In Your Dreams

Chapter 2

        My hands stuck to my face, as sweat clung to them, heat started to rise inside my sweater as like it was choking me. Little coughs of distress escaped my lungs, panic hung on my chest like a weight, while my eyes scanned the room for wandering eyes on me. Connecting eye contact with four people, including him, and red was now my cheeks favorite color. He rolled his eyes, and shook his head as he refocused back on the teacher.
   I slipped my hand into my front pocket of my book bag looking everywhere for my anxiety pills. My hand secured wrapped around the little pill bottle, and I poured two small pills into my hands and threw to the back of my throat, and popped the pill bottle into the front pocket. Reminding myself to breathe in and out, and I could slowly but surely feel my pulse return to its normal resting rhythm.
    In the corner of my eye, his eyes were connected to the pill bottle that stuck out of my front pocket. I moved my foot in front of where the pill bottle stuck out, and pushed the book bag to the other side of my desk. Ignoring the feeling of his eyes burning into the side of my cheek. Trying to get the attention off of my face, and onto something else, I slid my hand up to my cheek, and resting my elbow firmly on the beaten up desk.
    The scribbles of names, hearts with arrows, and monsters carved into the desk distracted me from the classroom around me. My finger traced the names, and etched into the curves feeling the roughness of the wood that was slowly deteriorating. My eyes snapped towards the front chalk board, when a smack sound from a ruler hit it perfectly for our attention, our maybe just even mine.
   "Welcome to English, I am Miss Steere. We will be studying the basics of Junior leveled English. I will be passing out pretests, so I can see where you are in your English study." She stated, as she stacked and packed the papers on her desk into a straight lined pile. Her heels clacked against the cement floor, with a clack clack clack, as she made her way down the aisles placing the white papers downward so the blank side showed.
    I bent my side down so I could grab a pencil from my bag. I flipped over the test, studying the questions, with the eraser on the edge of my mouth, as I chewed on it for some sort of focusing mechanism.
         "Stop that."
  I spun around in my seat, knocking over my paper, and flinging my pencil to the ground. Everyone's eyes were now on me, and a group of girls in the corner let out giggles at me.
    "Are you alright, miss?" Ms. Steere asked glancing at me with such a concerned face. I went as white as a ghost, it felt as all the blood retracted from my body, and ran away. The chill that hung low in the air, and the tingly sensation that shot up my back made me feel unsafe.
   "Ye-Yea-Yeah... I'm fine." I managed to croak out, my throat felt as dry as the Sahara, the sound of the girls giggles grew louder.
  "Cat's got her tongue." One of the girls cracked out in laughter.
   "Ye-ye-yeah.. I just seen a ghost." Another joined in. Laughter rising in volume to their lame jokes.
  "Oh. Wait. I think I saw... my my my dad! He finally wants to be a family again!" A girl with bright platinum hair spat out, and the class roared in laughter, and encouraging her on.
"That's enough young ladies!" Ms. Steere scolded, as she slammed her ruler on top of their desks, in response their bodies inched back in terror.
   Tears poured down my face, I pushed off of the desk, while throwing my backpack over my shoulder and bolted out the door. Not staying one more second to be more of a walking joke. The door thudded behind me, and I made my way out the front doors.
  Sunlight hit my face like a glare in the mirror that stung your eyes. The sun felt hot, and sticky on my skin. Spotting a near picnic table, I slammed myself down onto it, and let myself breakdown into my sweater's sleeve.
   "Ada? Is that you?" The male's voice sounded so familiar, but the nickname could only connect to one person in my life. I snapped my head towards the voice. There he stood, in all his manly glory, but still in a very ugly school uniform.
    Bolting from the table, straight for him, as I clung into his embrace. His arms wrapped tightly around my body, as the thought of his hug never to end, and breathing in his evergreen North Carolina scent. My brother. Aaron.
   "Ada? What are you doing out of school? Specially out here alone? By yourself?" He stated with a deep concerned facial expression.
   "I just needed some fresh air, and I just don't think I'm ready to be back yet after grandma's death." I clammed out, with how my pitch was all over with the picked out words, he would never know if I did lie or not. I'm not the best liar, but that's not a quality I was really wanting for myself.
    "Let's go home then? I came to check on Jev, and see how he was adjusting to our new school. I had some apartment paperwork, and the movers finally came to drop off the last bit of things from my old school. I guess he will be fine on his own. He sure has a way with the ladies, and his looks at our old school." He chuckled but I found no ounce of his statement even remotely funny. I just gave him a slight nod of the head, and he got the cue that I rather him be quiet than try to fill the silent void with unwanted conversation.
