Last Christmas (Private 0.60)

destroyed. Gone forever. Thomas made his way up the steps and pushed the door opened with a creak,

gesturing for Ariana to go inside. She took a deep breath and crossed the threshold.

"Shit, it's freezing," he whispered as he closed the door behind them. His breath hovered white and heavy in

the stale air.

Ariana nodded silently, even though she knew he couldn't see her in the dark. She braced herself against the

bitter cold that permeated her clothes, seeping into her skin and chilling her insides. With any luck it would

keep her brain frozen so she wouldn't have to think about what she was doing. That she was in a condemned

chapel. With Thomas. Alone. "Here we go." A flash of light exploded in front of Thomas, and he lowered his

lighter to two candles in wall sconces on either side of the door. The dim light cast shadows over the rows of

dusty pews and cracked stained-glass windows that ran the length of the small chapel. "Hey, can you light

those?" Thomas handed her the lighter and nodded toward the altar.

Ariana took the lighter gingerly and held it in front of her, making her way slowly to the altar. The flame

caught on a shard of blue glass at her feet. She knelt to pick it up, suddenly overwhelmed by the decaying

beauty around her. This place was cracked and broken, just like she was. She felt the weight, the gravity of

the space. Of all who had been there before. She could sense the ghosts all around her, spirits of students long

dead and forgotten, clinging to the hallowed walls of their glory days.

One day, that would be her. And Thomas. And Noelle and Daniel and Isobel and the rest. One day they would

all be dead and gone.... "Ariana?" Thomas's voice jolted her. The metal of the lighter burned her thumb and

she winced, dropping it on the floor. "I've got it," she said, feeling stupid. She groped for the lighter, then

quickly walked to the front of the chapel, which was dotted with votive candles, a few burned down to the

wick. A cigarette butt rested on the altar steps. She nudged it off with the toe of her boot. "What are you doing

on campus tonight, anyway?" she asked, trying to call attention away from her clumsiness as she carefully lit

each votive. "Aren't you going back to New York for the holidays?"

If Thomas heard her, he didn't answer. The wicks of the candles popped and sizzled, illuminating a thick

marble altar and the several rows of benches behind, probably meant for the choir.

"Thomas?" He was still at the back of the chapel, fiddling with a cell phone. After a few seconds, he snapped

the phone closed and slipped it into Ariana's bag. "What are you doing with my phone?" she demanded. How

dare he go through her stuff? "Letting Ryan know to not expect you." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and

headed down the aisle toward her.

Daniel. Goosebumps prickled her skin at the sound of Daniel's last name, and her throat was suddenly dry.80