Where The Ice Gives Way Chapter 10

**Charlotte**

My eyes snap open at 3:58 am when my alarm goes off. I turn it off quickly and listen to see if I woke Dad. The house is still, there’s the wind outside and the faint rattle of the window frame in my room. I sit up and press my palm to the centre of my chest like I can push the lingering feeling back down, but it’s still there. I swing my legs out of bed, and the cold bites into my feet. I pull on my socks quickly, then my jeans, then my cardigan. It’s the same thing I always wear, but it will have to do. My hands shake a little as I tie my hair up. The house feels like a freezer that never switches off. I grab a bag from the corner and shove my school uniform inside. I add a hairbrush, my resume stack out of habit even though I don’t need it now, and the small amount of cash leftover from what Sophie paid me last night. My stomach growls, but I choose to ignore it.

I knock on Charlie’s door, then push the door open. He’s sprawled out on the bed, hair sticking up in all directions, eyes blinking slowly as he wakes. He looks at me like he’s trying to remember where we are. “Lotty?” he mumbles. “Hey,” I whisper, keeping my voice low. “I’ve got a job, and I start early. I’ve got to go now.” His eyes sharpen a little as he pushes himself up on one elbow. “You got a job already?” I nod. “Yeah. Morning shift today.” Charlie sits up properly, rubbing his face with both hands. He looks exhausted, but he still manages to smile. “You always get a job,” he says quietly, like it’s something he’s watched me do a hundred times. “I’m proud of you.” I swallow and look away, focusing on the strap of my bag. “It’s nothing,” I say, because saying anything else will make my throat tight. He swings his legs out of bed. “I’ll walk with you.”

“You don’t have to,” I tell him. “Go back to sleep. You’ve got school and practice.” He shakes his head like it’s obvious. “Don’t be silly. It’s still dark and not safe walking around out there alone.”

“I’ll be fine.” Charlie stands, pulling a hoodie over his head and shoving his feet into shoes without bothering with socks. “I’ll walk you.”

I let him, because arguing will waste time and because part of me is relieved he’s coming. The world feels too big and too quiet after last night’s events. We slip downstairs quietly. Dad doesn’t wake. Charlie grabs two bananas from the fridge and shoves one at me without a word. Outside, the air slices straight through my clothes. The sky is still black, and the streetlights make the snow look faintly blue. Our breath fogs in front of us as we start walking, shoes crunching through the snow. 

Charlie walks close to me, shoulders slightly hunched, eyes scanning out of habit. He doesn’t say much, and neither do I. We save our words for when they matter. Halfway into town, I eat the banana. My stomach clenches like it’s angry I made it wait, so I chew slowly, forcing myself not to inhale it. Charlie glances at me from the corner of his eye. “Eat it all.”

“I am.” I wave it in his face, and he slaps it away with a smile. “Good.” 

The diner’s sign is on when we reach it, the lights inside glowing weakly in the dark. I can already feel the warmth spilling out through the windows, and I can smell the coffee I crave. Charlie stops at the edge of the parking lot. “I’ll head back from here.”

“Don’t get into any trouble without me.” I tease, and he wraps his arm around me sideways before pushing me forward. “I’ll see you at school.”

“I’ll meet you out the front?” I ask. It’s never fun being the new kid at school, but having your twin there with you makes it easier. He smirks. “Always.” I step closer and tug his hoodie down over his ears, because he never thinks to do it himself. “Don’t get frostbite.” Charlie grins and gives me a quick shove. “Go. You’re going to be late on your first morning.” I turn and jog the last few steps to the door, pushing inside and letting the warmth hit my face. Sophie is already behind the counter, hair pinned up, apron on, moving like she’s been awake for hours. “Well, look at you,” she says, pleased. “You made it.”

“Of course,” I reply, shrugging my bag off my shoulder. “Where do you want me?”

“Wash your hands, and then you can start with coffee and clearing tables,” she says, already sliding a pot across the counter. “Mornings are all regulars. They like things a certain way.” I nod and do exactly what she tells me. The diner fills slowly with all types of people. Men in work boots. A woman with tired eyes and a child in a puffer jacket. A couple of older guys who sit in the same booth and argue quietly over the paper. The heater rattles, plates clink, and the smell of bacon and toast settles over everything, making me thankful Charlie made me eat before I started. I move quickly, pouring coffee, refilling water, wiping tables, taking orders and carrying plates carefully. My feet ache by the second hour, but the work keeps me warm, and it gives my mind somewhere to go that isn’t the lake. Still, now and then, I catch myself inhaling like I’m checking the air… Like I’m waiting for that scent again. Cedar and smoke.

It doesn’t come. By the end of the shift, Sophie pressed folded notes into my hand, the same as last night. “Good work,” she says. “You’re a quick learner.”

“Thank you,” I tell her, and mean it. She eyes my bag. “School after this?”

“Yeah.”

“Go on then,” she says, already turning to the next customer. “Eat something before you go.” I grab a piece of toast from the kitchen and butter it quickly. I eat it standing up while I change in the small back room. I brush my hair and retie it, then sling my bag over my shoulder again. 

When I step outside, the sun is starting to creep up over the town. The snow looks brighter now. Less likely to threaten me with frostbite. I start walking toward the school, trying not to think about last night. Trying really hard not to think about the way my chest still feels strange and trying not to wonder if that branch crack was an animal… Or something else.