Dangerously Close (Aris x Reader)

68) Hunted

The day was long. Not even for any reason. They're all like that now. Draining. Taxing. Tiring.

The day was long, and I want to sleep it all away. I want everything in the world to stop existing. I wouldn't mind not existing.

As I walked outside after a rushed and tensed goodbye to Mary, I took a double take at the way pieces of wood were being dragged to the bonfire. There's no way it's been so long of this already. Everyone would have gotten too sick of me to bother staying.

But there it was, right in front of my eyes.

I'm a mess. I’ve been a mess for too long at this point.

Turning around, I crossed my arms over my chest as I walked down the beach. I just . . . I have to be alone. I have to find somewhere to hide. Anywhere. Is that a good idea? Absolutely not. Am I in the headspace to bother to care? Hell no.

Nobody bothered to look my direction. Why would they? There's something else to do. Some random girl walking isn't exactly high on the list of worries.

The sun’s bound to set soon. I’d say in around an hour. Plenty of time to blend in. Plenty of time to find some way to pretend none of this is real. Hell, plenty of time to run away again.

I won't. Unless someone else's life was in danger, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I walked away. There's been too much built to just throw it away.

Fuck, I’m a hypocrite. That's all I’ve been doing lately.

I have to handle it on my own though. I always handle it on my own. All of this is my mess, and either I’ll get it sorted out, or I’ll ruin my life. I’ll just have to wait and see.

× ~ × ~ × ~ ×

I was right. The sun did set in around an hour. By now, the only light was the bonfire demanding attention. I could hear the faint sounds of laughter and friends.

Those never go well for me anyway. I’m not missing anything.

As I was about to go further, the hair’s on the back of my neck suddenly stood up. Freezing in my spot, I looked over towards the looming trees, squinting. Despite seeing absolutely nothing, my heart sank to my stomach, my nerves screaming to pay attention to everything around me. That this was more than just some bullies. It was the feeling I used to get when I was getting hunted, when I was being stalked from the shadows.

I have to go. Now.

Grabbing my knife from my hair, I gripped it in my hand before running as fast as my feet could carry me. Fear clutched my chest like a parasite, demanding attention as it crawled inside my flesh. I couldn't even feel myself sprinting, my feet barely making contact with the ground. It was pure autopilot, a survival instinct that was burned into me for good reason.

With the flames getting brighter, I picked up my pace, refusing to be at ease yet. Ducking between canopy's, I zigzagged between them like a wild animal throwing off its scent. Anything to escape this hell. Anything to survive.

I could barely see over my fast movements, my hair falling in front of my face.

Still, my body knew my home before my vision did.

Running inside, I took a deep breath, letting myself sit on the ground. Still shaking, I forced my eyes open as I tried to breathe. Tried to remember what I used to do.

“Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, flower. It's okay,”a familiar voice soothed, running her soft hands through my hair. Staring up at Abby, I tried to find words to explain how everything wasn't okay. How none of it is. How is hasn't been for so long.

I couldn't. I didn't know what to say.

“You're alright,”She repeated, slowly brushing my hair out of my face.

“This yours?”I asked in a shaky voice.

“No. He went looking for you. I’m staying here in case you came back before he did,”She explained.

“Okay. Okay,”I whispered, looking down at my hand. Opening my palm, I found it indented with my knife, etched into my hand the way paranoia is etched into my veins.

“You okay, Y/N?”

“Fine,”I nodded, staring through instead of at her.

“Fine?”She asked hesitantly.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“I still haven't found . . . her?”

Flinching at his voice, I gripped my knife, slipping it under my sleeves, as I stood up. Backing away, spotting the subtle action that I couldn't help but do, he looked at me as though I couldn't possibly be real.

“It's time for bed,”I said simply, ignoring the shakiness in my legs as I got on top of the covers, sliding my weapon in place before facing the wall.

“Goodnight?”Abby reluctantly agreed, her footsteps leaving. Not having anything more to say, I stayed there, making sure to keep my eyes open.

“Hey. What happened?”He asked slowly, sitting beside me.

“Night.”

“Yeah. That's good and all, but I’m pretty sure I saw you running through the tents. What was that about?”

Shutting my mouth, I curled up into a ball, holding myself as tightly as I could. Accepting that that was all he would get, he sighed before laying beside me, wrapping his arms around my stomach.

“You're going to be here in the morning, right?”He whispered.

“Yeah. Yeah, I'll be here.”