Sucking in a breath, I woman up and walk over to the front door. When I peer out the peephole, I can’t see anything other than darkness and a drop of light, which I’m not quite sure where it’s coming from. I crack open the door and peek out. What I see makes my heart skip a beat.

Some of the neighbors have solar lampposts, and the light glitters from them and onto the blanket of snow covering everything. Fluffy snowflakes are also fluttering from the surprisingly quiet sky.

The rainstorm froze into a snowstorm.

I open the door all the way and step outside, my eyes wide. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen snow. A long, long time.

I stick out my hand and catch a snowflake, a smile breaking out on my face. The last time I can recall being in the snow was when I was a child. My dad and mom had taken me to the park to go sledding, and it was the perfect day. It was probably the only time I can remember where a storm had happened and nothing bad had occurred. Perhaps this time will be different, too.

“Dude, it’s gonna be a shitty winter if it’s snowing already.” Hunter’s voice drifts from over my shoulder.

Anxiety clutches at my throat as I peer around at him. He’s just a few feet behind me, a shadow in the doorway of the house. And just behind him is another figure. When they step forward beside Hunter, I can tell it’s Jax. I try to measure their reactions but, while the solar lampposts do give a drop of light, I can’t read them at all. Probably because I hardly know them. It’s hard to remember that sometimes, since I’ve felt this connection to them right from the beginning.

The beginning. Just like Zay said. Though, that still doesn’t help me understand what the hell he meant by it.

“Yeah, it is,” Jax agrees with Hunter as he tilts his head up and peers up at the sky. “That’s okay, though. I like the snow.”

Hunter crinkles his nose. “I know you do, you fucking weirdo.”

Jax chuckles, and the noise is as light and airy as the snow. It makes me wonder if they’re okay now. Then again, neither one of them have actually acknowledged my presence.

As if reading my thoughts, Hunter’s gaze meets mine, and the corners of his lips tug upward. “What’s your opinion on it, pretty Raven?”

“On the snow?” I ask, and he nods, still smiling at me. It makes my stomach feel all fluttery again. He’s smiling, so he’s still my friend … right? “I actually haven’t been around snow since I was a little kid.”

“Really?” Jax asks, looking at me.

Again, my stomach flutters. “Yeah. It was back when my parents were still alive.” I swallow hard as the air grows quiet. I want to ask them if they’re okay, if I messed stuff up, if they want me to leave. Before I can get a word out, though, Hunter steps out onto the porch with me, his boots crunching in the snow.