, she was the one that foolishly walked out onto thin ice despite her friend’s warning. And to add insult to injury, she tried to keep the event a secret from her father, a nosey and cunning father.

It didn’t take him ten minutes to get the truth from her.

“Those are different clothes,” “Where’s your new hat?”, and “Why is your phone dead and where is it?”.

Her dad wasted no time in picking apart every last excuse she had until finally she told him everything. He was shocked and thankful. Kenna had managed to talk him out of an emergency room visit, but she knew he’d be keeping an extra close eye on her for the next few weeks.

Rolling her eyes at the thought of her father’s soon-to-be relentless stalking, Kenna turned over once more, praying that sleep might overtake her like the frost overtook the crisp fall leaves at the start of every winter. Unfortunately, thought dictated her mind. She couldn’t help but to replay that night’s event over and over and over again. A part of her wanted to let it go, but another part of her longed to recall every detail of the frightful incident.

Kenna could remember the sound, the slightest details of the cracklings and then the near explosion. She could remember the rush of the cold water as every inch of her became submerged in the deep river. She could remember the strength of the current and even the feelings of hopelessness and numbness settle in upon her as she flailed within the clutches of the branch.

Then, Kenna recalled how two strong and unfazed arms untangled her from the grasps of the tree and how her hero swam so effortlessly against the river’s waves.

None of it made sense. How could anyone have been so unaffected by the biting water? It seemed unnatural…

She closed her eyes in an attempt to dismiss the thoughts, but they came with increasing strength and increasing logic.

How could his fine motor skills have been so effective in the subzero temperatures? How could he have pulled himself out of the water without assistance? Why didn’t all the ice break when he ran out after her?

Kenna was perplexed. There had to be a reasonable explanation as to why those questions had no reasonable answer.

She sighed. Maybe he didn’t shake her hand because he was as cold as Bryce. Maybe their hands were cold because they were cold-blooded, not because it was freezing outside. Maybe they were vampires, all of them, vampires or something of the blood-sucking sort.

Kenna giggled a little at the thought. Perhaps she was simply overthinking the matter. Perhaps she was being silly.

Either way, she knew that she had to see Jon, to at least thank him for rescuing her, though the thought of thanking the arrogant boy was quite off-putting. Nevertheless, the idea of taking action was somewhat comforting, and Kenna found herself quickly drifting into deep, but unrestful sleep...

And sleep that ended sooner than later. The girl woke early and tiredly. By seven thirty she’d taken a shower, tamed her beastly hair, and applied the typical tidbits of make-up. When she got downstairs, she discovered that her dad was also awake and had made her pancakes.

“Some warm breakfast will do you good!” he boasted as she took a seat at the modest kitchen table.

“I must admit, I’ve always preferred a warm breakfast,” she noted as she poured the syrup atop the small stack of circular goodness.

Her father smiled at the comment. “Same here,” he said taking a seat next to his daughter. “You feeling okay this morning? Seems you were tossing and turning all night.”

“Seems you were listening to me all night,” Kenna retorted quickly.

“I heard you over my snoring. You were loud,” he laughed with a lightness as he shoveled some food into his mouth. “So how you feeling?”

She exhaled slowly, “I’m good. Tired, but good.” Her father nodded in approval. Seeing the reaction, she added a quick, “Can I go out today?”

Kenna didn’t need to look at him. She could feel the heated stare as she examined the bite of food that lingered on her fork. “Do you think that’s a good idea?” he asked sternly.

She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I just wanted to go swing at the park, by myself actually. I have a lot on my mind,” she said with just a touch of honesty, enough honesty to fool her father. “Just sometime this afternoon for like an hour,” she added. “I really just have a lot on my mind.”

“And going to ‘the park’ will give you clarity?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and cliché finger quotes.

Kenna did her best to keep things nonchalant. “I don’t know. I just need some space from everything for a bit I guess. Not exactly how I expected my first party here to go, you know?”

“Mmm, and you don’t want to talk about it with your old man instead?”  This time, she gave a hot glare. And it was enough to convince him of her convictions, “Alright, for one hour.”

She didn’t smile at the victory as she didn’t want to reveal her true intentions. “Thanks,” she replied bleakly as if she had no real feelings invested in the matter.

He nodded and the two proceeded to finish their breakfasts and even watch a morning movie. But eventually, the sun climbed its way into the highest clouds of the sky followed by its daily descent upon the skyline. In most places, such an event would have signified nightfall, but here in Minnesota, it was only late afternoon. Noting the passage of time, Kenna reminded her father of her plans and began a nervous walk toward the park.

