I returned our home while he toured with her novel Chapter 55

Chapter 1

My brother Jason Mitchell gave up on me twice.

The first time, our house caught fire. He carried Rose Mitchell out and left me sleeping in my bedroom. I was

twelve.

By the time I woke up, the smoke had already filled the hall. I crawled out on my own, half my back burned. He cried afterward, swore he’d spend the rest of his life making it up to me.

The second time was an avalanche. The rescue helicopter had room for two. He climbed in with Rose. The rotors whipped snow across my face like shards of glass. He looked at me and said, “Nina, you’re tough. Just hang on. They’ll send another one back for you.”

I was buried for seven hours.

There was no next one. I dug myself out.

Later, Jason tore the world apart looking for me. But I didn’t need him anymore.

***

When they dug me out, my left leg was completely numb.

The rescue team said I was lucky. In weather that cold, hypothermia kills in three hours. I’d lasted seven.

At the hospital, the doctor stared at my purple calf, frowning. “Family?”

“Can’t reach them?”

“We need a signature for amputation or saving the leg. Big risks. Are you alone?”

I fumbled for my phone. On the screen, a text from six hours ago. Jason.

[Nina, Rose got scared and had an asthma attack. We’re taking her to the city hospital. The rescue team said another group’s coming in thirty minutes. Find somewhere sheltered and wait, okay?]

I stared at the words. Smiled.

My fingers were too stiff to type. I handed the phone to the doctor, my voice shot. “I’ll sign.”

“If I die, it’s on me.”

When the surgery light clicked on, I was calm. The anesthesia slid in, and that bone-deep cold finally faded.

I thought, this is probably the last time I’ll ever feel cold in this family.

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