   He wrapped his left arm around my shoulders, and pulled me tightly into his side. We walked silently to his car, he opened the passenger door of his 2007 Ford Taurus, and I slid in and buckled up. My brother eruptly stopped in the middle of making his way to his driver's door. He stood looking around, tracing his eyes across the uneven landscape, and gave a little shrug at the sight and slid into his seat.
   I didn't question the weirdness of his actions before getting in the car. I just wanted to be home, crumpled up inside my bed, while I pick away at the awful memories of today that had occur. One thought that has bombarded me, is what was the voice that tickled the inside of my brain, and felt hot and breathless. The voice ran across my skin, causing small bumps to cover my skin, and my heart to pump a million beats a minute. Was I losing it? Was I so lonely that I started to making a boyfriend inside my brain? Was I in a manic episode again? That hasn't happened in years since the trauma of my dad has happened.
     Therapy did nothing for me, but spilled out that I'm somewhat mentally ill. I doubt I am, but I like the feeling of knowing that I may be ill and I can be okay with medication. It's not a grand idea, but I don't think doctor's would waste a diagnosis on little ole me. Unless they did because they felt bad? Now my mind was drifting to places it shouldn't be.
     He slowly crept into the insides of my brain. His eyes. His facial features. His face when I ran into him. His body posture as he walked away from. The way his butt slightly moved with his walk. The way he smelled... and oh the way he looked..he was gorgeous.. my mind had me everywhere that I shouldn't be.  
    The engine ceased in sound, and I realized we were home. My mind had me in a trance, and I didn't even realize till now. I undid the seatbelt, and made my way inside. Making my way to the safe room, also known as my bedroom. Once I reached the door, I slid my finger and the handle slid down. Creaking open, as I pushed myself in and thumped onto the bed. My hands laid behind my head, as my body decompressed against the softness of my mattress. My eyes fluttered open and closed, and the tiredness of my body over took my consciousness.
    Something was wrong. My head dropped down to my hands, and confusion set in. My hands were caked with thick mud, and my eyes traced down my body. I was face down in a mud puddle, and danger set it. The fear crept up my throat, as if I wanted to scream or throw up. My body didn't know what I wanted. The snapping of branches, made my head shot up and look into the nearby woods. It's like my body and mind knew I needed to get there. 
    There he stood. In all black. His dark hair looked as black as the night sky. Thunder and rain poured heavy around us, and his features slowly melted away.
                        Come to me, Angel.
   The same voice echoed in my head. Pushing back the fear, and the relief settled in. I gained the strength I needed, and forced myself to my feet. Pumping my legs, and pushing through the storm. Thunder shaking the ground, and rain pouring even heavier. The rain almost masked the sound of the danger that lurked behind me. 
One step away from the woods, I was tackled from behind and flipped onto my back. The man's arms pinned mine against the ground tightly. I had no more strength to fight against him. My head snapped one more time towards the woods. I tried to push out the name I was trying to call for, but the man's hand quickly slammed over my mouth. Death settled in, and I knew I wasn't going to make it out alive.
      The man wore a black ski mask with cut outs for his eyes and mouth. Thunder loved to make himself known with the roaring of the grounds movement. Lightening filled the dark skies void. The man chuckled, and my eyes regained on him. His mouth curled with a cruel smile, and his eyes seem to lighten up, as I connected my eyes to the blade he uncovered from his dark hoodie. The blade's handle was covered in leather but had some sort of saying. I tried to scrunch my eyes to block out the rain, so the letters may be clearer but with the thud to my chest. My eyes connected to the knife that was lodged into my heart.
          The rhythmic sound of the three knocks on my door, had my body shot up from the pillow, and make eye contact with my mom. Her face was lighten with concern.
   "Are you okay, honey? You are drenched in sweat? Nightmare, again?" My mother sighed out with worry lacing each vowel that she produced.
   "Yeah. I'm okay though. Same old. Same old." I nudged at her with a playful tone, to ease some of the stress that I caused her, and our household.
  "Okay. If you say so. Jev and Aaron will be over soon for dinner. Maybe take a hot shower to cool some of your nerves, love bug." She said with a loving tone, and blew me a kiss and closed my door behind her with a small click.
      "Come to me, Angel?" I said tracing the area that the knife plunged into. I rubbed small circles into my chest, and pushed myself up and out my bedroom door. I headed towards the shower. That's where I saw him, as I leaned myself over our half hallway balcony, that hung over the living room. The guy from my class. The guy I ran into.
    "It's so nice to meet you, Jev" My mom greeted and pulled him into a hug.
      Great.