Snow whipped and swirled around the house, scattering the dead leaves and whistling and rattling through the rafters, the mere sound of it chilled even those who were comfortably wrapped in blankets, such as Calamity and Aspen were. The dim flickering light of candles danced cheerfully on their faces, making a serene, calming atmosphere. Calamity took advantage of that and was soon asleep, her head resting on a reluctant Aspen's shoulder. Aspen looked exasperatedly at the slumbering girl, but sighed in resignation and gently laid back against the couch so as not to disturb her.

Meanwhile, on a shorter couch, Vipin and GoldenWinged were nestled together under a thick afghan, the muted TV's light flickering blue on their faces. Judging by the infomercials cropping up, it was getting pretty late. GoldenWinged could see out of the corner of her eye Vipin's head dip lower and lower as sleep began to overtake him. She draped her arm, around his shoulders and held him close. He reacted by playfully squeezing her middle with his arms already wrapped around her. He rested his head on her hips.

"I love you," he said into her oversized T-shirt.

GoldenWinged let out a surprised giggle. They had been silent for a little more than an hour, letting the warmth shared between them permeate into quiescence.

"I love you too," she whispered, just loud enough for Vipin to hear.

Vipin sighed contentedly and rubbed his cheek against her side, and became still as he drifted to sleep.
GoldenWinged smiled serenely and turned back to see a muted Ford commercial. The shiny grey pickup truck powering up a steep road carved into the mountain side suddenly reminded her of home, and her thoughts traveled to Montana. She thought of her father, her mother, and all those dogs she'd come to love. All that love, that comfort of home, she left. She'd found a new comfort, a new home, a new love, who was sleeping peacefully at her side. She smiled as she turned back to Vipin, gently stroking his crow-black hair with her fingertips.

This moment of peace was soon interrupted by her cell phones tinny rendition of Collective Soul's "December"... right in her loves ear.

He jerked up, swearing and blinking blearily.

"Agh, sorry Vip," GoldenWinged's eyebrows creased as he sat up and leaned against the couch.

"S'alright," Vipin yawned, rubbing his eyes.

She looked back down at her phone. "Mom" showed up on the tiny screen as the one who was calling. She slid her phone open.

"'Yello."

For several seconds there was nothing but soft static and the voices of other people fading in and out of the background. GoldenWinged drew a breath to ask "Hello?" again, but was caught when her mother began to speak.

"Golden? Honey?" her mother's soft and somber voice entered her ear.

GoldenWinged rolled her eyes and smirked, she knew this tone. This was her mother's "unsure" tone. She had a horrible memory, and would often have to call her daughter clear across the country to help her remember where her car keys were, or if she left the gate open or bought groceries last Friday. Luckily enough, her husband--GoldenWinged's father-- was very organized and kept things in their proper place, and double checked the locks and made sure there was food in the refrigerator-- for them, and for the six dogs residing with them. Her mother, though forgetful, was a caring and kind woman, she would give you the shirt off her back in an instant. And even if her husband had the worst day at work, she'd always be there to cheer him up and make him laugh. They complemented each other. Even with her mothers memory deficiency, it benefitted GoldenWinged in a way. She always knew that they were there for her and she could still help them. She still felt like she was home, even hundreds of miles away.

"Yes Ma," GoldenWinged said, the smile in her voice apparent. Here it comes. She prepared for her "Car keys are on the hook in the closet" spiel.

"G..Golden... your father is in the hospital."

She wasn't prepared for this.

Her heart seemed to turn to lead and sink into her stomach.

"Wh...What? What happened?" She all but whispered into the reciever.

"He got pnemonia during the night. The dogs woke me up. He's in the hospital now. He's unconscious."

Soft static returned and the quiet din of unintelligible conversation returned. She didn't want to believe this. Disconnected questions swarmed her mind, drowning out her mothers fluttering voice as she talked about the doctors and insurance and these words were nonsense to GoldenWinged.

She had to do something. Her father was the most important person in her life. Her mother had to work, someone had to be there for him. Someone had to be there to pull him out of this. She would not allow him to languish in an empty hospital room.

She looked at Vipin apprehensively, and he exchanged the glance. It's going to be tough, being so far away from him. But her home... her real home, needed her.

"Okay..." GoldenWinged said a bit loudly to quiet her mother's chatter.

"I'll... take the next plane out." She said pointedly, and slid the phone closed. She stared at it for several seconds, numb to the core. The sooner she got there, the better. The farther away she got from Vipin, the worse.

She got up, Vipin's gaze following her.

"What happened?" He asked quietly, glancing at the two girls both asleep on the couch.

"Father's sick. I have to go home to care for him." GoldenWinged said morosely, her healthily thin form looking languished under the oversized baseball shirt-- her fathers, originally.

"You're going to the airport like that?" Vipin asked pointedly.

GoldenWinged looked down at herself. Her baseball shirt hung limp over thick red plaid pajama pants, five sizes too big. Her hair was tousled out of its ponytail, she looked very much like she just rolled out of bed and then kept sleeping on the floor.

"Yep." She said simply, and slipped her bare feet into her boots, grabber her coat, and headed for the door.

"Wait!" Vipin jumped to his feet, waking up Aspen and Calamity. They mumbled nonsense as he flew past. He skidded to a halt, placing himself between GoldenWinged and the door. GoldenWinged blinked bemusedly. He placed his hands under her jaw and kissed her passionately.
They remained so for a few moments until they pulled away.
"I love you," Vipin said, his brilliant blue eyes looking into her soft brown ones as their foreheads touched.

"I love you too," GoldenWinged smiled and kissed Vipin on the nose.
Her smile faded quickly as she noticed the time. Does the airport even sell tickets at this time? She would try anyway. She'd spend the night there if she had to.

"I have to go." She sighed, wrapping her arms around Vipin in a tight embrace.

"Stay safe, you'll catch your death out there." Vipin said, his expression somber.

"I will," she opened the door and was greeted by the chill of wind and snow, tucking her head in as she fumbled for the keys to open her truck. The happy pinging of the car door stopped quickly as she started the car and rocketed backwards out of the driveway. As she neared the end of the block, she looked in her rearview mirror. In the lighted window of their house, a figure stood watching her truck disappear into the night.


{{lul short story iguess c8 ignore the failsome writing D:}}