Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 101662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“And to think your big doofus brother wanted to stay home and watch the ball drop on television,” I remarked with a big grin at Gabriel.
He smiled back, knowing we’d just had the best time. Elijah’s joy was worth it.
Gabriel walked beside me and nudged my arm. “You did good, Penguin.”
“I did, didn’t I?”
He leaned in slightly and kissed my earlobe. “You did.”
I was still getting used to the kisses he’d deliver to me. We’d officially been dating for a year now, and I still got butterflies whenever he came near. I loved him. I loved him so much that sometimes it made me tear up.
“It’s snowing again!” Elijah said, dropping my hand and tilting his head up to the sky. He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. I did the same as him, catching as many snowflakes as possible.
“Okay, snowmen, let’s get a move on before the snow comes down too fast,” Gabriel ordered, dragging the sleds.
“She’s a snowwoman, Gabby,” Elijah said. He was the only one who was allowed to call Gabriel Gabby. Anyone else would’ve received a punch to the gut. “Not a snowman.”
“You’re right. My bad. Snowman and snowwoman, let’s get going.”
“We should make snow angels first,” Elijah remarked, flopping down into the snow.
I arched an eyebrow at Gabriel with a wicked grin.
He pointed a stern finger toward me. “Don’t you dare, Kierra.”
I shrugged. “I can’t help it. I can’t say no to this little dude.” I then plopped beside Elijah, and we began making snow angels together, waving our arms and legs out in sync. “Come on, Gabriel. There’s room for three.”
“It’s almost one in the morning. We need to get home,” he said.
“Snow angels! Snow angels!” Elijah chanted.
I joined him in the chanting. “Snow angels! Snow angels!”
Gabriel rolled his eyes. “This is peer pressure.”
“Only the best kind of pressure,” I said, patting a spot beside me. “Join the madness.”
With a big huff, he surrendered, dropping the sleds next to us. He then plopped down and began making a snow angel beside me.
I couldn’t think of a better trio to make snow angels.
We stayed in the snow too long, and the snowfall increased. “Okay, we should actually get going,” I said.
Gabriel stood first, helped Elijah up, and then held a hand out toward me. I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me up to his chest and kissed my nose. “My favorite snowwoman.”
Butterflies.
This man would never not give me butterflies.
“Enough kisses, more walking,” Elijah ordered, tossing the sleds toward Gabriel, one at a time.
“Don’t worry, boys! I’ll drive us home,” I said, knowing Gabriel left his glasses at home. He couldn’t see when it wasn’t snowing outside, let alone in what was turning out to be a blizzard.
We hopped into the car, and I cranked the heat up as Gabriel made sure Elijah was buckled in. He checked and double-checked, even though Elijah was old enough to buckle himself in. Amma was very overprotective of her kids, and if Elijah showed up with a mere scratch on him, she’d freak out. Truthfully, after Gabriel’s father passed away, Amma had become a helicopter mother. She made sure to almost always know where her boys were. If she’d known about our trip that evening, she would’ve shut it down quickly.
After Elijah was safe, Gabriel hopped into the front seat.
We took off down the road, and I was quick to realize how slippery everything had gotten. I was moving slower than ever, and the radio was turned down. As we approached a stop sign, I paused, looked all ways, and when it was my time to go, I went very slowly.
“Turn up the music!” Elijah requested with a yawn.
I glanced over my shoulder toward him and smiled. “You should be sleeping.”
As I went to turn back to the road, I heard the blaring of a horn. I glanced to my right and saw the headlights coming straight toward us. It only took a second. I’d only looked away from the road for a split second.
One moment.
That was all.
The car slammed into Elijah and Gabriel’s side of our vehicle. We began to spin around from the impact, and before I knew it, I lost complete control of the car. We went shooting down the street, and before we could stop, another car hit us on my side.
My head flew forward and hit the steering wheel as our car skid forward and slammed into an oak tree. I heard Elijah screaming and crying as I tried to lift my head up. Everything was blurry as smoke escaped from the smashed hood.
“Ouch,” I whimpered as I tried to move my body. I looked over to Gabriel, whose head was smashed against the window. Blood dripped down the glass as panic filled me. “Gabriel…hey, hey, look at me,” I cried as I tried to unbuckle my seat belt. It was jammed, though, and I was unable to move.