The idea for this was stuck in my head all day and I wanted to write it so bad but I actually had a life today. Here it is, unedited as usual, but I like the chapter.

Hope you do to!

And shout out to @hindering, once again, for an awesome cover!

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Horror started to sink in, as everything in her just seemed to . . . freeze. Like she was water turning to ice. Slowly, she was just freezing up, heart constricting. She tried to move. To stand. Back away. She couldn't. She couldn't move—it was like her legs were frozen in place. There was no pulse. There was no pulse. He wasn't breathing.

She wasn't even aware she was screaming, until the sound started to echo in her eyes, ringing loudly and painfully. Rebecca wanted to turn away. Run. Her eyes were glued to the body in front of her, unmoving and not breathing. The blood still dripped down his forehead, from where she couldn't tell. A gun? A bullet to the head? She shuddered at the thought, looking around frantically. It was the only explanation for his state. For the blood. Which meant they were still around and she was a target.

Willing her legs to move, she stared at the door of the school. They seemed so far away all of a sudden—unreachable. She hissed under her breath, eyes glued to the body. How had it escalated so quickly? She'd closed her eyes . . . and then he'd been against the wall. Not breathing. Why hadn't they hurt her?

She was panicking, she realised. A panic attack she'd hadn't had since she was five and she'd found one of orphanage sisters lying on the bed next to her, eyes wide and unmoving. A then seven-year-old version of her had just cried, staring at the body in horror, bile rising.

 God, she could remember it so vividly. The night before the girl had tried to drown Rebecca in the orphanage pool, pushing her in when they all knew she couldn't swim. The only reason she'd escaped the water was because someone had jumped in and pulled her out—Rebecca hadn't even been close to getting above the surface of the water to breathe any air. The next morning Rebecca had woken up to find the girl without a pulse, like she'd been sleeping and had just stopped breathing. Guilt, so heavy she had felt it resonate in every part of body, had sunk it. But she hadn't been to blame. She'd been mad at the girl because she'd tried to drown her but she hadn't been the cause of her death.

The guilt was the same thing she was feeling now. He'd said things to her that had made her mad and now he wasn't moving. Wasn't breathing. Not even the single, miracle, gasp of him coming to life. Rebecca hung onto the hope that it would happen and she could let go of the guilt that was starting to numb her. She forced herself to take a deep breath and calm her panic, even if her efforts were futile. There was a body in front.

 . . . Maybe he was still breathing.

Rebecca clung onto the thought. It had to be. She'd just assumed. In an effort to make it seem more pliable, she knelt down in the dirt, her jeans staining. Ignoring the pain she felt, she blinked away panicked tears and reached her hand out. It was shaking so badly she was surprised she even managed to place her fingers against his next. With silence exploding around her, just as loudly as her screams from before, she stopped moving, waiting on baited breath for something—anything—to calm her panic. To tell her that she was just overreacting.

Tears blurred her vision when there was no movement against her fingers. "Open your eyes. Talk. Come on. It's not a funny joke," she croaked out, desperately. Unsurprisingly, he didn't move still. There was no extravagant ha, I'm awake! because it had all been a joke. A stupid attempt at a joke that wasn't funny in the slightest.

Rebecca stared at him body, trying to find where the blood was coming from. She couldn't find any on his legs, nothing over his clothes. It was just from the one spot. Even though Rebecca wanted to back away, she couldn't move. Was this what people described when they witnessed something so horrifying it was impossible to look away?

The necklace started to tingle against her chest and she swore she could feel it getting warmer. Detaching her eyes from the body she untucked it from her chest, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her. The stone was bright yellow and it seemed to be glowing, even in the broad daylight. She frowned, touching it. Her hand reached out and touched the stone—

Abruptly, she pulled her hand back, pain sparking in her hand. It wasn't even hot; it was boiling to touch. Staring at her red finger, she wished that it was all a dream. All of it. That she'd hadn't woken up that morning. In a last ditch effort, she closed her eyes, willing everything away. If she pretended for long enough, she'd wake up and find it all to be a crazy, dramatic dream. . .

As she opened them, everything remained the same. The necklace had still changed colour. She could still feel the heat radiating off of it. The person if front of her still wasn't breathing. Nothing had changed.

Her attention was drawn back to the necklace when it started to flash, the colour going back to an emerald green. Blinking, she looked at it again. It was yellow. What the hell? Rebecca knew that she wasn't delusion. A necklace couldn't change colour twice.

