-Vaughn Blackmore:
I stay where I am longer than I should.
Not because there's nothing to do—there's always something to do here—but because moving too much makes it worse. The cold settles deeper the more my body has to work against it, and right now it feels like it's already sitting under my skin, locked into my bones.
So I stand still.
Back straight. Shoulders squared.
Like I'm fine.
Like my hands aren't stiff and numb at the ends of my fingers. Like, my teeth aren't threatening to give me away if I so much as relax my jaw.
I force my breathing to stay even.
Slow.
Controlled.
No one needs to see it.
No one needs another reason to look at me like I don't belong here.
I glance around, more out of habit than anything, trying to anchor myself in something other than the cold.
Darien—
He's not here.
