8. Xyla

8

Xyla

X yla was sitting close to the fire reading a book when the front door of the resort burst open and two versions of the abominable snowmen stumbled in. It had started snowing again. Sean and Sawyer were covered in the cold, white, glistening crystals.

Sawyer pulled off his parka, sending a shower of snow to the floor. "Sorry. We shook off as much as we could outside."

Sara grimaced. "It's okay. We can sweep it up. You guys must be frozen to death. You didn't get a chance to warm up from your day outside shoveling everyone out."

Sean shivered. "I'm a little chilled."

Sawyer growled at Sean. "Speak for yourself. I'm pretty sure that my blood has ice crystals on it."

"What did you find out?" William asked.

"It's as bad as you thought it might be." Sean reported what he and Sawyer saw when they surveyed the main road.

"Well, phooey." William wiped his hand across his brow as though he was sweating. "The bad news is that not only are the cell phones not working, but I still can't get through to anyone on the CB or the walkies we use."

Everyone looked at each other fearfully.

William held up his hand and continued talking. "The good news is that the rangers know we're here and will send help as soon as they can. Plus, we have enough food to keep everyone fed for a couple of weeks. We have a big gas tank for the generators, so we should be good there, although we will conserve as much as we can. We'll be alright as long as everyone gets along."

He stared at Elliot for a couple of minutes until Elliot looked away. Xyla hid her smile again. She liked that William wasn't going to allow her father to make the entire shut-in experience miserable for everyone. Frankly, Xyla was impressed because she hadn't met too many people who could shut him down like that.

"Can I get you some coffee or anything?" Sara asked Sean and Sawyer.

"No, thanks. I'm going to bed. I can't stay awake anymore. I know the heat isn't on in the bedroom. That's fine. As long as I have my sleeping bag and some blankets, I'll be fine." Sean rubbed his face and headed for the bedroom.

"Me, too." Sawyer followed right behind Sean.

Xyla heard the exhaustion in the men's voices and felt bad for them. She watched them walk into the room and close the door with newfound respect for both of them.

"See, I told you they weren't so bad, didn't I?"

She jumped slightly. "Edward, don't sneak up on me like that. You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry, now admit that I was right."

"You were right. They might not be so bad. Are you happy now?"

Edward shook his head. "Nope. Now, you have to give me ice cream and a piece of chocolate cake."

"What's with you and those desserts?"

"It's my birthday week. Birthday boys get cake and ice cream."

Xyla shook her head. "Not every single day of the week. Just on the day itself."

"This is a special birthday. It's not every year that a guy gets stuck on top of a mountain buried under a ton of snow."

"Whose fault is that?" Elliot asked in a nasty tone of voice.

"Certainly not his, Dad. He didn't know there would be an avalanche. There hadn't been one on this mountain for the last fifty-six years. I looked it up before we came. He didn't cause it." Xyla put her hand on her brother's back and guided him into the dining room.

"Sara said they had a shelf full of games in the library. I'll grab one and we can play, okay? Then, you need to go to bed. It has been a very long day."

Edward nodded.

She found a Sorry! game and took it back into the dining room. Marcie and Ellie walked over to their table.

"Oooh, I love this game," Marcie said. "Can we play, too?"

"Of course." Xyla waved her hands to the chairs and the women sat down.

One game turned into two, and Xyla noticed that Edward was yawning and his eyes were drooping.

"Alright, baby brother. Off to bed with you. I'm heading that way myself."

Xyla brushed her teeth and took the five-minute shower allowed and then dropped onto her cot, pulling the blankets up to her neck. She was sound asleep in less than a minute.

She was chilly when her eyes popped open the next morning. Checking her watch, she noticed that it was almost seven. True to his word, William turned the heat off at six.

Xyla was glad that there was a little bit of eggs and a couple slices of bacon left when she stumbled into the dining room, still drowsy. She sat down with a glass of orange juice and savored the food.

