November

CHAPTER 11

 Kyle's eyelids slowly fluttered open, taking in the early morning light filtering through his window.  He glanced over at his alarm clock.  9:45.  He rolled over, wondering why he woke up so early on a Saturday.2

 "Must be nerves," he yawned to himself.  He was going to visit Amy later, and he was already stressing.  They'd been seeing a lot of each other lately, and he, admittedly, had a huge crush on her.  Unfortunately, Kyle wasn't exactly what one would call romantic; because of his numerous past letdowns he had experienced, he kept his inner feelings mostly to himself.  This time, though, he felt it was going to be different.  Her smile, her kindness, and her warm smile constantly floated through his thoughts as he poured himself breakfast.3

 "Maybe she feels the same way about me," Kyle thought to himself.  He quickly pushed the thought under, aware of the heartbreak oft associated with such premature hopes.  "More likely," he sighed, "she'd rather 'just be friends' like every other time..."4

 Sasha, Kyle's cat, came tearing around the corner into the kitchen, breaking his train of thought.  "Dumb kitty," Kyle murmured, smiling inwardly.  "Awfully cute, but awfully dumb."5

 He followed her to the front door and opened it to let her out.  A brisk wind rushed in as Sasha sat still, indescisive as to whether the noise being emitted by the lawnmower next door was an immediate threat to her.  The air's cool touch left numb fingerprints on Kyle's cheeks.  He loved November; the colors, the cool air, seeing all his friends in school.  "What a great day...and hopefully it gets even better," he thought to himself.6

CHAPTER 27

 Sighing contentedly, Kyle headed to his room to get dressed and to see if any of his friends were online.  He turned on his laptop and, as he changed out of his pajamas, he found himself daydreaming about Amy again.  8

 "I'm so hopeless...Ahhh, l'amour!" he thought to himself, grinning.  He logged on, and noticed that Mary was online.  "Yes!  Just the person I wanted to talk to," he said aloud.  Mary was a really close riend of Kyle's, and was one of the few friends that he and Amy had in common.  They started conversing.9

 "Hey Mary, what's up?"10

 "I'm just fine, you?"11

 "Getting ready to go hang out with Amy.  We're seeing a movie at her place later."12

 "Awww...have a good time!  Does she...?"13

 "Damn...I was going to ask you.  I thought you'd know."14

 "Do you still like her?"15

 "Well..." Kyle hesitated.  He wanted to be honest, but he knew Mary disagreed with Kyle's current crush on Amy.  Most of the time, she ended up being right about whether or not his choices would end up working out.  Kyle didnt want to hear the bad news again, but he knew that she'd find out the truth anyways.  "Yeah, I still do."16

 "She's going to break your heart, sweetie..."17

 "All the same, you know as well as I do that I'm not going to stop until she thoroughly smashes it to pieces."18

 "Well, I hope you guys have fun," typed Mary.19

 "I hope so too," replied Kyle.  "I hope so too."20

CHAPTER 321

 At noon, Kyle signed off and pulled on his coat.  Amy's house was a little less than a mile away, so Kyle walked despite the cold.  As he arrived, he noticed the abscence of a car in the driveway.  "She'd better be home," he thought, raising his eyebrow a little.  He shuffled up to the front door and knocked once, twice, three times.  Sure enough, Amy's cheerful figure came bounding down the stairs two at a time.  She casually opened the door, beaming.  "Just in time.  The movie starts in a few minutes.  You almost missed it."22

 Kyle laughed; he knew Amy was kidding, as he had called her to ask when the movie was, and she had said that she had rented one.  "Really?" he chuckled. "I was under the impression that you controlled the DVD player, not vice versa."23

 It was Amy's turn to laugh aloud.  "Oh, come on.  You know that I'm a total slave to my DVD player.  It's like my personal messiah."24

 Giggling, Kyle allowed himself to be led into the living room.  Amy sat on the couch as Kyle plopped down into a large chair.  Amy made a pouting face, and patted the seat next to her.  He very willingly moved over to the couch.  As he sad down, she scootched away from him.25

