Willow

Chapter 1

I didn't normally run this late at night, but they kept me late at practice and now was my only time. Mom tried to tell me I should take a night off, she always gets worried when I go off on my own. Although, she was right when she said something felt different tonight, I just didn't realize how different it would be.

Usually this neighborhood stays pretty quiet, not a lot of people live around here and the ones who do keep to themselves. So when I saw someone sitting outside by the park across the street, I was curious. I could practically hear my mom telling me to turn back and head home before I get myself into trouble but something about them made me stay.

"Hello?" I said, as I approached the person I could now tell was a teenage girl. "Are you okay?" I didn't get a response, maybe this was a bad idea. "I just- I saw you were laying here and I didn't know if there was something wrong."

"You want me to tell you I'm fine, right? Well, I'm alive and I'm here, what more do you want from me?" Willow. I could tell immediately it was her when she spoke. Her voice is hard to miss, even quiet and drawn out, she was high.

"Willow? What are you doing out here? Don't you live on the other side of town? How did you get here? There aren't any cars in the parking lot."

"You ask a lot of questions." She hummed with a fine lined smirk.

"Sorry I-" I cut off when she looked up at me. Her eyes were bloodshot, making the green stand out even more. She fluttered her eyes away from me and I shook off the feeling in the pit of my stomach before asking, "Do you want a ride back? It's dark and it's not safe for you to walk that far alone."

She snickered and shook her head. I was sure she would say no until she said, "Why don't you walk with me?" That wasn't the response I was expecting. I thought maybe she was kidding, but she sat up and didn't look back at me before she started forward.

"Oh, uh yeah. Okay, let's go." I stuttered, having to jog to catch up with her as she didn't seem to care to wait for me.

We didn't talk the entire walk there. I couldn't tell you how long we had been walking, I'm surprised my mom hasn't called, worried. I felt like there was something I needed to say, something I needed to do, but I didn't know what. I looked at her and noticed she was looking up at the sky, and then a tear ran down her cheek, only one. I looked away. Looking made me feel like I was intruding on a moment I shouldn't be apart of, even though it was just the two of us. She stopped. I looked forward and saw a lone trailer sitting amongst the overgrown grass, an orange pickup truck on the left and a bike, Willow's bike, chained up by the steps leading to the front door. The screen on the door was torn and there was a sign on the entryway that read "No Trespassing", welcoming. The siding was dirty and rusted, there was a smoking grill and an open cooler out front. I looked to my left and saw Willow staring, head tilted and lips parted, almost like she was analyzing the place just as much as I had been. She must have noticed my staring because she looked at me and she almost had an embarrassed look on her face before she masked it with an empty expression.

She looked at me like she was about to say something but she didn't have the chance. An older man, lanky and bald with a long beard, wearing baggy shorts and no shirt, opened the door and, with a half empty bottle of whiskey in his hand, yelled, "What the hell are you doing out here? Get your ass inside before I drag you! I thought I said not to be hanging around any of those stupid boys from your school." This couldn't go well. "Hey, boy! Stay the hell away from her you hear!"

My eyes widened and if Willow hadn't grabbed my hand I think I could've ran away right then. I flinched as she did it and I don't think she realized what she did because as soon as her eyes went down to our intertwined fingers she widened her gaze and pulled away. The embarrassment I felt spread to my cheeks, making them feel hot and I cursed myself for blushing at such a small gesture.

"Did you hear me you little prick?" The way he spat out his words made my skin crawl.

"You shut the hell up! At least he cared enough to make sure I got home okay!" As soon as she said that I saw a slender figure walk out behind the man and grab hold of his shoulders and kiss down his neck. She was dressed in nothing but a matching set of lingerie and an open robe. I had to force myself to look down, embarrassed by my lack of experience when it came to women. Willow scoffed and then laughed, it was bitter. Whatever fear of him made her grab my hand with such urgency was gone, there was no emotion on her face, her features turned cold.

"Come back inside baby, we haven't finished dinner, how will we ever get to dessert?" The woman cooed in his ear, and his face went from a scowl to a cold grin. "Why don't you just go on and play a little longer hun, or just don't bother coming back at all tonight." The woman spoke with such a demeaning tone that it made me want to take Willow far away from here. She wore a wicked smile as she dragged the man back inside before he could spit out anything else.

Without saying a word Willow turned her heel and started her walk back the way we came. I wanted to ask who they were, why she lived there, or why she didn't try harder to stay, but I found the words caught in my throat and stayed silent, walking two steps behind her.

We continued to walk for a long while, I recognized everything as we passed it once more until Willow made a sharp turn into what looked like nothing more than a dip in the trees off the side of the road. I quickly realized there was more than what met the eye when we walked farther and farther until I saw a clearing. When we came through I almost gasped at the sight, Turning Point was a small town and definitely didn't have any scenic views worth seeing, this changed that. We were right on the edge of a cliff, maybe 30 feet high, and down below you could see a calm, deep blue river. Surrounding the area were more trees, and wildflowers growing all along the sides of the river. In the distance I squinted my eyes and I could see a deer and two fawn frolicking through the trees. The sun was beginning to set and the cotton candy clouds surrounding the warm hues made me relax. A smile smile tugged at my mouth as I continued to take it all in and I almost didn't notice Willow's actions next to me.

She was stripping down to her underwear, and didn't seem to notice me standing right next to her. She was beautiful, in a way that you wouldn't notice at first. As I took her in deeper I noticed the scars, down her arms, her thighs, her stomach. My breath hitched when my eyes caught her gaze and I quickly looked away as if she wouldn't notice my staring.

"Aren't you going to undress?" She asked as if it was so obvious, and yet I found myself stripping down to my boxers without asking any questions. My brain hadn't caught up yet but once it did I found myself extremely confused.

"Wait- Why are we undressing?" I started to get nervous as I thought about it. Did she want to- that's not even a possibility.

"We're jumping." And that's all she said before I saw her body get smaller and smaller as she jumped off the side of the cliff. She did it so elegantly, like she had done it a million times without a thought.

"Willow!" I screamed as I realized she had hit the water and had not yet come up for air. My mind started to panic as I thought about what could happen to her, there would be no time for me to reach her before it was too late.

She stopped my thoughts as soon as they began when her head popped up and I could see her push her hair out of her face, revealing a warm, bright smile. "Well come on! I can't wait down here forever!" She must be insane to think I would just follow her off a 30 foot cliff.

Even so, I felt detached from my own body as I felt my feet push off the ground and suddenly I was falling.