When she was done eating, she took her dishes into the kitchen. Sara and Franny were talking about lunch and dinner.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Xyla asked. "I'm not much of a chef, but I imagine you are pretty protective of the cooking duties. I can help in other ways, though."

Sara smiled at her. "We'll let you know if something comes up. For now, though, you can help by keeping everyone calm and maybe entertained. You can be in charge of creating games or movie nights. Things like that which will help people keep their minds occupied."

Xyla nodded. "That I can do."

Sara tilted her head to one side. "So, what's with you and Sean? I notice you two making eyes at each other, but you don't seem to be together. Did you meet here and are too shy to start something?"

"I've known Sean for a very long time. We grew up in the same town, although he's a few years older than I am. We were friends, but then my father decided that he didn't like Sean. I must admit that I started treating Sean rather badly after that. I feel bad about that, because my father's view of Sean may not be right."

"Maybe all of this happened because fate decided that you two needed a chance to reconnect." Sara grinned. "Cupid caused the avalanche."

"I'm not so sure that Cupid would trap several other people just to make romance happen, which isn't going to happen. Sean and I were simply friends before."

"From the looks that Sara and I saw you two giving each other, there's more than just friendship going on there. There is a bit of romance – maybe even love."

"I doubt that. I would like to make amends for being so nasty before, though. I'm just not sure how."

Franny put her hand on Xyla's shoulder. "Follow your heart. Whether it's romance or just doing the right thing, your heart won't steer you wrong."

"Thanks, ladies. Let me know if you need me."

Sean was putting on his parka, hat, and gloves when she went into the parlor. Xyla decided to follow him outside.

"Wait up," she called to him.

He stopped but didn't look back at her. They walked together when she caught up.

"I'm so sorry for the way I treated you. I guess it took something extreme to open my eyes."

"Thank you. Apology accepted."

"You know you are a hero, now. You and Sawyer saved everyone's life. You went above and beyond."

"I'm no hero and the others helped, too. Darren, Tristan, and Howard shoveled as much as Sawyer and I did after we dug Darren and Tristan out. The only reason William wasn't out there is because he's seventy-two and uses a walker. I just did what any decent human being would do."

He emphasized the words human being , making Xyla wince. She had told him several times in the past that he wasn't human.

"Still, you guys are all pretty awesome."

Their arms brushed together and even through the thick layers of coat, shirt, and thermal underwear, Xyla felt a bolt of electricity explode inside of her. She jerked her arm and stepped away from him.

Sean must have felt something, too, because he looked at her strangely. She looked deep into his emerald eyes and felt as though she was getting lost inside of them. Xyla reached for his gloved hand and was shocked at the heat that built up inside of her as though their bare skin was touching.

He looked down at her and Xyla felt the entire world disappear around them. She put her hands on his chest, wishing he wasn't wearing three layers of clothing. Her fingers itched to touch his skin and feel the heat from his body.

Sean lowered his head as though he was going to kiss her. Then, in the background, she heard her father bark out her name.

"I'm sorry. I have to go to him or he'll get ugly."

He nodded and she turned away from Sean, trudging slowly through the deep snow back to the building.

She spent the rest of the day trying to entertain Edward and organized a couple of games, including a makeshift game of a poker run. Instead of bar to bar, they moved from table to table. Even Edward got in on it and had fun. The only one who didn't participate was her father, who stayed to himself and sulked.

That night, she took her five-minute shower and crawled under the blankets. What would it have been like if he had kissed me? Before I let Dad turn me against Sean, that's all I ever wanted. I had the hots for him so badly.

Xyla felt the heat flood through her as she imagined what it would be like if he touched her. She imagined running her hands over his muscular chest and thick arms. In her mind, she could see them having sex as their bodies rubbed together.

She wanted to touch herself and let the fantasy play out in her mind, but she couldn't with two other women in the room. Instead, she simply fell asleep thinking about Sean.