 "This is so confusing...first she wants me to sit with her, then she moves away..."  Kyle shook his head slightly.  He was getting the feeling that he was reading too much into her actions.  He decided to start a conversation to cover his confusion.  "So, where's your car, Amy?"26

 "Ugh, don't even ask me that.  It's being fixed right now.  Stupid thing's costing me an arm and a leg," she replied hastily.  "And voila, the movie starts."27

 She seated herself again within arms reach of Kyle.  He was torn; he didn't know if he should reach out for her hand or just play it safe.  She didn't seem to be leaning towards him or otherwise encouraging him, so he made up his mind to keep to himself.28

 The movie ended, and the conversation began anew.  They sat and talked for a while about anything and everything.  Kyle's stomach started to grumble.  Amy heard it and chuckled.29

 "Hungry?  I've got soup cooking if you want some."30

 "I'd love to have some...if you don't mind," replied Kyle, eager for any excuse to stay in her company longer.  Amy pulled up a chair to the table and he sat.  She grabbed the pot of soup off the stove and ladled it into two bowls, sliding one to Kyle.  They started eating, the silence only occasionally broken by assorted slurps and drips.  Kyle offered to wash the dishes, but Amy insisted she at least help.  Side by side, they soaped up the bowls and loaded them into the dishwasher.  As Kyle was dring one of the dishes, he felt a sudden wetness on the back of his neck.  He whipped around to find Amy playfully holding the sprayer with a devilish grin on her face.31

 "Oh no, don't you dar..." Kyle started, then lunged for the sprayer.  Amy shrieked and pulled the trigger, soaking the front of his shirt before he grabbed the nozzle.  They wrestled for control of it, getting themselves and the kitchen thouroughly drenched in the process.  Kyle finally wrested it from her grasp and put it back.  The two of them were dripping from head to toe and laughing unstoppably.  Amy closed her eyes and fell into Kyle's arms, squeezing him tightly.  Kyle was taken aback by her embrace, but had no complaints.  He stroked her hair with one hand as he held her wet body close to him, wishing the moment would last forever.32

CHAPTER 433

 Kyle looked at the clock and realized how late it was.  They had finished mopping up the kitchen, though Kyle was still soaked from the water fight.  "I've really got to go.  I'll catch you later, Amy."34

 "Kyle..." Amy started, then stopped.35

 "Mmm?"36

 "...nothing.  I'll talk to you later."37

 As Kyle stepped out and closed the door behind him, he realized how cold it really was outside.  "Shit! I'm gonna be a popsicle out here!" he thought.  He started to turn around, but remembered that Amy's car was in the shop.  Panicking at how cold it was, he started to jog towards his house.  He started to shiver.  He realized that he should just turn around and go back to Amy's house for the night, but his thoughts were becoming confused and muddled.  "It's...so...cold..." he thought, his body shaking uncontrollably.  He looked at his trembling hands, turning a light shade of purple.  A gust of wind came, slicing through his wet body and leaving him in a state of near convulsions.  He turned one way, then another, not remembering which way was home.  He started to walk again, but his legs could no longer hold him.  He crumpled to a heap on the ground.  He tried to drag himself, but could make it no further than a couple of feet before succombing to the inky darkness closing in around him.38

CHAPTER 539

 Amy paced back and forth across her bedroom, worried out of her mind.  "He should've been home over fifteen minutes ago..what could've happened??" she thought, dialing his number a fourth time.40

 'Hi, you've reached 565-458-2342.  I'm not home right now, but please leave a message after the be...'41

 Amy hung up the phone and pulled on her fleecy winter coat.  "If he won't pick up the phone, I'll go over there and ring his doorbell," she mumbled, looking for her gloves.  "He must be changing or something...but for 15 minutes?  That's not like Kyle...where could he be?"42

 She walked out of her house and shivered.  Even with her down jacket zipped up, it was still bone-numbingly cold out.  She hurried down the road, muttering to herself.  Suddenly, she stopped and squinted.  Through the foggy night, she could barely make out what looked like a dark figure on the ground.  It was shaped like a tall man, who looked surprisingly like...43