She didn’t plan on being there alone, however. Kenna hoped that she might just stumble upon a make-shift game of hockey along with four unusual Colewell brothers, though one, in particular, was on her mind.

Jon Colewell. Not only had the handsome and big-headed boy saved her life, but he then decided to invade the peacefulness of her dreams. If not for the latter, she might have let the whole ‘under-the-ice’ experience go. Instead, it haunted her and her mind could not rest without some closure.

Why did he save her? Why didn’t the water affect him?

She had several questions to ask upon confronting her rescuer, and she hoped he could provide her with some logical answers.

As she pondered these thoughts, Kenna couldn’t help but to once again become enthralled with the landscape that surrounded her. It seemed that frost had made an attack on all the trees overnight so that not even the pine trees were showing any form of life or greenness. Each of the pines looked like a sparkling, white Christmas tree while the deciduous trees looked like white, zig-zagged lightning strikes against a gray sky.

Every time she went outside, her view was a little different. And she liked that. She liked that the weather here was constantly changing and that she never knew exactly what to expect when she looked out her bedroom window.

Kenna glanced at the old houses as she continued to walk. Icicles hung down from almost every gutter, some probably as long as her. Yes, the frozen swords clearly thrived in the dropping temperatures, the forever dropping temperatures.

Her hands formed fists in her pockets at the recollection on the cold air that awaited them if they decided to make a fleshy appearance. Other than her face, her hands were typically the first to feel the sting of the winter air, the crisp and biting winter air.

Kenna sniffled as she felt a wad of snot building in her nostril. The last thing Kenna needed was to show up with a runny nose. So, she sucked in the snot and hoped it would stay put for at least the next hour or so.

As she approached the park, Kenna began to hear a familiar sound, the sound of an intense hockey game. Her pace quickened as she squinted ahead. As luck had it, there were the four Colewell brothers. Bryce, Dax, Graham…and Jon.

Kenna felt herself practically jog to the bench where she took a seat to watch the game. It didn’t take the brothers two seconds to notice her arrival as they began to look at her with inquisitive stares. She could see that her presence was beginning to make them all feel quite awkward- well, except for Bryce who seemed to enjoy being spectated- and they began to conclude their little game.

It was easy to see that they were finished as they began to form a huddle at the center of the rink. Kenna, however, remained seated as she observed the brothers, hoping that they would realize why she’d come. Within a few minutes, Dax and Graham made their way towards a small maroon car, while Jon and Bryce made their way toward a rusted, white truck.

“Jon,” she called, seeing that neither of the brothers intended on approaching her. They both stopped dead in their tracks as Bryce nudged his older brother with a mocking smile.

Finding that he had no choice, a cantankerous Jon turned around and made his way toward the waiting girl who smiled a warm and friendly smile as he took a stand across from her.

“What is it?” he asked as if her smile somehow made him more irritated.

Her grin faded at the tone of his question. “Just wanted to thank you, you know, for saving my life and all. I mean, why would you do that?” she shot with a mixture of appreciation and infuriation.

Jon raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know. But don’t count on it again.”

She rolled her eyes. “I won’t. But I guess I owe you one?” she admitted with a reluctant effort to keep the discussion going.

“Well you can repay me by leaving me alone,” he replied coldly as he turned to dismiss the conversation.

But before he could make his escape, Kenna grabbed him aggressively by the shirt and turned him back around to face her. “What freaking gives? Honestly, what did I do to offend you so much that you-…”

Then, in a swift and unexpected movement, his hand reached for her face. She was immediately silenced by the motion as his icy hand tenderly touched her rosy cheek. Before she could form words of response to the gesture, she felt him pull her upward as his lips brushed up against hers in a brief, romantic kiss. She didn’t know what to say or what to do. She thought her eyes might have closed at the touching of their lips, but she wasn’t entirely sure. She thought she might have even gasped at the unanticipated, but pleasant encounter. But before Kenna could process her cogitations, she heard Jon let out a pained wince as he quickly jerked himself away from her and brought his hand up to his mouth as if the kiss had been like some kind of startling bee sting.

“I have to go,” he blurted as he turned and marched hurriedly in the opposite direction from her coming and toward where Bryce was still standing.

“Wait,” she heard herself say. But her legs didn’t move. She only reached out a helpless and pathetic arm as she watched him scramble into the privacy of his rusty old truck.

In a moment’s time, Jon and Bryce were gone while she remained frozen in disbelief. The kiss was entirely bewildering. Kenna also reached her fingers for her face to feel where their lips had met. His lips had been so cold like Jack Frost himself had kissed her. She quickly returned her hand to the warmth of her pocket as her nose began to run. With that, she sniffled, shook off the shock, and began her journey home.