The Girl Locked in the Winter Chapter 2

I had become a ghost.

A thin, tethered spirit, bound to them by an invisible cord I couldn't break.

The pull dragged me upward into the winter air, trailing behind them as they drove back to the high school.

My mother walked ahead, her chin tilted high in triumphant fury.

Tyler trailed behind her like an empty shell, his eyes rimmed in red, his shoulders hunched inward as though bracing for an impact that never stopped coming.

In the administration office, the vice principal stared at them with a look of exhausted exasperation.

"Mrs. Hayes, look... they’re just teenagers," the administrator said, holding up his hands to de-escalate. "A crush at this age is completely normal. There’s no need to blow this out of proportion."

My mother wasn't interested in de-escalation. She had come to claim her victory.

"Normal?" she sneered, leaning over his desk. "If you don't discipline them now, they turn into degenerates! Call the girl in. Now."

She wheeled around, glaring at Tyler.

"Go get her."

Tyler clenched his jaw, tremors wracking his entire frame.

"Mom, I told you I'd end it. Leave her out of this... please."

"Don't give me that bullshit!"

My mother’s lip curled in disgust.

"You think I don't know what class she’s in? Last Friday, you came home ten minutes late—you were with that little homewrecker, weren't you?"

Before anyone could stop her, she stormed out of the office.

She marched straight down the hallway to the AP English classroom, kicked the door wide open with a violent bang, and marched inside while thirty students and the teacher stared in stunned silence.

She grabbed Hannah by the collar of her cardigan, hauling the delicate girl out into the crowded corridor.

Lockers slammed. A crowd immediately formed.

In front of the entire hallway, my mother pointed a manicured finger inches from Hannah’s face, screaming words so vile they made the air turn sour.

"Seduced my son, did you? You cheap little tramp! Did your parents raise you to throw yourself at boys like a whore in heat?"

Hannah stood frozen, shaking violently, tears spilling down her flushed cheeks.

Tyler stood a few feet away. His fists were clenched so hard his fingernails broke skin, blood dripping from his palms onto the linoleum tiles.

Yet he didn't step forward.

He couldn't.

Because he believed that if he made a single move to defend her, my mother would unleash an unimaginable retribution on me back in that shed.

My mother leaned close to Tyler's ear, her voice a poisonous, low hiss:

"Tyler. Say it. If you don't cut this clean right now, I'm driving back, putting a leash on your sister, and dragging her naked down this exact hallway so everyone can see what kind of family you come from."

Tyler went completely white.

The humiliation in his eyes was absolute.

He stepped toward Hannah, his head hanging so low his chin touched his chest.

His voice was dead, stripped of all life:

"We're done, Hannah. Don't ever talk to me again."

Hannah looked at him, her eyes wide with hurt and betrayal.

"You're pathetic, Tyler Hayes," she whispered.

She raised her hand and struck him across the face—a sharp, stinging crack that echoed down the hall.

A young teacher tried to step in, but the murderous glint in my mother’s eyes sent the woman backing away in silence.

Tyler remained there, unmoving, tears dripping silently onto the backs of his hands.

I hovered beside him, my non-existent chest aching so hard it felt torn apart.

I'm sorry, Tyler.

I'm so sorry.

I tried to wrap my arms around his shoulders, tried to whisper into his ear: Tyler, look at me. I'm dead. You don't have to protect me anymore. You're free.

No sound came out. My transparent arms slipped harmlessly through his hollow frame.

In life, I was the leverage she used to collar him.

In death, I was still the chain around his neck.

How bitterly absurd.

When we finally returned to the house, Tyler stood in front of the locked utility shed, his eyes bloodshot.

"I did what you wanted," he said flatly. "Unlock the door."

My mother slipped off her heels in the foyer, barely glancing up.

"What's the rush?" she hummed coldly.

"If I let her out now, you'll forget this by tomorrow."

"She stays in there until tonight. That way, the lesson actually sticks."

Tyler’s eyes flared wide.

The humiliation, grief, and terror he had suppressed all day finally snapped.

He lunged toward the dining table, grabbed a heavy water glass, and smashed it onto the floor.

Shards exploded across the hardwood.

"You won't unlock it?!" he roared, his voice tearing at his vocal cords. "Fine! I'm calling Dad right now!"

My mother’s face twisted in fury. "You dare call him?!"

Tyler didn't answer. He snatched the landline, dialed with shaking fingers, and slammed the receiver down once he heard the click on the other end.

Then he threw himself against the shed door, pounding the wood with his bare fists, shouting my name over and over:

"Maren! Hold on!"

"Dad's on his way! Don't fall asleep, Maren, please! Just hold on!"

I floated above him, watching his panic.

A quiet, mournful smile touched my lips, even as phantom tears blurred my vision.

Tyler... you don't have to yell anymore.

I couldn't hold on.

I'm finally at peace.