 "Kyle!!!" Amy screamed, racing to his prone figure.  "Oh no....no, no...it can't be...oh no..."  She fumbled with numb fingers for her cell phone, dialing 9-1-1 as fast as she could.  The police arrived, and she climbed into the back of the ambulance as he was taken in on a stretcher.  She took off her jacket and laid it over him.  "It's okay baby, help is on the way, it'll be okay...it'll all be okay..."44

CHAPTER 645

 Kyle's mother and father, along with Amy, Kate, and assorted other friends and relatives, stood at the foot of Kyle's hospital bed.  Amy and Kate were speaking in the corner, nearly shouting to be heard over the din.46

 "He liked me?" Amy gasped.47

 "Yeah...he told me that he had a huge crush on you.  I guess he never got the chance to tell you," Kate flinched.48

 Tears welled up in Amy's eyes.  "I...I can't believe I didn't tell him..."49

 Kate was no longer paying attention, howerver.  The noise of the many conversations completely drowned out the words of the miniscule nurse at the door, who was trying to inform everyone of Kyle's condition.  The nurse had finally gotten Kate's attention, and the two of them together were able to silence everyone.50

 "Well?  Is he going to be okay?" demanded Kyle's father.51

 "He's suffered severe hypothermia, and over 30% of his body has mild to severe frostbite.  He's currently in a vegetative state, and..."52

 "Vegetative state?" cried Kate.  "That's the same thing as...as a coma!"53

 Shouting erupted and drowned out the tiny nurse again.  Amy sat down and stared blankly at a wall.  The word 'coma' echoed through her thoughts.  She might not ever again get to hug him, to speak to him, to tell him how much she really...54

 "QUIET!!" cried Kyle's mother, silencing the room immediately.  "Let the nurse continue!"55

 "Thank you, ma'am.  In a vegitative state, he has a much larger chance of recovery, and less chance of severe brain problems.  He should be at least vaguely aware of what is going on when he's concious.  This means he will probably blink and move, as well as be able to hear what people are saying, though he may not be able to respond."56

 "And what about the frostbite?" asked Kyle's dad.  "Will he have to have limbs amputated?"57

 "Unfortunately...I belive that would be a 'yes'." squeaked the nurse.  58

"He may have to lose a leg, and two toes on his other foot.  We should be able to save his hands and arms, however.  The amputation will take place as soon as you give permission.  Doctors are standing by for the procedure."59

 "Is this procedure...dangerous?" asked Kyle's mom.60

 "There is about a 1% chance of minor complications, and much less of anything drastic happening.  On the other hand, leaving on the frostbitten appendages could lead to rot and other..."61

 "Enough, enough.  We don't need details," said Kyle's father.  "Let us have a chance to say something to him before, and then you may follow through with the procedure."62

 The mob pressed around the bed, and one at a time they gave Kyle their best wishes.  Amy sat aside from the group, thinking.  What would she say?  How could she express what she felt when he might not even understand a word she said?  A tear ran down her cheek.  She should've told him when she had the chance, and now it might be too late.63

 The last of the crowd moved on, and Amy stood up and walked to the bedside.  Kyle's eyes were open slightly, and she could swear they opened a little wider when she came within range of his vision.  A lump rose in her throat.  She leaned forward and kissed his forehead tenderly.  "I love you," she whispered, as he was pulled away by the doctors into the operating room.64

EPILOGUE65

 Kyle stood at the altar, watching as his soon-to-be-wife came walking down the aisle.  His prosthetic limb barely showed out from under his pant leg, and he showed no traces of unsteadiness as he waited for his sweetheart.  Amy's father beamed as he led his daughter, dressed a beautiful white gown, across the church floor.  As Amy arrived on the platform, she looked across to Kyle's face.  Tears were in her eyes; she had been there by his side through all the ups and downs through his hospital stay, and now he was healthy, and soon to be her husband.  The priest's sermon boomed through the brisk air.  It was a beautiful fall day, and all the leaves in the area had changed colors.  Reds, yellows, and oranges stood out against the black suits of the men and the assorted pale dresses of the women in the service.  They loved November.66