Suddenly, her hand itched to touch it and hold it. Rebecca forced the thought away, staring at her burnt finger—

She frowned in confusion, some tears tampering off. Her finger looked normal. Nothing like it had a minute ago. I'm going crazy, she thought, staring at the digit. How had it happened? She'd burnt it. She'd felt the pain of the burn. And now it looked like nothing had happened.

Her eyes blurred—she was focusing on it that hard. And still, the urge to hold the necklace was overwhelming. She gave in, mind clouding over. The minute she grasped the necklace her hand started to glow. Rebecca had to roll her eyes. It was official—she was delusional. Just to humour herself, because it was that or just break down in tears, she kept her hand around the necklace. It pulsed under her fingertips, the feeling so foreign she jumped on reflex.

Closing her eyes, she just gripped the necklace, well aware of the tears falling down her face. Her breathing wasn't as panicked but it was still laboured. Probably because her attention was no longer on the body no longer moving or breathing.

Acting on pure instinct, she moved the hand that wasn't on the necklace and placed it on the body. It was cold to touch, but the warmth from the hand soon warmed to body. Something came over her, something she couldn't explain. She was helpless to stop it. Warmth spread throughout her body, something niggling in the back of her mind. It was like rain hit her body from everywhere yet she couldn't feel it hit anywhere. It was . . . extraordinary. Amazing.

The gasp she heard couldn't even break her deep concentration. The feeling continued to swirl around her until it started to get overwhelming. Rebecca couldn't break the spell, not even if she tried.

Even as the world went black, she could feel the glow.

*             *             *

When Rebecca gained consciousness, she felt something solid under her head, the heat of it warming her. She could feel something around her body, like arms hugging her. Mentally, she frowned at the idea, knowing it wasn't that. The tearstains on her cheeks seemed heavy. She wasn't sure if she was still crying. If wouldn't be surprising if she was. She could remember the events before she'd passed out—if she'd even passed out. The cigarette, the anger, the necklace. She wasn't sure if it was all a dream; it felt all too surreal to be real.

Something solid stroked her hair—a hand? She shut her eyes, not sure if she wanted to open them again. The necklace felt solid against her chest but it didn't feel warm. It certainly wasn't burning anymore.

"What happened here, sir?"

               "I don't know. I heard a scream and I rushed out."

               Neither of the voices were even slightly familiar to Rebecca. She shut them out, leaning into the warmth. If she opened her eyes she'd lose it and she didn't want that. Her body felt cold, like she was frozen on the inside. Rebecca could feel the shivers wracking her body. She longed for a blanket. Or the warmth she'd felt before she'd passed out. Everything had been warm then. Now it wasn't. The only source of warmth was from whatever the source of it was.  

               "Did she do it?"

               The voice was hushed, as if they didn't want to be heard. However, the words still resounded in her ears.

               "No, I don't think so. All roads lead to her but I know her. She couldn't hurt a fly."

               Rebecca wondered if they were talking about her but she didn't dwell on the thought. As she continued to shiver, something was draped over her shoulders and she recognised it as a blanket. As she let the warmth was over her, she tried to figure out why she was cold. The only time she'd ever felt like this was when she'd visited the snow. It had been with one of her foster families and they hadn't cared about her, even if they'd pretended to. So, because of that, she'd only been given a flimsy coat that had barely kept her warm. Well, that was an understatement. She'd felt like she'd been a frostbite victim.

               Now was the same. Except she wasn't in the snow. She had a blanket and something else she couldn't work out and she felt like she was frozen.

               "What was she doing? She was touching him and he wasn't moving."

               "He left on the stretcher breathing though."

               "That's still assault though, sir."

               "I saw no bruises."

               "He was up against a brick wall."

               "Did you see how tiny she was?"

               "The perpetrators are never who you expect them to be."

               "Shut up," Rebecca mumbled, wiling the voices away. They were too loud and she was too cold. Too confused. She had no idea who they were but she could figure out what they were talking about. And she didn't like it one bit. She hadn't hurt him.

               A laugh erupted from above her. "I know right. They just won't shut up. Where's the peace and quiet?"

               Rebecca startled awake, eyes wide. Something hit her head, and she grasped the area as pain started to spread. The blanket fell away and she shivered.

               "Hey, calm down. I'm helping here," Mikael said, winking at her.

               Awareness started to sink in. Mikael was holding her. Talking to her. Keeping her warm when she felt like she was frozen. She was on his lap. Cuddling with him. Closing her eyes in mortification, Rebecca shit her eyes again, shaking her head. "Oh my god. Oh my god." The words were mumbled so fast, almost so fast they were inaudible. She struggled to get off his lap, but his arms held strong, barring her in.

