ECHOES OF YOU

Chapter Three

Rushing back to class I heard the bell ring. I had stayed too long at the principal’s office. Now I had managed to miss my first class. Sheila was waiting for me outside the classroom. She waved at me and I quickly rushed over.

“So, what did she say?” She asked as soon as I stopped beside her.

“She got me a tutor to help me catch up,”

“Is the tutor the cute guy following you?”
I turned around to see Nathan behind me. What was he doing and why was he following me around?

“Not to look like a stalker but I just wanted to know at exactly what time we start our tutoring lessons and the place,”

“You could have asked Miss Claire those questions, it was her plan anyway,”

“But you are the one being tutored, it has to fit into your schedule,”

“Let me just tell you something, you don’t look like a nerd so just stop acting like one. And by the way, you have only three weeks or else I’m getting a new tutor,” at this time I realized how rude I was just being toward him. Yet he still managed to smile at me.

There was just something about the way he smiled as I talked. It was almost like he’d known I’d say all that. Or was he psychic? I took in a deep breath and decided to act nice for once.

“After school. We meet at the library. And don’t be late, I hate waiting,”

                            *********

The rest of the school day was kind of smooth than I expected. Except for the part where the teachers would offer their deep condolences and I had lost count of how many times people said the words sorry to me. It was like every time I entered a class the first thing the teacher would do is start smiling and apologizing don’t forget them adding how they knew how I felt.

No one knew how I felt and their actions as they did was getting on my nerves. Every time someone said that it only opened wounds I’d thought healed. By the time the bell for three rang I was relieved. I’d gone on the first day without issues. And without bumping into some people, I knew.

Sheila was heading out for cheer practice and I was going to the library to meet Nathan. I was astonished to find him already seated and waiting for me. I was on time so it made me wonder at what time he’d arrived there. I took the seat next to him. He was smiling when he saw. It kind of sent shivers down my spine.

“Aren’t you here early?” I asked sarcastically.

“Well, a certain someone said she doesn’t like waiting,”

That was cute. And now I thought my tutor was cute, could it get more cringe than this?  I only wanted to get over this and get home. I didn’t have time to think about cute tutors.

“So, what are we starting with?” I asked keeping my eyes locked on the books before me.

“Why don’t we start with Math,”

“How far behind I’m I?” I was beginning to this I’d made a wrong decision by wanting to graduate to be a junior after missing almost half of the year’s study.

“All I can say is if you want to catch up, we should just start,” he was smiling. I was already mesmerized by his smile. It was warm yet mysterious.

“Well let’s start then,”

I don’t know how long we’d been studying, but this boy knew his way with math. He made it look so simple that even I was impressed. Maybe I’d judged him before I’d gotten to know him. We were so lost in our books, not until my phone rang. It was almost seven. My parents were sure to be worried about me now. I quickly took my bag and books and rushed out without even saying goodbye. I was leaving an impression on this boy. I felt like Cinderella when the clock struck twelve by how fast I was rushing through the hallway.

I tried calling Sheila but she wasn’t picking up my calls. Her car wasn’t outside the school so I just assumed that she’d already left. Now I had to walk back home. My phone was ringing hysterically. It was my mom looking for me.

“Hello, mom…. Yeah, I was studying with my new tutor…. No need to pick me up…. It isn’t that far…. I’ll walk home…. Don’t worry I’ll be sure to be safe,” I hung up the phone before my mom could even try to convince me to wait for her to pick me up.
It was dark and honestly; I was scared of going home alone. I wasn’t used to it. I always had someone to take me home. Just thinking about it brought tears to my eyes. I’d been so strong throughout the entire day, but now that I was alone the memories came back to haunt me. I wanted to cry and scream but what was the point? I gathered all the courage I had in me and decided to trek all the way home.

I was lost in my thought that I’d failed to notice the jet-black jeep behind me. I was brought back to reality by the blinding lights. It was clear that whoever was driving it wanted to be noticed. I didn’t even realize I was crying.

“Mind if I give you a ride,” It was the guy I’d bumped into in the morning. Where did he come from and most importantly was, he following me?

“No thanks, I can walk,”

“Don’t be stubborn and climb in,” he said with a smirk on his face.

“I know you mean well but I’d hate to be a bother. I’ll just walk home, it isn’t even that far,”

“Leila, I know where you live and it’ll take you almost an hour to get there,”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure you have somewhere to be,”

“How can I not worry about leaving a girl on the road all alone at night? And we can say it’s you returning the favor for what happened today,” by this time a chuckle escaped my lips. He was using an accident to persuade me to get into his car.

“So, she can laugh,” he said as he stepped out to open the door for me. It had been a while since someone had been this sweet towards me, and in one day I’d met with two. Maybe if I’d gotten out of the house earlier, I wouldn’t still be in grief.

“I don’t even know your name,” I said before I could take his offer.

“Do you’ll only get in if I tell you my name uh?”

“Ever heard of stranger danger?”

“I guess you’re right. But why don’t I drop you off first then I’ll tell you my name,”

“That doesn’t sound fair but you’ll still bug me if I don’t, so okay,” I reluctantly climb into his car.

The drive was a silent one. I didn’t want to make it awkward so I only stayed silent and preoccupied myself with my phone. It was obvious I wanted to know more about him, but I just couldn’t bring myself to ask him. He only kept stealing glances and smiling. Each time our eyes locked I could feel my heart flutter. I turned away and went back to my phone. I was busy scrolling through it when I picture of me and Chris popped up. Just then the pain came rushing in.

The memory of that night came back. I saw the truck coming right at us. I started shaking. I couldn’t breathe, my heart was beating fast. I tried to shield myself but the glass shattered right in front of me. I was covered with cuts everywhere and the car was rolling out of the road and into the woods. I tried holding on but I ended up hitting my head. I lost consciousness and when I came to all I could see was blood everywhere. I was trapped in the car and I couldn’t even see clearly. I tried calling out to Liam but he wasn’t even there. When I turned my head to look for a way out only to be met with the sight of Chris’s body lying on the ground. I started screaming hoping someone could hear me but no one was there. The only sound I could hear was Sheila’s faint breathing.

I closed my eyes and just started screaming. I hadn’t noticed that I was still in the car with my mysterious stranger. When I opened my eyes, he was holding me tightly against him. I was just crying that I didn’t even care about what had happened. When I finally realized what had just happened, I quickly let myself loose from his grip. Now he’d think that I was a total nut case.

“Are you okay now?” He looked concerned. The only thing I could do was nod my head.

“I don’t know what happened that night but if you need a friend I’ll be here,” he squeezed my hand as a way to reassure me he’d always be there.

For the rest of the drive, I couldn’t bring myself to talk to him. When we got outside our house, I climbed out of the car without looking back. I was almost at the door when I heard his voice.

“It’s Kelvin,” when I turned to look at him, he was smiling at me. What a sweet way to hit on a crazy girl.