Fat mushroom-like tree burls whisked past me. Dead pine needles and twigs crunched with each step I took. The wind sent shuttering movements through the branches as my lungs struggled to draw the breath I needed. Screeching of an animal pierced my ears, causing my heart to pound harder. The air was a mixture of decomposing leaves, animal scat, sweet cedar and musty moss.
I was running again. How I got here, I did not know. I remembered going to bed, but when did I wake up? When did my father tell me to run? Where the hell was the snow?
Something was chasing me. The vibrations thrummed through the ground with each step it took. Fear kept me from turning around to see what it was. Thickets and tree branches whisk past me, and it felt as if they tried to capture me, slowing my pace down. My heart kept stammering louder and faster, like a bird trapped inside a cage.
My legs burned from the running. Or it should. I could swear it was burning a few seconds ago.
This was so weird.
I finally turned around to find out who was chasing me and collided hard with something, making me fall backward and on my ass.
When I looked up, Blake towered over me. He was different. His eyes were red, a glowing red, and I screamed.
“Elena, wake up!” Blake’s face immediately changed into my father’s. He tried to wake me up as I breathed hard and fast.
I couldn’t get rid of the beautiful angelic face with red eyes out of my mind, and I did not know what brought on this beautiful nightmare.
Sure, moving from place to place would make you dream you were constantly running, but why was he in it? Why did his eyes glow red?
Was it a warning, a warning to stay away? He smelled dangerous. If dangerous had a smell, I was sure it would be his scent.
“Deep breaths.” My father guided me to take deep, solid breaths. My heart calmed down.
Why would a guy like him even feel the need to introduce himself at all?
It wasn’t a warning. He was probably just a good-looking guy that wanted a break and ended up being bombarded again by girls and guys. He was like a magnet and I had to stop whatever was brewing in my mind before it exploded into an obsession. Which made him in a way dangerous to me.
“That is it. You okay?” my father asked and sat down on my bed.
“I’m fine. I don’t know. It was only a dream.”
“About what?”
“Running, Dad. I’m always running. Something chased me but I don’t know what it is.” My voice broke as the fear still had its claws buried deep inside of me.
“Something chased you?” Dad’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Yes!” I looked at him and jumped out of the bed. “It’s my mind wondering why we are constantly on the run.” Tears pooled in my eyes. “My mind had enough. You not telling me how serious it is, have its toll and this is the end product. You love it? I don’t.”
“Elena!” He closed his eyes and opened them. A sigh expelled from his body as he tapped on the bed.
I didn’t want to sit down, but maybe he would tell me how serious it was. Or tell me something that would make sense of why.
I sat down and pulled the covers tighter.
He just stared at me. He then shook his head. “You are not ready, Bear. I wish you were.”
“How do you know?”
“Because…” Silence lingered. “I know. I promise you, when you are ready, I will tell you everything. Trust me, please?”
My lower lip vibrated, and Dad pulled me into his chest.
“Don’t think too much about this. Just know that I love you, and I would let nothing happen to you. I promise.” His lips pressed hard on top of my head.
I didn’t like what left his mouth. It sounded like my dad did this because of me. The apple seemed to not have fallen too far from the tree, as my paranoia was going to sink its teeth into that one.
“Trust me,” Dad begged softly again. It was like he could feel me trying to decipher what he said already.
I nodded, and the hug broke. A part of me wanted to yell more, demanding the reasons. But every single time he told me I wasn’t ready yet, I wondered if there was an explanation for any of this. What if he was just paranoid?
He kissed me on the head and walked to my door. I watched him leave and fell back down on my bed.
The dream was already vague and not as vivid as it was ten minutes ago.
I tried not to analyze this one, but I couldn’t stop wondering why Blake was in my dream, too. Did he seriously made such a big impression on me today?
I doubted I would see him tomorrow, but just to be safe, I was going to avoid the cafeteria.
A part of him was dangerous to me. That was what the glowing red eyes meant. It was a warning. He was so damn beautiful, and I couldn’t get sucked in. It would break me in the end.
The next morning I barely made the bus.
Dad had a Skype meeting, and I had to take the school’s transportation this morning. I hated the school bus.
The electronic doors opened as I climbed the steps leading up into the bus. A wet aisle with snow blotches melting, separated rows of dull gray seats.
My feet skidded on the black rubber down the aisle as I slid-walk past the shouting of students, clinging onto the back rests to get to an open seat. All the windows were down because of the gloomy weather outside. No fresh air, only the scent of mildew, mud and various fragrances from body sprays overpowered my nostrils.
The steady rumble of the bus moving forward made me almost trip over my own feet, but I grabbed the backrest of the thinly padded seats to keep my balance and swung myself down onto the open seat.
The groan of the escalating noise vibrated against my soles as the bus picked up speed.
I laid my head against the cold metal bus wall.
