Pins and Needles

Chapter 10

The swivel chair underneath me failed to stay in place for the umpteenth time, so I kicked it away and banished it to the corner of my room. I couldn't focus on the task at hand if the thing I was sitting on couldn't provide stability as it was designed to do.

It had been 5 days since the double date and I was so far achieving at avoiding everyone at school. It was a Sunday, so I was using the valuable time to destress and not worry about what was going to happen the next day.

I took the scissors and continued to snip at the stubborn teddy bear fur. Since my scissors were considerably dull, I almost opted for giving up but decided to give it one last shot with a kitchen knife. After I retrieved the utensil, I grabbed the already opened side of the bear's face and sawed away at the fabric. Tiny fibers started to snap in half, and the face progressively loosened. I gleamed, happy that my backup plan worked and that the knife could be trusted. I finished the process with ease and delicately placed the now removed teddy bear face flat next to its body.

As I cleaned up the supplies, I grasped the knife and flipped it around in my hand to admire how it felt in my hand. The handle was thick and smooth with a groove down the middle for comfortable holding. I slid my finger over the edge of the cool, silver blade and poked the point a number of times without drawing blood. It was amazing how useful such a small object could be. Sharp tools had always fascinated me as I was unusually drawn to them ever since I could remember. They could be used in such gruesome contexts and then contribute to making something beguiling that very same day. The wonders a knife, needle, or pin could do are extraordinarily endless...

A knock at the door caused me to jump, in turn dropping the knife at my feet. Thankfully, the blade landed away from my toes, so they luckily avoided being chopped off. I picked the knife up and made sure to place it on my desk in a way that wouldn't threaten the potential removal of body parts. Since my mother was not home, I was left with seeing who was at the door. Once I did so, I wasn't surprised in the slightest by who it was. What I was surprised by was the time of the arrival since it was close to midnight, but once I saw who induced it, everything made sense.

"Hey, Angel! Sorry if I'm bothering you, I know it's late," Dean said with a shy smile on his lips.

I rubbed my eyes and sighed, "No, of course not, but why are you here in the first place? How'd you even know where I lived?"

"Ah, yes, well I remembered the route Maeve took to get here the other day when we picked you up," he chuckled awkwardly. "Again, I'm sorry. I just know that you've had it rough the past few days and I was wondering if I could cheer you up in any way? Like, there's this really cool place we could go, but only if you want."

I squinted my eyes, pressing my fingers further into them as I contemplated what to say next. Dean sure did know how to complicate my life. How far was he willing to go to get to Maeve? I mean, she wasn't even around, so why was he really here? Maybe he was genuine in his words; maybe he did want to help me. Yeah right. However, I couldn't help the curiosity from boiling over, so I regrettably chose to go with him. If I go, I might be able to uncover his true intentions...

"Alright, fine. But, you have to give me like five minutes to get changed," I said.

Dean lit up and proceeded to nod multiple times even after I shut the door on him to slip out of my pajamas.

...

We had been traveling down the road for a good hour with nothing but the faint sound of the radio and passing cars to fill the air. I knew we couldn't have gone anywhere I was familiar with because of the numerous fields we passed. I had only ever known suburban Florida, not hilly, farmland Florida. I didn't even know this state had hills; I thought for sure it was all flat.

"So, where are we going, seriously? I'm starting to regret getting in this car with you," I said out of the blue.

Dean glanced at me and smirked, "Don't stress, it's just someplace I used to go a lot when I lived around these parts. I don't wanna spoil the surprise."

I huffed and turned towards the window once again. As much as I hated to admit it, the trip was actually quite therapeutic. I was glad that Dean didn't chat my ear off the whole time because I don't know how much of that I could handle. The breeze passed through the partially cracked windows of the car, allowing for just enough coolness to keep us from overheating. The natural scents of the grass and gravel around us also added to the element. Everything was incandescently peaceful, and I was starting to cherish the ride.

That, however, didn't last long because right as I was slipping into relaxation, we hit a significantly bumpy road. I sat up and surveyed the area to see the car heading up a small hill. Where in the world was Dean taking me? We reached the top of the cliff and at it was a quaint parking lot. Dean pulled into one of the many vacant spots, put the car in park, and turned off the transmission.

I shifted in my seat to face Dean, "Alright, now am I allowed to know where we are?"

"Ha, no. We aren't there yet, just at the entrance," he chuckled and pointed to a hiking path map further away from where we sat. "Once we climb that, then you'll know where we are."

"That sort of defeats the purpose of finding out, but alright, you're the boss," I said, then stepped out of the car and headed towards the trail.

Dean caught up with me and smiled once he reached my side. He does that a lot, I thought.

We carried on the path, inadvertently fumbling over every rock and root possible (well, mostly me, but that's not important). The "small hill" seemed to go on forever, but when I checked my phone, only ten minutes had passed. Dean wasn't much help either; his all too happy attitude and encouragement just made me want to turn back even more.

I was beginning to think that this stress relief journey was more stressful than relieving, but every cloud has its silver lining. We reached the top of the hill in about fifteen minutes and right as I was about to exclaim my disdain for the uncanny workout, I was shut up. The sweat, struggle, frustration, and regret that had built up immediately became irrelevant as I stood atop the hill. I unconsciously searched for my pin and once I had located it, I pressed it down onto my index finger. HARD.