I was only 15 years old when the world went to ruin, and everything in my life changed for the worse, just when I thought I had hit the lowest point already.

My everyday life went from waking up too early in the morning to go to a school I absolutely hated, filled with people I absolutely despised… to waking up early in the morning, wondering if today was my last day and my last chance to be honest. 

My parents were gone, and I didn’t know if I would ever see them again. I don’t know if it really mattered much to me; I knew that it should, but I couldn’t tell if that was true. The day before it all started, I had convinced them that I was old enough to take care of myself for the weekend and for the first time, they finally trusted me on it, leaving me with enough leftovers and easy meals to get me through until monday. I was excited, but I was unaware that would be the last time I’d see them again. 

“Hey… Serena. Wake up!”

Nicholas shook me awake from my slumber, his strong hands gripping my shoulders and I found myself glaring into his gleaming blue eyes, rubbing the sleep out of my own as I shivered from underneath the blanket that wrapped around me. The cold was suddenly tangible again, and the hairs on my arms stood upright. 

His reason for waking me up had better be good because getting to sleep in a house with no heat during the winter was hard enough already, and I didn’t feel quite ready to wake up yet.

“What is it?” I groaned, turning over in a weak attempt to ignore him despite knowing that he’d never give up so easily.

“We want you to see something.” Nicholas coaxed, leaning over me a bit and pushing strands of my brunette hair that had fallen in front of my face when I had rolled over, seemingly unbothered when I had shrunk away from his touch. “Just for a second, then you can go back to sleep after that if you want.”

I laid there in silence for a bit, my eyes still closed. But as much as I had wanted to go back to sleep, I struggled to find that comfort against the biting cold sneaking past the crevices of my blanket and I sighed before sitting up.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Nicholas smiled even harder, jumping up immediately and offering his hand to me. Even through my exhaustion and past the dimly lit room, I could see his handsome features blinding me; his blonde hair, his striking blue eyes, his charming smile and his soft face. I had ignored him all throughout our childhood and yet he continues to chase me even now. 

And though he had grown into a lovely man at 20 years of age—one that I know my parents would have loved to know as my boyfriend, I still couldn’t give him the time of day. 

There was always someone else.

I slithered out of my blanket and reached out to him, allowing him to pull me to my feet with ease. Our hands lingered a bit, interlocked for longer than needed while I basked in his strength. But I pulled away as fast as I could, as soon as I realized what I was thinking.

There is always someone else.

Nicholas’ demeanor didn’t stutter nor did his smile falter, and he gestured for me to follow him to the front door of the cabin. As we walked I looked around like I always did—

Had he said “we”?

And when Nicholas opened the door I was blinded by the sun, bright and overwhelming, not even comparable to the world covered in endless white snow before it. The sun was the star of the show, but only for a second to me. Though we hadn’t seen the sun fully out for what felt like weeks, I was more in awe over something else or—someone else, I suppose.

My eyes lingered to the man standing ahead of Nicholas and I, basking in the cold breeze and the shining light of the sun. His blonde hair was just as messy, but slightly longer than Nicholas’ was, and he was taller, stronger, broader and he made my heart skip a beat the moment he turned back and looked at us with a smile brighter than the sun that illuminated the world now.

His blue eyes twinkled and they were far more striking than Nicholas’ had ever been.

He was the reason I was still alive today, and the reason my eyes never stayed on Nicholas for too long. He was my guardian angel whenever times were too tough and the light at the end of the tunnel every time it felt like it was too dark for me to keep forging ahead.

Michael— Nicholas’ father.

“Thank god the sun finally came out, huh?” He asked, looking back at us.

Thank god, indeed.

What would I do without you?