Lake Who: Liam & [Open] What: A lake encounter Where: Dock by the lake When: Tonight Warnings/Rating: TBD
He was cold.
The world he existed in had no warmth remaining, no light to melt away the frost that seemed to cover everything around him. It shot through him, filled him from his toes to the very top of his head, cold enough that even the air around him was frosty. He sat on the edge of the dock, staring out across the dark lake, the moon reflected in the water.
This was what he deserved, he supposed, after all was said and done. Too many mistakes, too many missteps, and this was where he landed and where he deserved to stay. Better choices could have changed the path he walked, but there was no going back, no rewind button to fix the mistakes he had made. No, there was only this, and his soul ached.
One hand gripped the edge of the dock where he sat, frost spreading out from his fingertips. He hadn't always been this cold, no. At first, there had been hope, or at least the promise of something better in the end, but the months drew on and the light grew dim, and whatever flame that might have been kindled in his heart had been snuffed out, leaving behind only ice.
Anyone who might have come upon him would have seen a dark figure sitting on the edge of the dock, clothes damp with lake water as though he had taken a recent swim. The night air was cool, but the air nearer to him was frigid, the sort of air that made the inside of your nose tighten and your chest hurt.