Page 34 of Winter's Edge
CYRUS
10 YEARS AGO
The summer air is thick, sticking to my skin and leaving it uncomfortably damp. Even with the intense humidity, it’s still less stuffy outside than being crammed inside the small farmhouse. Every person in Deadwood must be here to celebrate one of our own finally heading off to college in the ‘big city’. Our families only moved to this holler a year ago, but the Landrys certainly integrated much better than my pop and I did. Even if they hadn’t, no one in these parts needs much of an excuse to throw a party.
The ruckus from inside the house spills out onto the porch each time someone opens the door, interrupting my solitude. I’m about to move the big blue coolers inside just to keep from being annoyed each time someone steps out to retrieve a beer. Another stranger pops out, like clockwork, and I groan, rubbing a hand through my hair and ashing my cigarette over the porch railing.
Jace’s face appears in the window, her lips curving in a soft smile. My heart skips. For a moment, I think about turningaway, heading back across the lonely pasture to my empty house. A voice echoes in my head, faintly reminiscent of Aunt Pearl. “Don’t miss your chance,” it hisses. A shiver rolls down my spine, and I shake my head, clearing away the strange feeling.
Jace is still staring at me, raising one eye brow. Her eyes widen, and then she bursts out of the house, straight into my chest. “You came! I was so scared you wouldn’t make it.”
“Parties aren’t really my thing,” I mumble, looking away. Jace looks up at me, a tenseness in her honey brown eyes. My heart clenches as something inside breaks.
Her face softens, and she looks toward the trees, her mouth creeping up into a grin. “You know what? Let’s get out of here.”
Before I can blink, she’s sprinting across the pasture. I bolt after her, chasing her into the woods. No matter how many times I see her run, I always forget how quick she is. She bounds between the trees as effortlessly as a deer. Every few feet, she looks back, making sure I’m still behind her.
“You’ll have to be faster than that if you want to catch me,” she shouts, laughing.
My legs cramp, and my lungs burn for air, but I manage to catch up. We break through an opening in the trees onto the shore of a lake. My arms reach for her, grabbing her waist. Jace squeals, turning into me and sending us tumbling to the ground. She squirms beneath me, wriggling out of her shorts and then fumbling with my jeans. My cock springs from my briefs, already hard from the adrenaline of chasing her.
Jace grips my arms, using all her strength to roll me to my back. She straddles me, her thighs soft against mine. Her hands travel slowly up her body, slipping off her oversized t-shirt. The breeze makes her nipples harden into rosy beads, goosebumps blooming over her skin. I reach for her breasts, caressing thembefore roaming down her torso. Her pulse pounds in the hollow spot at the base of her neck.
This place has an air of familiarity, like I’ve been here before—like we’ve done this before. The water laps gently at the soft sand, the afternoon sun shimmering on the surface. Jace’s eyes glisten, her thoughts swirling inside them. Her bottom lip trembles as she guides my tip to her entrance. I swirl my cock through her wetness before she eases down onto me. She lets out a soft gasp, tossing her head back as I enter her. My length pushes inside, her inner walls flexing around me. White spots dance in my vision, the coil at the base of my spine already wound tight from the pulse of her body around me.
I rock my hips slowly, watching her breasts bounce. She holds on to me, rolling her body in time with mine. A moan escapes her as I cup her ass with one hand and swirl my thumb over her clit with the other. Her hips buck, grinding against me with a new intensity. The space between us grows slick with her desire. I swipe a finger through it, bringing it to my lips. My core tightens, the sweetness of her lingering on my tongue. Jace’s moans grow louder, and my thumb rolls over her tender bundle of nerves faster, increasing the pitch of her mewling.
The pressure inside me bursts, shooting molten pleasure through my body. Jace leans back, rocking her hips in a final thrust as she finds her own orgasm. The aftershocks of our release rack through us, our bodies trembling. When the muscles in her back relax, I pull her into me. I wrap my arms around her, cradling her to my chest as I inhale deeply. She’s always smelled like strawberry shampoo and morning winter air, a quiet sadness disguised as something sweet.
“I’m going to miss you,” she sighs, tracing my jawline with her finger, as though she’s memorizing my face.
“No, you won’t.” I brush her bangs from her face, pushing wild strands of hair behind her ear. The voice inside my headscreams over the stubborn part of me, demanding I not fuck this up.
“Of course, I will. Don’t be all ornery on my last day.” She rolls her eyes, making a joke out of it, but her body tenses beside mine.
“No, Jace. You won’t ever have to miss me, because I’m coming with you.”
SIX MONTHS LATER
ROUX
After the fire, the local deputies scoured the woods, looking for Elias. They didn’t end up finding him, but they did find her—along with several other sets of unidentified remains in his basement. It’s been six months since they found Jace’s body, but I still dream about her. Each time she appears in my dreams, it’s like I’m seeing her through younger eyes—watching her life play out on an alternate timeline. She’s happier. She’s alive—and so is Cyrus. We all laugh together, sneaking out to the woods behind our college campus to drink beer. We’ve escaped—beyond the edge of our family’s wrath.
I take a deep breath, hesitating before I knock on the Landrys’ door. Kate creaks it open a couple of inches, her puffy eyes meeting mine. “Oh, Roux, it’s you,” she cries, a sob lurking behind her words.
“Hi, Miss Landry,” I say softly, choosing my words carefully. “I don’t mean to be a bother, but I was wonderin’ if it would be alright if I grabbed a few things outta Jace’s room. Some of it’s mine, but some of it is just somethin’ to remember her by.”
Kate’s face falls, and I’m ready to start apologizing profusely, but she opens the door further. She nods her head, dabbing hereyes with a handkerchief. “Of course. I haven’t had the heart to go through any of it yet.”
I step inside, reaching to give Kate’s hand a small squeeze. The hallway to Jace’s room looks longer than I remember, stretching before my eyes.
“You don’t mind if I stay out here, do you, Roux?” Fresh tears swell in her eyes, and she wraps her arms around herself. “I don’t think I’m ready to go in there.”
“Not at all,” I reply, secretly relieved. I let out a shaky breath. “I’ll only be a minute, I promise.”
I walk steadily down the hall, but once I’m behind the closed bedroom door, I race to her bed. Lying flat on my belly, I crawl underneath the bed as far as I can go. My hands search through the darkness until my fingers land on a piece of paper. My heart races, and I grab it, working myself back out into the open.
My face stares up at me from the page. An ache builds at the back of my throat, working its way into a scream.
Cyrus’s voice speaks inside my head, clear as day.
“I found somethin’ strange in Jace’s room. Our photos were taped on a piece of paper: mine, yours, Mattie’s...and Jace’s. Only mine and Mattie’s had big red exes over them. The date and our ages at the time of our deaths were there too.”
