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The last day of school drifted by in a trance All the seniors went on about how they couldn&039;t wait for Christot back it would be graduation year

At the end of the day, I bypassed s

I boarded ently fro over the earth - soundproof padding Snow still fascinated me I&039;d lived in Alaska my whole life, but when the snow ca athered some of the snow in his bare hands and attempted to make a snowball, but it was too dry and turned to dust in his fingers The herd of kids walking up the street thinned as they disappeared inside their war alone to my house at the top of the hill

If I kept walking, maybe I would find myself I looked ahead to where the end of the road met the woods She was out there somewhere: The person I was before the accident

I looked sideways atto the spruce trees ahead like long white coats My heart pattered as I approached the clump of woods at the top of the hill A dirt path led into the cave of bark and branches and silence I walked toward it

Inside this clutch of woods, the teht dientle when I ca ht ahead Smaller paths made by moose veered off in randos snapping under hooves or ravens cawing No rowdy teens sneaking in for a s over with their sleds to slide down the steep hump at the top of our hill The world was silent

The trees didn&039;t taper off where the next neighborhood began - they just stopped This street was quiet, at least The hohborhood until I reached the main road

Snow snaked in crystallized clouds over the pave car I observed traffic until my toes went numb No more shivers I couldn&039;t even feel the cold anyht in either direction, I crossed to the ain

There was a hill leading to a strip mall with take-out pizza place, dry cleaners, and video store I waded h the deep snow

The next part was like so fro at the top suy several feet in front of the video store It was Fane who looked at h the snow He dropped his cigarette and took several steps forward

"Aurora?"

A smile hovered on my lips So he did know my name

Fane&039;s companion looked me over with a scowl "Chum of yours, Francesco?" he asked in a British accent

Fane ignored his friend He stepped closer "What are you doing out here?" He gazed into my eyes When I didn&039;t answer he looked beyond my shoulder "Do you live nearby?"

"Yes"

"Are you going somewhere?"

"No"

Fane&039;s bystander made a sound of exasperated impatience He looked a lot like Adrien Brody, the clean-cut version in The Pianist, with pale skin, narrow cheekbones, and a lanky, thin fraive you a ride horabbed et into avehicle with someone other than my mom

Fane&039;s friend sneered When he spoke he sounded all snotty British "It&039;s not enough that you&039;re hanging out with those adolescent twats at Denali, now you&039;re consorting with a girl who is clearly insane"

Fane let go of lared at his companion "She was recently in a car accident"

The scowl became further pronounced "A car accident occurs every second - 103,680 a day - over 35,000 fatalities annually in this country alone" He walked around h I was a marble sculpture at the Louvre With h

He stopped directly in front of me and stared me in the eyes "Happens all the time Get over it"

Fane crossed his arot over it"

"This isn&039;t about me"

"It&039;s always about you," Fane said He turned to me "Cooing home"

"Oh, really?" Amusement danced over Fane&039;s eyes "And where exactly are you going, Aurora Sky?"

I lowered my lashes and tried to think "I don&039;t know"

"I say you leave her out here to freeze," his buddy said

Fane rolled his eyes "I&039;ll be right back Go pick out yourwith more action and less subtitles"

Fane took o - back hoo back home She&039;ll want hed "Clearly you come from a dysfunctional family"

He removed his hand e reached the sidewalk When there wasn&039;t a vehicle in sight I nodded my consent to cross

Fane followed my lead and shadowed my steps When we reached the opposite side of the road he smiled "Made it"

Dressed in his usual black jeans and ribbed tee, he was as dark as dooht Even the snow didn&039;t stick to his long leather jacket

I didn&039;t knohy he was doing this I kept expecting his to ease the pain But there was no pain, only a nuness, and he made no offers

"Did you die?" he asked

I craned my head sideways to look at hi in front of you welco you into the heavens?"

"No, there was no white light"