Just Before Dawn

Chapter 2

I was bored out of my mind. Nine o'clock was the time I usually go to sleep, yet I feel like had a thousand energy drinks. After I ran upstairs when Zerek left, I lied in bed feeling embarrassed that a total stranger saw me in nappies, half naked! I was actually planning on living and dying in this room. I was too embarrassed to come back outside to the world. Mum knocked on the door while I was pacing in the middle of the room planning how I should kill Zerek. He committed a terrible crime and must be dealt with force. Mum cleared her throat and I snapped out of my own thoughts.

"You coming for dinner?" She asked with a smile, yet for some reason it looked like she was forcing it. She looked like she had a bath and her brown, long hair hung wet around her shoulders. She wore a black tracksuit pants and a blue long-sleeved shirt with random supernatural creatures printed on it.

I sighed. "I'll have a quick bath and come downstairs." She turned around to go but looked at me again like she wanted to ask me something, but I managed to keep my face blank. She opened her mouth, closed it, and left me. Changing into a long night dress I got from mum for Christmas, I grabbed a jacket and headed downstairs. It was freezing! Dinner was the usual: we talked about random things and ate Spaghetti Bolognese (which my meat ball always seems to escape from my plat and onto the ground. And now the ground is full of delicious sauce that I have wasted.) while watching T.V. It's are thing: to watch something while eating. Either a movie or a couple of episodes on Vampire Diaries. I cleared the table while mum washed the dishes. She left for bed a little earlier than me, so I tidied the house then hunted for my bed. And here I am now, staring at the ceiling with the bright alarm clock next to me saying it's almost ten o'clock. I have been on the bed for an hour and still couldn't go to sleep. This wasn't like me at all! I was the one who always wakes up late because I want to just stay in bed for the rest of my life, but right now I actually can't be bothered to go to sleep! And that was the weird part. The couldn't-be-bothered part. I switched on my bedside lamp and grabbed the book I was reading: Violet Eyes. I loved the book so much that this is the third time I'm reading it. It has such and interesting plot line that I could never put the book down. Of course, I read other books as well but it was always this book that seems to catch my attention better than the others. I was almost half way when my eye lids became to heavy to handle.

I must've slept upright with my book in hand because when I woke up, the book was open on the floor and my head was bent in a very painful way. It was hard to lift my head because every movement makes my neck hurt like hell! It took me at least ten minutes to finally look straight but it still hurt. Tilting my head to the side, I gasped when pain exploded on my neck. I really hate it when I sleep in one position. I stretched my arms over my head and glanced at the clock. It was seven in the morning, yet no one roamed in the darkness. There are too many lazy people in this place. I was too tired to get changed from my nightgown, so I just washed my face and headed for the door. When I opened it, it wasn't the staircase I saw first, but a person! No, it was not a person. It was Zerek Ross person. He wore black khakis and a canvas cream shirt tucked in. I looked up at his face and regretted it. His green eyes kept me grounded, captive. His full lips twisted up into a smirk.

"Well, good morning beautiful!" He said flirtatiously.

It took me a while to finally open my eyes. I was sweating and breathing heavily. I looked at the clock. It was seven o'clock. My neck hurt like hell and my book was on the floor. It was like my nightmare all over again. I got off bed and hurriedly opened the door. I think the door might've broken if I slammed it harder against the wall as I opened it.

And I could only see the staircase.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I sank onto the floor. It was a weird nightmare. Actually, I don't think I can even call it a nightmare. I mean, he looked so good, his hair was ruffled in his messy way of his, his full, kissable li– Gods! Cut it out Kaeya! This is Zerek we're talking about. The Zerek. The Zerek who goes through your private properties. But then again, he did have a reasonable point about the pictures. But still, I shouldn't even be thinking about him! He's just a waste of my damn time.

"You ok?" My head jerked up as I saw mum stop at the top of the stairs holding a mug, which I suspect, contains coffee.

"Yeah, just a weird... nightmare." I stood up and headed past her. She grabbed my arm before I even took a step down the stairs.

"What... nightmare?" her voice was so serious that I flinched. Then blushed. I went through the dream again and blushed even more. I looked away before she could see.

"It was hard to remember. Since I can never recall any dreams I had before" I slipped out of mum's grasp and headed downstairs and straight to my best friend: the coffee machine. I was about to sit on the couch when mum entered the living wearing all black. That was quick. I just saw her on the stairs, like two minutes ago. Or did I really take so long to make coffee? I thought. It wasn't her usual style, so I gave her a questioning look, but she just looked puzzled. I guess my questionable look doesn't look so questionable. So, I went with the "Where are you going?" question.

Mum answered, "Don't you remember? We always go every year." And that's when it clicked. We always go to the cemetery to visit my dead father. I was eight when I saw him get taken away in the paramedics. According to the hospital, he died of a heart attack. Mum was there first, well, because she was sleeping next to him. It was half past eight when mum went to wake him up. But... he never woke up.

And today is the day of his death.

I sighed and quickly jugged down my coffee before heading upstairs to change. I wore a knee-length black dress, with a white ribbon around my waist. My wavy hair flowed down my back as I removed my hair tie from my hair. I wore the butterfly bracelet on my right wrist, which still hung a little loosely since I last wore it (which was on Christmas last year when my mum gave it to me because she didn't like it. It was brand new! I don't even know how she doesn't like something so gorgeous). I ran downstairs and made it just in time to the front door. I slipped on my shoes and followed my mum on the pathway. We walked in silence toward the cemetery, which is creepily close to our house. It was like just across from our house. Less than one minute, we were standing in front of my dead adoptive father. When I was younger, I wished that my biological father was buried somewhere around here, so I could visit him like I do with my adoptive father. Since like he was the one person I can sort of remember. I can't really remember my mother as much. I placed white lilies on top of his gravestone and murmured a prayer. Mum did the same but always skips the prayer. Once, when I was nine, when we first visited the cemetery, I prayed that he would rest in peace in heaven and not in hell. And when we came back home, mum practically yelled at me for wishing him peace. I dunno why, but I just kept on doing it just so I could annoy her. And obviously for my dad to live in peace. But she just gave up anyways.

After mum placed her roses, which were dead and dying, we started to go back. I don't know why, but she acts as if she's sad and stuff, but when she thinks I'm not looking, I see anger in her expression. And whenever I ask if she was ok, she just pretends to wipe her eyes and say she's fine. It's none of my business anyway, so I never pondered about it. Again, the walk home was silent and was relieved when I could see the house. I, subtly, walked faster and reached the house a second before mum. Running to my room, I breathed when my dress fell to the ground and was replaced with jeans and a t-shirt. Dresses just makes me feel very uncomfortable. As if it's showing too much skin or something. But in my jeans and t-shirt, I have nothing to worry about. 

Walking down the creaky stairs, I headed to the kitchen where I could make myself a mini sandwich. Whilst placing the cheese atop my bread, there was a knock on the front door. It was constant and fast and instantly knew who it was. The one person I dreamed up. I really shouldn't tell him that. I'll just be fuelling up his ego. I happily ignored it and went on making my sandwich. A moment later, the knocking suddenly stopped. I wouldn't hope he left, but I was grateful for the noise to stop. Adding the finishing touches to my grand sandwich, I went over to the living room and sat there in front of the blank T.V screen, knowing there would be nothing on. Half-way at my death stare at the blank screen, my vision blurred and my head dropped forward. I blinked a couple of times before straightening, but my eyes closed again. It took me a lot of effort to stay awake instead of falling asleep on the floor. Mum will definitely worry then. Reaching my room, I was dead even before I even touched the bed.