Gray skies and clouds rumbled slightly as a sheet of rain fell on dirty snow, soaking everything. The drizzle slid down the window next to the seat in front of me and I prayed it would not start snowing again. The weather in Falmouth was horrible. In less than fifteen minutes, we pulled in front of the school and everyone got out.
The rain still drizzled down on all of us. Cold wetness and the breeze in the air made me shiver. I walked faster toward the entrance of the school, as my skin became wet and clammy. My clothes were slightly damp, as well as my beanie.
I kept my head down as I entered the building.
Rows and rows of dented and scraped red lockers lined the walls on both sides between the classroom doors. The genitor was mopping all the wetness and the snow as I walked closer to the trophy case not to mess up his clean floor. Their football, ice hockey, and basketball teams were among the best in Maine.
Shoes squeaking against the scuffed floors, as students rushed to get to their lockers and destination before the bell rang.
The sound of lockers slamming, and chatter filled the hallways mixed with the scent of teenage, which was a mixture of cigarettes and perfume. Not my favorite scent combination, to be honest.
A lot of laughter and shouting echoed through the hallway while some students typed text messages on their phones.
I finally reached my locker and turned the combination of my lock. I opened the dented door and wet stickiness exploded in my face. Everything felt on fire while I froze. My heart instantly pounded as images of Blake sitting at my table during lunch flashed through my mind.
The powerful smell of paint stung my nostrils. My worst fear had just come true.
Everyone burst into laughter as I wiped my face with my hands just to see what the hell was going on in front of me.
The perp hadn’t made herself known. I knew this was a girl too, and probably one of Blake’s admirers.
This was a warning to stay the hell away from him. I really didn’t want Chasmore High all over again, but it was slowly heading that way.
Just ignore it, Elena, just ignore it.
I slammed my locker shut as tears pricked in my eyes. Everything inside my locker was ruined—all the textbooks. How the heck was I going to explain this one. Students kept on laughing and pointed in my direction as I made way to the nearest girl’s bathroom.
A few girls jumped as I came dashing in and went to the basin. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Blood red paint dripped off me, making me resemble a modern age Carry.
Blake only sat at my table. That was it. It was hardly a conversation. I couldn’t believe how insecure some girls were.
I opened the faucet and started washing off the paint from my face and eyes.
“Are you okay?” One girl in my class asked. She had frizzy brown hair reaching her shoulders with big doe eyes, and freckles dusting her face.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” I found a towel in her hands for me to dry my face. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. So you want to tell me why Chloë Bishop felt the need to booby your locker?”
“Chloë who?”
“Bishop. She is just the most popular girl at this school. Two years higher, and probably the most beautiful too.”
“I don’t know,” I said, but I knew why. Blake wasn’t in our grade. He was older.
“Well, if she did that, all I can say is watch your back, girl. She has a mean streak.”
“Why is she doing this if she is so popular and beautiful? Seriously, wasting her time with a student not even in her own grade, it’s pathetic.”
“Yup, she obviously thinks you have something that she already claimed as her own.”
I chuckled and shook my head.
“So you know why?”
“Yes, and she has no reason to feel threatened. The guy just wanted some alone time, probably from her.”
The girl laughed. “I see. The new guy. Man, he sure is hotness on legs.”
“And he doesn’t see me in that light, I can promise you.”
“I hope so for your sake, otherwise, tomorrow something else will wait I’m afraid.”
“Yay, me.” I hoped not. “Thanks for the warning.”
“You are welcome. Got this from the lost and found. It’s not beautiful, but at least you would not walk around with red paint all over your clothes, scaring the teachers shitless, and hopefully not freeze to death either.”
“You are a lifesaver.” I took the long sleeve t-shirt from her.
She left, and I was all alone in the bathroom. I took off my coat drenched in red paint and shirt that looked like someone stabbed me in the chest with the amount of paint covering the front. With delicate fingers, I pinched a part that wasn’t drenched with paint and chucked it next to me in the basin.
My face still slightly stung from the blow. I was glad I didn’t hurt my eyes.
I scrubbed the paint from my hands, turning the water red. I dried myself with the towel and pulled this old stuffy long sleeve shirt over my head. Nobody would make this look fashionable even if they tried.
I got most of the paint from my hair and face, and looked at my beanie, which was also ruined. It was one of my favorite ones. My lower lip vibrated as I tried to stop the tears from rushing down my cheeks.
Deep breaths, Elena, deep breaths.
I would have to wait for art class to see what I could salvage with turpentine.
I didn’t even know what Chloë looked like, but one thing was for certain, even beauty queens had their insecurities.
I just never thought I would be one of them.
During recess, I hid in the gym.
The gym was warmer than outside. My body slightly shivered as the long sleeve shirt wasn’t nearly warm enough. I sat down at the top row of the bleachers and try to blow some warmth into my hands as my gloves also got drenched with paint. I was still reading Wuthering Heights and tried to not think about what happened this morning.
