Normal

3. Adrenaline!

Everly awoke the next morning with the gray dread looming once again. She knew something was creeping into her nerves. As she rose she scuffed over to the window finding thin layers of ice lying atop a thin layer of snow. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Just perfect," she exclaimed as she stomped to the bathroom.

As Everly made her way downstairs, she realized James had already left. Everly wanted to get an early start to get ahead of the ice and snow. This weather made her nervous. She quickly had breakfast stepping outside. She realized her father had cleaned off her car. She smiled to herself grateful for his small gesture.

Everly jumped in her Explorer, set on the heater and backed out of the driveway. Heading to the school she felt anxious. Her brain raced thinking about the interaction she had with Jesse. She played over the look in his eyes and the change in color. She had enjoyed listening to him and being able to share some of her thoughts. She kept feeling judged by the group. Jesse on the other hand seemed to want to understand her, to listen rather than jump to any conclusions.

Before realizing what had happened, she had arrived at school and parked in a spot. Marco gave a wide smile as he saw Everly pull into the parking lot. He gave a longing stare hoping Everly would notice. Everly turned her head and Marco followed her gaze. He saw her eyes settle on the black car sitting at the back of the parking lot. His chest tightened.

Jesse sat in his car sensing as if he was being watched turning to see Marco's angry stare. Jesse began searching for another shift in the air, finding Everly watching his car. He gave a frown realizing Marco was reacting to Everly's stare. He didn't necessarily want Macro to date Everly but could sense the pain of rejection. He heard Marco start to call Everly. Jesse took a glance in his rearview mirror catching Everly picking up her dropped bag.

Everly leaned down grabbing her bag but realized it became unzipped when the items began to spill out. She gave a frustrated huff squatting down to clean up some pencils and a dropped notebook that was now soaked. She zipped the bag just as a large screech came from her left. She felt as if she was in slow motion as she watched an older orange mustang begin to slide toward her. She began to move crawling on the ground to try and get out of the way.

Marco couldn't move, he was frozen, unable to figure out what to do. His brain began to race. Jesse on the other hand was out of his car and next to her before anyone could notice. He had heard the screech reacting quickly. Everly screamed, feeling something hard hit her. She suddenly felt the pebbled tar hitting the entirety of her body while she felt something hard but softer holding her down to the ground. A crushing sound came and went quickly. When the sounds quieted. Everly realized she still couldn't move.

"Evie, are you okay?" Jesse's voice came in a soft whisper against her ear.

"I can't move." She said softly.

"Oh, sorry, that's me. Let me help you up." Jesse moved standing back holding out a hand.

Everly couldn't quite stand, only moving to a sitting position. She felt her head spin and something was sliding down the right side of her head. She figured she got some snow that was melting down her head. Everly looked up at Jesse who was wide eyed.

"What's wrong? Sorry, I need a minute to have everything stop moving."

"You're bleeding. You hit your head and got a few scrapes. We should get you to the hospital." Jesse seemed to suck in his breath then hold it in.

Jesse's mind began to swirl as he smelled her blood. She seemed so human but didn't quite smell that way. He was restraining himself greatly. His instinct to protect her was stronger than his need for anything else. He attempted to look as if he was breathing as he cut off his ability to catch her scent. He felt others gathering. He decided to take the initiative before anyone came closer.