~ Chapter Eight ~
M
onday morning came a little too quickly for my taste after the lecture I received from Hayley about running off on her like I had. I slapped the snooze button and rolled back over before I heard the soft and gentle sound of Shadow roaming around my room, sniffing everything that was at a decent height for him to sniff of anything that was on the floor. He trotted over to my side of the bed and stuck his head on the mattress, his big brown eyes looking at me pleadingly. I sighed heavily, reached out of the warm blankets and scratched him behind the ear.
“Alright, boy. Give me ten minutes and I’ll take you for a walk,” I said to him and he placed a big sloppy kiss on my cheek with his tongue and I groaned.
Yuck! Dog slobber! I threw my blankets off of me and cautiously placed my feet on the carpeted floor, my toes searching for my hello kitty slippers. They found them and I quickly slipped my feet into them, thankful for the warmth they provided for my feet. It wasn’t anything like the warmth that Devon shared with me but it was something.
Wait! Whoa! Where the hell did that come from?
I thought as I grabbed my dressing gown and wrapped it around myself tightly and wandered downstairs. Shadow followed me wagging his tail and sat quietly in his basket as I poured myself some breakfast and ate it quietly. I sighed happily as the sugary goodness of Fruit loops went down my throat and looked down at Shadow. His head was resting on his paws and he was looking at me. I sighed again, grabbed a small dog treat out of the cupboard and gave it to him. We both ate our food in silence and a few minutes later, Daniel came down dressed in his work uniform.
“I gotta go to work early, Aza. I’ve called Hayley to give you a lift to school if that’s okay?” Daniel said as he made himself a piece of toast and left the house.
I called out goodbye as the front door shut and I heard his car start up a few short seconds later. Then he left down the street. I looked down at Shadow and held out my hands to him.
“Okay, Shadow. Left hand: have a shower before taking you with me on my run. Right hand: have a shower after the fact. Which one, buddy?” I asked him.
He nudged my right hand and I sighed as I walked upstairs and dressed in my running gear. I grabbed Shadow’s leash and my iPod and headed back downstairs again. I heard the front door close and I jumped.
“Daniel? Is that you?” I asked as I walked cautiously out into the into the entrance hall and looked around.
All I saw was a single rose, its petals still closed and a note with my name on the front. I reached down and picked up both of them, looking curiously at the note. That handwriting looks oddly familiar. I opened up the note and read what was inside and laughed slightly. It was a line from Twilight. The one that Edward gave Bella when she was going to La Push for the first time.
Be safe it said and the only thing that was different to the one from the book was that this one was signed with a small heart at the bottom in purple ink. The same colour purple as my favourite colour.
I grabbed Shadow before he bounded out the back door and locked the leash onto his collar. I stuck my headphones in my ears, found a song I liked and hit play as I left the house, locking it as I went and shoving my keys into my pocket.
It was only when I was halfway down the street that I felt as though I was being followed. But every time I glanced around or over my shoulder, no one was there. Shadow seemed to sense it as well because he started to growl when I stopped inside the park to catch my breath. He moved closer to me and his eyes were locked on something that I couldn’t see, but a few moments later I found out what it was.
