Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)-Chapter 443 - A December To Not Remember: A Christmas Day At -88C

Chapter 443: Chapter 443 - A December To Not Remember: A Christmas Day At -88C

A/N: Trigger warning, Airplane Disasters (spoilery yes, but just in case~)

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She gestured deeper inside the room. To the kitchen counter with chairs and space made available for visitors or perhaps roommates. There are a number of items in here that I don’t think ever belonged to the apartment I once visited.

> Space up here is limited. It only makes sense. <

"Sit. Please."

I did as she asked, after she pulled the seat out for me. However, she didn’t join me like I thought. Instead, she moved to a shelf and seemed to grab something.

Seemed to weigh whether she wanted to bring it over or not.

Even when she brought her phone over, its screen showing it turning on just now, her hand hovered over it. Like she wanted to protect it and like she didn’t want to touch it all at once.

"I’ve been trying to decide ever since I heard you returned. Whether I wanted you to hear this."

A voice so quiet and sad. I didn’t know what to say back. I didn’t know if it was alright to reach out and grip her hand like I had her niece’s that evening.

I could only squeeze tighter on my son, hoping I’m not disturbing his rest, and say a name with a throat that felt constricted by a snake that didn’t want me to believe I had the right to breathe the syllables.

"Jessica."

Her hand twitched, fingernails gripping the device and scraping the white granite countertop. A slow, shuddering intake of breath before she nodded once at me.

"I... I didn’t know. Until just a few hours ago. That she was gone."

"Martha told me that, too. The word around here now is you can see our names listed in something game-like. Like what popped up that night for all of us on this floor weeks ago."

The room grew so quiet, hearing only the sounds of others on the floor thanks to my enhanced hearing. Until she manipulates the device under her hand, unlocking it with a passkey and staring at the picture on the home screen.

"Putting myself through it again is hard, but letting someone else hear this is harder."

She seems hollow when she says this. My back straightens, my political training kicks in. And words spew out as that very poise slowly fails me. At least behind the eyelids.

"Anise. This is incredibly selfish of me to ask, considering I left the city under false pretenses. Considering I’ve kept secrets, told lies, and only showed up *now* because of an immensity of guilt that feels like it will crush me if I am unable to get you to lift it."

I don’t slump and my shoulders remain stiff. Yet, one of my hands has to reach up and wipe my palm over my eyes before it has gathered enough tears to spill.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Instead of responding she held the phone out to me. On her voicemail app, she hit play, the speakerphone button, and then paused it right after I heard the young woman’s voice say her name.

"I’ve listened to this... probably a dozen times. It’s long. Would you like a glass of water, first?"

Shaking my head no, she nods and starts it over. Letting the artificially cheerful voice take over the apartment once more.

"Anise... Auntie, it’s me! I just wanted to call someone and let them know that, heh, well we seem to be having some engine trouble because of the sudden storm? The captain was saying something about fuel maybe gelling up from the cold..."

A loud, almost gunshot like crack came over the phone that made my heart jump to my throat. Clearly it did the same to her from the tone of her voice.

"Shit! Jeez. Th- the window across from us just... it just cracked? Can’t see out of it now."

A long pause let me hear what the device picked up of people talking, crying. That airplane ding-dong sound going wild as a mechanical drone began. Her cheer didn’t even try to return as she explained more of her situation.

"I guess it’s really, really cold out there right now. The engines stopped and he’s- the captain’s trying to keep it gliding, take it to an emergency landing... but someone... next to me just said that the hydraulic fluid is probably stiffening and going to even leak past the gaskets at this temperature."

Jessica’s voice dropped and although I can’t be sure, it sounds like she might be covering her mouth over the microphone.

"-88C... the flight attendant screamed it and locked herself in the bathroom. What is even happening? Is it... you know, that thing I saw the other day and called you about? That said the ’Apocalypse Has Commenced’?"

The dim-faced woman listening with me stood and got both of us water anyway as the relative silence returned. It’s only been a couple of minutes, but the timer on the screen says... that this goes on for more than thirteen.

I pause the voicemail to collect myself and ask a question after taking a sip of what she offered.

"Why... what was she on a plane for after seeing that?"

"She was outside of Vossden when... when people started to be informed of shelter locations for the winter. Visiting Colorado for an intensive three week intern program she’d been saving up for. She was... flying back Christmas Day to be here for New Year’s."

Hovering her hand over the phone, I could tell she wanted to get this over with. That she wanted to get through hearing her niece like this ’one last time’.

"I imagine most people on the plane were on it for the holidays. The storm just came on too fast. Hers wasn’t the only one in the air. They all supposedly tried to divert, but there was nowhere to land. There was snowstorm everywhere."

My hand trembled when it reached out to settle on top of hers. She didn’t look grateful for the contact. Didn’t really look at me at all.

Just didn’t move for a few seconds then pressed play while pulling her hand away slowly.

"Uhm. Did you know the plane required the engines to work in order to heat the cabin? I mean, it makes sense, but I never thought about it. I..."

A sucked in breath. A choked sob. Whimper.

All over the recording from Jessica.

Neither of us made much sound at all.

But hearts breaking rarely made an audible one.