Mrs. Finn tried to help me with the dry paint in my hair. Some of my strands carried a red hue.
Dad was going to lose it.
“Oh-oh, you were the one that got Chloë’s wrath?” a familiar voice said a few spaces from me and I looked up.
Yeah, I wonder why.
He chuckled as he sat down next to me and took a strand of red paint. I was literally glowering at him. He smelled nice.
“You, okay?” He smiled at me, and all my emotions went messed up again.
“I’m a big girl. I love paint to be honest, just not all over me.” I didn’t tell him about my cheek and nose that slightly pounded.
He chuckled. “So what did you do?”
I just gaped at him. “Are you seriously asking me that?”
“Yeah, she has a mean streak in her, that is for sure.” He looked around, and then our gaze met again as he took a bite of an apple and chewed. He even made that look hot.
“You are not very smart, are you?”
He moved the apple to his cheek and said, “No, I think I’m quite clever. Why do you ask?”
“Yeah, I think you need to leave before she sees you sitting here with me.”
He froze slightly, and his smile disappeared. “You think it’s because of yesterday?”
“Mmm, I don’t know, Blake. I don’t even know what she looks like. So let me think. What was completely different in my routine yesterday? Oh, right, you came to sit over at my table.” I sounded like the queen of sarcasm.
I didn’t like the look on his face. He looked pissed off.
I kept on reading my book, hoping he would get my drift and just leave me alone. But he was still sitting on his spot.
I sighed. “Please, I have a few months at this school. I want to get out of here in one piece, if you know what I mean?”
“Why do you have a few months at this school? You know something I don’t?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Why, why did this guy have this effect on me?
“What is funny?” He smiled too.
“Nothing, it’s not this school, it’s my dad. He has a high-security job that requires him to go to different places every three months.” I didn’t want to sound like a pathetic case.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, so go find someone else to bother, please. I’m terrified of what our lovely Chloë might do tomorrow if she finds you here speaking to me.” I tried to make it sound harsh, but it came out sad. My body always betrayed me.
“I’m sorry that she did that. You want me to speak to her?”
“And make it worse.”
“Well, I have to tell her something, right?”
“Why?”
“Because I enjoy hanging out with you.” He sounded serious, as if I couldn’t clearly see that.
“You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough.”
“Yeah, like what?”
“Your name is Elena Watkins. You love art and reading stories about sad cases. I think I understand why now.”
I giggled.
He chuckled. “You move around every three months because of your dad’s job. I’m artistic too, just not with a pencil and paper,” he said and picked up my tote bag without even asking and opened it up.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, shush.” He looked at the first drawing. His eyes grew. “You drew this?”
“Yes.”
He looked at the one behind.
Please do not carry on browsing. I started drawing a picture of him, and he would think I was pathetic.
“This is seriously good, Elena.”
I grabbed my drawings out of his hand, shoved it in my tote and zipped up my bag. “And they are quite personal.”
“What?” He smiled. “You have a drawing of me or something in there?”
I laughed and looked at him. “You seriously think a lot about yourself, don’t you?”
He shrugged and pulled the side of his lip slightly upward. “I’m hiding in the gym. I don’t have to think a lot about myself. It is what it is.”
My body still slightly shivered.
“Are you cold?”
“I’ll live.”
He started pulling off his coat.
“No, it’s okay, you really don’t have to do that.”
“I’m like a furnace. Here.” He handed it to me as I stared at him. His muscles bulged and stretched at the seams of his sleeves. Shit, this guy is really beautiful.
“Take it, before you freeze to death.”
“For the love of blueberries,” I breathed and took his coat. “I’m going to get a bucket of rocks tomorrow morning or something.”
He chuckled. “For the love of what?”
My cheeks reddened. “Nothing.” I pulled on his coat and got a whiff of his hypnotic smell, clinging to it. Great, now I’m going to be stuck with his scent, too? “How do I get it back to you?”
“I’ll get it tomorrow.”
I stared at him.
He’s gaze flickered around before landing back on me. “What?”
“You want my dad to get a heart attack?”
“Just tell him a friend lent you his coat. He has something against friends?”
“No, but I really do not want him to find out about what happened this morning.”
“Yeah, that one is going to be slightly hard as you have loads of red in your hair.”
I grunted and took a huge breath. It was hopeless. “Thank you, really.”
The bell rang, and we both got up. I walked faster to get away from him before someone saw us coming out of the gym together.
“Where are you going?”
“Yeah, I’m not getting in trouble tomorrow again because of you. Thank you very much.” I walked faster and exited the gym. I didn’t look back.
“Okay, see you later, Elena,” Blake yelled behind me and I stopped for a few seconds, shook my head, and walked to my next class.
The idiot just made it worse. Why was he doing this? This was a nightmare, a beautiful nightmare.
