Page 111 of His Ruin
“Keep up!” He calls mockingly before he crouches down and begins to shape a pile of snow.
I roll my eyes as I take my time, careful not to slip off the steps before I hop down and start small. I’m not in a rush like he is, as he wildly rolls and ends up crumbling half his work. I tuck my lips in to keep my laughter contained as I finish the big base of my first one and pat it to smooth the surface. Kaden is still trying to get his base under control when I plop the midsection onto mine.
“Having troubles?” I croon.
He shoots me a playful glare. “I will trample that thing if you don’t keep your comments to yourself.”
I giggle as I form the head of my snowman son. “Man, that hot chocolate and rom-com sure are sounding nice right now.”
“In your fucking dreams,” Kaden laughs.
I’ve finished my first snowman when I turn to begin the next. I start with a little ball of dusted white again, shaping it in my hands, when movement catches my eye. Kaden is standing beside my erect masterpiece, his gaze flickering to me as he lifts a hand to the head.
“Don’t you dare!” I shout.
He shoves it off, making it slap onto the ground as it crumples. My mouth falls open before I rear my elbow back and smack him in the face with my snowball. It shatters across him, getting caught in his lashes as he sputters and swipes a hand to dust himself off.
His head tilts as his lips tug upward wickedly. “That’s your ass!”
“No!” I yelp as he scoops up theentirebase of his failed project and trudges towards me.
Running is hard when every step is swallowed whole by the thick weather blanketing the ground. My cheeks are flushed as I give a breathless laugh at my efforts to escape. I’m not getting anywhere, but the footsteps behind me are closer than I’m comfortable with.
He weighs a ton! How is he moving so quickly?!
A shadow falls over me, and everything stops. I slowly look up, my mouth opening on a scream before Kaden releases the snow, and I’m covered. My vision goes dark as an arctic blast pinches my skin. Some gets in my mouth, and I hack as I lean forward and shake it off.
“YOU—” I cough, wiping snow from my eyelashes. “You absolute traitor!”
Kaden is doubled over, his hands on his knees as his shoulders shake with laughter. “Your snowman was a sacrifice I was willing to make. He died doing what he loved.”
“What?” I sputter, pushing closer to him. “Assault?!”
He casually brushes the debris off his jacket. “It was a strategic collapse of your too-quickly rising empire.”
I cross my arms smugly. “You werejealousI was whipping your ass.”
He scoffs, the sound strained. “What? No, I wasn’t—”
“Kaden doesn’t know how to build a snowman!” I chant loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. “He sucks, and he can’t admit it!”
He points a finger at me with a faux stern expression. “First of all, fuck you. Second,” he leans over, scooping my perfectly rounded snow abdomen into his arms, “I have the high ground.”
I hold my hands up, nearly tripping back. “Wait, can’t we talk about this?”
“There is no talking during war,” his eyes widen as he gets a deranged gleam in them. “There is only victory.”
He lunges, and I can’t get away fast enough as my snowman son’s body explodes against me. Snow dances across my vision, making me choke for a second time as I frantically bat it away. I ball what I have left over in my gloves before rearing back and decking him right across the face with it.
That starts a snowball fight, both of us laughing as our skin pricks with the cold and our breath blows out in thick clouds. I get a few hits on him, celebrating before he comes back with vengeance.
As we pant, our chests heaving, I fall to the snow on my back, spreading my arms out as the flakes from the sky land on me. Kaden does the same, plopping down beside me as our fingers brush.
“I win,” he gasps.
“You…” I suck in air, filling my lungs. “Didn’t win shit.”
He chuckles, staring up at the sky. “Someone has to win.”