               "I'm not god, but I'll take the compliment."

               She could hear the smirk in his voice but she didn't dare look up to find out. She was already sitting on his lap. Could it get any more embarrassing? "I'm sorry. I'll get up—"

               "I don't want you to get up."

               Rebecca blinked, squinting at him. "Let me get up. This is embarrassing."

               Unlike her, he didn't seem to have a problem with their current position. She could smell his cologne and even though she tried to block out the smell, he was too close and she couldn't get away from it. "I'm perfectly fine. You're the one with a problem."

               "And you're the one with a girlfriend," she mumbled. Her hand clapped over her mouth, wishing she could take the words back. Now she'd insulted him.

               He smiled at her, flashing perfect white teeth. Rebecca couldn't help but be envious. She had terrible teeth but she'd never been able to afford to get braces. "True." Then he shook his head, drawing her close again. Rebecca fought but her efforts were futile. He was twice her size so she was hardly surprised. "Stop struggling. You're shivering."

               "What happened?" she muttered as the blanket was wrapped around her shoulders once again. The heat didn't help—she was still shivering so badly her whole body shook.

               This time his smile dropped and he sighed. "How about we wait for that, okay?"

               "Why?"

               He tightened his hold, pressing her head against his chest. Rebecca knew that she should've been freaking out; this was a guy and she was on his lap. A guy she didn't even really know. A guy who was probably a dealer on the side—okay, that was exaggerating, but still. But she couldn't bring herself to care. He was a sense of warmth and she was as cold as ice. "You'll see. Don't freak out, but detectives are walking your way."

               Rebecca frowned. "Detectives? As in police detectives?"

               He nodded. "Yeah. We're not alone."

               Not alone? Rebecca's head whipped up, looking around them. He wasn't lying. They were still at the back of the school, dumpsters along the walls. Paramedics littered the area, talking between each other. Police walked around, questioning people. A few students crowded around the area but they were being shooed away by police.

               And they were all staring at her sitting on Mikael's lap. She struggled out of his hold in earnest now. "Let me go. Seriously. I'm not your girlfriend and I'm not your skank," she snapped, watching the detective as he neared them.

               Mikael just held her tighter. "No, you're not. And, for the record, I don't have a girlfriend."

               Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Do you want an award? Skye was sleeping around on you—big surprise there," she muttered glaring at him. "Really. I'm shocked. Now, let go of me."

               He shook his head, winking at her. "Feisty. I like it."

               Rebecca just glared. "I'm not going to sleep with you because you gave me a necklace. Don't you dare think that."

               Mikael just shrugged as if the news didn't bother him in the slightest. "Your loss."

               "Does this usually work with girls? Do they fall at your feet because you act like a douchebag? I don't know you and I don't like you. So, let me go."

               "Do you realise how pale you are? How cold? Hate me all you want but I'm keeping you warm."

               She wrenched out his hold—or tried to. She got nowhere. Her heart started to beat faster as panic set in. He was caging her in and she couldn't escape. There were too many bad memories of being held down and forced to take abuse. A panic attack was coming on, she could feel it.

               Rebecca heard footsteps rush over before she heard a deep voice. "Miss Morley, are you okay?"

               "She's fine, sir." If Rebecca hadn't been trying to fight a panic attack she would've glared at him.

               "She doesn't look fine to me. Let her go."

               Mikael followed the order, letting her go. Rebecca missed the warmth immediately. She was too cold. As she stood, her legs almost collapsed from under her. The only reason she didn't topple to the ground was because strong arms caught her, holding her up. She felt exhausted and drained. Like she had nothing left.

               "Miss Morley you're okay. Just walk with me. That's it. Come on; we're almost there."

               They walked together, Rebecca leaning heavily against the detective as he led her to where he was going. Nausea crashed hard and fast and she went to the ground, throwing up all over the ground.

               Concerned voices erupted all around her. They talked too loud and too close.

               "Call her parents. She doesn't look good."

               "Is she okay?"

               "What happened? She looked fine before."

               "Call an ambulance."

               "We don't need an ambulance."

               "Look at her."

               Rebecca shut her eyes, blocking out the voices. She wanted it all to stop. A panic attack. The sensation of freezing. Throwing up. The body with no pulse. Mikael.

               It was all too much.

               Everything faded away and Rebecca let the peace that nothing brought wash over her.  

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~ Littlemissflawed