Three Years Made Her Cold Novels & Stories

Maya was a complete mess and her make-up she was very sure was now far from attractive and quite alarming instead. The cold of the night bit at her exposed arms and feets but she didn't care, at least she would feel the cold dry up her bleeding heart if only it was possible. She had tried in the past to get over Yandel during times he went to school and wouldn't even call sometimes like her friends and boyfriends would.

“Forced her to kneel. And he kept her there.” For a second, I thought I had misheard. “Kept her there?” I repeated. Bea nodded, her hands twisting together more tightly now. “For almost three days.” The words settled into me slowly, like something sinking under the surface before the full weight of it could be felt. Three days. My eyes narrowed before I could stop myself, a sharp, cold anger rising up from somewher deep and in me. “Three days?” I repeated, my voice quieter and dangerous now.

Chunks of concrete piled at my feet, dust still hanging in the air. I stepped over the threshold. The moment my shoe hit the ground, the sole didn't melt. The air didn't scorch my throat. The hallway beyond was white. The walls were cool. Jake followed behind me, reached out, and pressed his fingers to the wall. "It's cold." Three years since he'd touched anything cold. He pressed his whole palm flat against it and just stood there, not moving.

The sound of metal snapping, and the sudden relief of our wrists and ankles bring released, dragged me from my thoughts. The cuffs were no longer digging in, I realised, but the pain was replaced with another as Lisbet began turning back, finally relinquishing control back to me. 'I'm sorry, Laila,' she said gently, 'I know that was painful, but it was necessary. We need to go. Now.' I knew she was right, and I looked towards the exit, but hesitated, shivering with the cold. My clothes were ruined, having torn to shreds when we shifted forms, but I did a quick search of the room, finding a hoodie that smelled like Elsie, and pulled it on over my head.

He stated. The temperature was rising in my small square and I was beginning to shiver from the cold. My breath was coming out frosty. Who was controlling it? I looked at the three women, but all six were talking amongst themselves, and I could no longer hear them. One of them must have cast a spell…

Everything in our home revolved around her, as if she owned the house. Recalling my bitter past, I wanted to slap myself. Why didn't I just walk away when I still had the chance? Andrew slammed on the accelerator. As if something had just occurred to him, he frowned and muttered, "Well played, Jovana. No wonder I haven't heard from you in three years—you've been out there messing around with some other man." Watching him clench his jaw in anger, I wanted to slap him across the face. A blind, heartless scum like him had no right to accuse me!

In just a few days, the trees along the road had lost all their yellow leaves, now standing bare. The car radio was playing the weather report. A major drop in temperature was coming, possibly bringing the first snow of the winter. She murmured, “It’s going to snow.” Louis responded, “What, you like snow?” She didn’t answer. What came to mind was how, during those three years after she was trafficked, she feared nothing more than snowfall and melting snow. Because of a kind of cold that was impossible to describe. When the cold became unbearable, she had to sleep curled up against pigs.

I raised my broken wrist to emphasize the point. “Oh, I don’t want to hurt you, sweetheart,” she said, smiling. “I just think it’s time we gave you a makeover.” Suddenly, ice-cold water washed over me. I gasped, jumping and spinning around. A third girl had snuck up behind me and was laughing, holding a bucket in her hand. The cold water seeped into my bones, and I shook violently as a gust of wind blew through the forest. I could feel my makeup running, and my soaked hair stuck to my face.

Comes Karen's voice, inserting fake glee into her tone of voice. “Were you hoping I wouldn’t?” I arch my brow and ask, my eyes darting to across the room to see her on a stool and looking at me. “Would you blame me if I did? I spent three years living like you never exist. Dying would have helped me ensure that fact.” I give her a pain stained smile because her words were hurtful as there were cold. She now reminds me of someone I hate, someone who’s just as cold, someone whose heart wasn’t in the right place. She is reminding me of myself.