— The air grew increasingly icy. My hands tightened around my arms in an attempt to warm myself as we crossed the dense forest and made our way onto the farm path. The silence of the darkness sent a shiver down my spine, while my Converse sank into the wet mud and the rain threatened to burst. The clouds grew darker. Ahead of me, Abby’s broad back moved forward silently, advancing without uttering a word. From time to time, her eyes rested on my rain-soaked face. A few smudges of dirt on her cheeks made her terribly attractive. Her elbows were red from the effort and a few scratches adorned her tanned skin after the many hours spent under the sun, trying to fix my car. My breath caught in my throat when I reached out to grab her arm and wrap mine around it, to hug myself and warm up against her burning body. Her lips granted me a smile and she kept me close to her for the entire walk. Then, when we reached the entrance gate, her fingers pushed firmly, taking a step back and letting me pass first. We crossed the barn and went past the path of wheat stalks, with the rustling of leaves beneath our shoes and the icy air brushing our faces. Further ahead, beyond the house on the hill and the livestock enclosure, a slender figure immersed in shadow made her appearance, sitting on a bale of hay. Between her fingers she fiddled with a hunting rifle. Slender fingers cleaned the barrel with a translucent cloth, her gaze serious and her eyebrows arched in a hard expression. At first she did not grant us a look. Then, her lips pressed into an impatient line, cleaning the barrel more and more forcefully. Abby pushed a few strands of hair away from her damp face and licked her wounded lips, and before she could speak, Ellie preceded her.

«I thought I had been exhaustive about her curfew.» Ellie’s voice was marked by cold. Her impatience made me nervous, making me fidget with my shoes on the dirt that dirtied them. The cold invaded my lungs, making me curl in on myself, trying to breathe without making a sound, as if her presence intimidated me enough to want to make me invisible. “She’s trembling like a leaf.” Her voice was not meant to mock, and yet when her eyes settled on me, I felt an electric jolt run through my entire body. A neat mullet framed her pale face. The freckles beneath her delicate nose were even more visible against her pale complexion. A scar on her upper lip adorned her mouth, which I lingered on for a moment, at the instant she placed the rifle on the hay bale. Her Converse touched the ground as she turned her back on us. Her body was wrapped in a light brown checkered shirt and dark jeans. I lingered on her for a moment as she crossed the path to enter the house. The rain had burst into a loud rumble, soaking her face and body. I watched her walk away calmly, before she murmured: «Take her inside.»

Abby’s fingers brushed my back and led me inside. The warmth of the fireplace brought me relief when I felt my shoulders relax immediately. Abby disappeared into the kitchen, Ellie moved toward a cabinet to grab a warm blanket. A fleece in shades of orange covered my body as I sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace. Ellie warmed my body with that simple gesture and then sat down next to me on the couch, turning on the TV. Her boots lifted onto the coffee table in front of us as she popped open a beer. When I dared to look at her, her lips brushed the can. I thought she hadn’t noticed my gaze. But immediately after, her eyes glanced at me from the side, serious in demeanor, yet with a tacit understanding in her light irises. I saw her linger on me for a moment. The background noises seemed to disappear in the face of that exchange of glances. Her fingers rested on my shoulder and began to warm me slowly, the silence between the two of us broken by the sound of the refrigerator closing and Abby also grabbing a can of beer, leaning against the jamb of the archway that opened a passage between the living room and the dining room. The muscles tensing beneath the tank top.

«She needs a hot bath.»