See You Again

VI

I'm too damn tired. I stop by a tree and lean against it, panting heavily and closing my eyes shut as I try to catch my breath. I couldn't sleep so I went for a run. I figured if I got tired enough, maybe I could fall asleep, but it's already two in the morning and I don't know where I am.

I know I ran further out of the property and I'm sure I'd recognise this if it was daytime, but under the moonlight, everything looks the same. As I live outside London, in the countryside, I'm surrounded by small trees and bushes, but they all look the same and I can't distinguish the path.

The silence is heavenly, only broken by some birds and leaves pushed around by the wind. My feet moved automatically and took me out of there, and when I woke up to what was around me, I was more than surprised.

No wonder I didn't recognise the place. I had never been here before!

There's an old wood stair that ends in a small arm of small rocks and what seems like an enormous lake. I'm pretty sure I've already entered someone else's property and I most definitely should not be here, but it's so beautiful I have to go down there.

I search through my pocket to find my phone but I remember I left it charging. Damn, I wanted to take a picture! The sky looks so beautiful like someone threw pink and yellow all over a dark blue sheet and hung it over my head.

Wow, I'm so good at descriptions I deserved an A+ on my project with Vanessa. Note the sarcasm.

That was weeks ago and I swear I'm never taking Creative Writing ever again. I hate it; I hate having to write stupid stories to be evaluated and I hate the red covered papers they give me back pointing out every misspelling or mistake I did.

It wasn't even worth the time spent with Vanessa since Kenzie was there messing with my head in the first days, and then Vanessa got mad at me. I know she hates not being given the deserved attention and I should've known better.

I did my best to suppress Kenzie's words, and McKenzie herself, out of my mind since she was an obvious attempt at ruining my confidence. But I couldn't forget, she haunted me every time I was with Vanessa.

I turned around, ready to go to bed, and or not, find the way out of there. After minutes of walking with no set course, I could find what looked to me like a tread and I followed it all the way through. To say I was relieved when I saw my house far away was an understatement.

I started running again, only slowing when I reached the staff door, walking through it silently but not worrying much if anyone would hear me since they were all sleeping on the other side of the house.

I grabbed a glass of water and chugged it down at once, still feeling my heart beating too fast against my ribcage.

"Isn't it past bedtime, William?" I could have jumped two feet in the air if I wasn't so used to her sneaking on me like that, so I only flinched.

"I could ask you the same, Mum."

She laughed. "But I'm the adult here, am I not? Why aren't you in bed? Is running in the middle of the night one of the crazy exercises your coach invented? Because I'll have a serious conversation with him."

I shrugged. "No, I just couldn't sleep..."

Her smile dropped, and she quickly stepped towards me, putting an arm around me and letting me bury my head in the crook of her neck. She smelled like lavender, like the entire house itself, like the sheets I couldn't sleep in. She was so petite next to me she could look vulnerable, but she was not and I was very much scared of her when it came to it.

"Oh, Will, I wish you didn't have to suffer that. I wish you would try those other options. Why can't you just do it?"

"They are all the same and they can't solve it. It doesn't bother me that much"