Freckled Nose

Snow continued to fall. Blanketing the dried blood in a sheen of white ice.

“He’s gone!” Garret screamed, as bullets continued to rain down upon them, “We need to move. Get inside the bed of the supply truck, now.”

“What about you?” Rosalie asked.

“I need to distract the shooters. Then we’re all getting the hell out of here. I need you both to protect one another, and yourselves at all cost while I’m gone.”

Garret handed Rosalie his sidearm, considering Corrado’s hands were tightly glued to his shotgun, then hustled to the driver’s seat of the truck. He found the keys dangling from the ignition, then used them to make sure the engine wasn’t dead. Hearing the diesel roar rumble through the straight exhaust pipes, Garret returned to his friends who were climbing into the covered bed.

“If I am not back in here in five minutes, take the truck and get to the church. Your lives are both far more valuable than my own.”

“Why do you need to distract them?” Rosalie cried, softly, “We can escape now. Together.”

Garret smiled at the heartfelt sentiment, yet was unsure of Rosalie’s intentions with her choice of words. He knew he felt something towards her, something he was terrified to act on, but he refused to believe that someone like her could ever feel the same about someone like him.

Snowflakes continued to fall, melting against Rosalie's warm, freckled nose.

"We're getting out of here, Rosalie. Together. I promise you.”