Deja Vu (SatoGou)

Chapter 17

heyyy, sorry this chapter is a little shorter and took too long to come. some good news tho- i've finished writing this fic!! So I should be pretty quick uploading the rest of the chapters :3

On Wednesday morning, I wake with a strange feeling in my chest. It feels like a warning sign; like bad vibes, but I have no idea what's causing it, so I try to ignore it. It follows me out of bed, and into the shower, and back to my room again. I shiver, running a hand up my arms to quell the goosebumps, and grab the sweater lying over the back of my desk chair. It's cold today, so maybe that's all it is.

I start shoving my school stuff in my bag, realising I'm running a little late. I don't normally have to hurry to get to school, but I slept in this morning because I stayed up later than I should have on the phone to Ash, the covers pulled over my whole body to muffle some of the noise, speaking in whispers so I didn't wake up my parents.

Right before I leave, I lean over my bed to pull open the curtains, and freeze. Outside, there's a car idling by the sidewalk that I don't recognise. I wouldn't have thought anything of it, only when I look a little closer, I see it's Bede behind the steering wheel, narrowing his eyes back at me. I lean back, startled, because I haven't seen him in a long while. So why is he hovering outside my house?

It takes me a minute to gather myself, and I take a deep breath before leaning to look out of the window again, but he's gone, and now only Chloe is there, waving wildly and tapping her wrist impatiently. I race downstairs, grabbing my keys and locking the door quickly. As I step off the drive and onto the sidewalk, I do a quick sweep of the street, looking for his car, but it's long gone. My heart sinks a little deeper into my stomach, that feeling of dread pooling in my stomach again.

"What is it?" Chloe asks, her head tilting to look at me.

"Nothing," I answer too quickly. "I just thought I saw someone I knew out here, that's all."

Luckily, Chloe doesn't push me. I try to engage in the conversation she's making with me, but I can't stop wondering if Bede decided to pull over there by coincidence, or whether it was for a reason. Before he left, he was still bothering me every now and again, but nothing serious. He never put his hands on me.

At school, Ash can sense there's something off with me, but I don't want to tell him about Bede. It's probably nothing, and it'll only worry him if I tell him. I don't want him to get involved, because if Bede really is looking to bother me again, I don't want Ash to get any of it, especially since this whole thing is so fresh, and he won't know how to deal with it. I think he just assumes I'm feeling a little off, because when no one's around in an upstairs corridor between our classes he pulls me into a soul-squeezing hug and just holds me there silently. It makes me feel better briefly.

After school, Ash drives me home because Chloe is going to Dawn's. I find myself looking around for what I now know is Bede's car, but of course I'm just being paranoid, and it's nowhere to be seen. I still feel uneasy, and I want to ask Ash to come inside with me, but he's going to his hometown with his mom to have dinner with his grandparents. Making sure no one is looking, I lean over to give him a brief kiss goodbye, then climb out of his car, watching him drive off. My heart goes with him, every time.

My parents aren't home, so I go into the kitchen and start to make coffee. I'm still exhausted from last night, but I don't want to go to bed too early, because I want to be awake when Ash gets back home, since he probably won't be able to speak to me while he's there.

Sipping the coffee I made, I pad into the living room and sit down on the sofa. I turn on the TV and pull out the chemistry homework we were given, reading over it, or at least trying to. My phone buzzes beside me, and I pick it up excitedly, but it's just my mom, saying she's going to be home late. I had already expected dad to be home late, but now it seems I'm going to be alone for a few more hours, at least. I sit for another fifty minutes, chewing on the end of a pen and filling in the answers I know easily, the TV droning on in the background.