The Destined

Chapter 11: Melissa

    Melissa    

I wake up in the dorm the next day. I am breathing hard, gasping for air. My muscles shake as I try to move them. It feels like I have been running for miles.

I could've been. We could've gone to Lybrethium.

But I don't remember it.

I climb down the ladder from my bed, still in shock and I don't even know why. I overslept. I was supposed to meet him today, by the cliff. I take off my pajamas and put on these thick sweatpants and a hoodie. It's far too cold outside to be going in a plaid skirt and knee socks.

My hand slowly grabs the door handle. It's cold, golden and slick. The door slowly creaks as I pull it open. I wince and look back. Avani shuffles in her bed, moving around. I catch her eyes for a second. But I trust her she won't give me away. I look at the other beds. Anna is shivering in her sleep. Meredith is gone. Good.

I pull the door just enough so I can squeeze through. I admit, I have never noticed how much the floorboards creak under my feet. I close the door to my dorm, careful not to make too loud of a sound.

There is a chaperone sleeping on each floor. Mrs. Hill is on our floor. So at least if I get caught by her, I won't be in as much trouble. I mean, it's better than being caught by Ms. Darling.

A girl walks out of her dorm just as I am at the top of the staircase. It's Annabel. She moves silently through the hallway in the other direction, not looking at me as she goes. I breathe a sigh of relief as soon as she has disappeared in the dark hallways.

I look at the stairs, then over the rail. It's a long drop. The quietest way down is down the rail. The floorboards here sound like they are being tortured when you barely even step on them. I sit on the rail and grip it tightly, slowly letting go as I begin to slide. It's eerily quiet. I could hear my own breathing, my heartbeat, even. It's scary how much noise we make during the daytime.

Halfway down, a voice startles me. In fear, I jump off the rail and onto the stairs. I made it! I think, but then I stumble and fall on my face, tumbling down until I reach the bottom.

"Are you ok?" It's Annabel. She runs down the stairs. Her footsteps are barely audible, and between the pain and shock of making cartwheels two stories down on a creaky staircase, I'm amazed. People have heard though, they heard me fall.

Yet nobody comes except Annabel.

She pulls me up to my feet. "What are you doing at this time of day. You know we only have twenty minuets to get up, right?" I nod. Annabel is one of those innocent people who when they talk, they sound like they are singing. Her voice is childish, like of a little girl's, but she looks very mature. She's in her uniform, her wet, black hair combed back. Her eyes are a very bright yellow.

"I know. I could ask the same of you."

"Student council," Annabel says.

"I have to take care of something," I say. It's enough to persuade Annabel to say good bye and walk away, flashing that smile of hers.

When there is nobody in sight, I run to the front door of the school and outside. The cold hits me like a wall. A wall made of ice, actually. But he's there.

☾☾☾  

He is sitting at the edge of the cliff, just like the first time I met him. He's staring at the long drop down, where a stream weaves its way through a thick evergreen forest.