Chapter 4 A Real Friend
I lay on my bed for what felt like hours. My eyes were still puffy and I stilled breathed in occasional sniffles. I grabbed my phone from my pocket. It was noon. I groaned as I saw that I still had another six hours before my mom got home. I pulled myself out of bed and into the hall bathroom. I caught sight of myself in the mirror and damn I looked like shit. I had never looked this tired, red and depressed before. My black hair was glued to my face from the tears that stained my blotchy red cheeks.
Deciding I didn’t want to look like absolute crap, I striped off my clothes and took a shower. I just kinda stood there, reminiscing in the events that happened not even two hours ago. Cameron’s sad green eyes were still encrusted in my memory and just thinking about them made me flinch. Did it seem like his eyes were darker than usual back there? I sighed and decided to get out of the shower. I thought showers were supposed to make you feel better. Ah well.
I looked at the clothes in my closet and I didn’t want to wear any of them.
“Ah fuck it, I’ll wear my pajamas” I didn’t care if I had to answer the door or anything. What they see is what they got.
I walked downstairs into the living room and threw myself onto the couch. Nothing good was on TV at this time of day so I decided to take a nap. As I slowly drifted off to sleep, I kept thinking of those sad green eyes.
*Dreamland*
As I walked around the school, no one looked at me. I didn’t hear the hateful thoughts or anything. It even seemed like no one was thinking about me at all. It was almost like I was invisible or as if I didn’t even exists in the first place. I looked around for Cameron and I found him sitting in his seat surrounded by that group of friends.
He laughed with them and it seemed like everything was alright, until my name was brought up.
“Hey Cameron, do you know about that ghost Adriana?” Cameron and I looked at the guy with the same wtf expression.
“It’s said that Adriana haunts this school because she committed suicide by jumping off the roof of the school. I think she was bullied or something to the point of breaking.” No, no I’m alive. I’m not dead. Cameron seemed more interested though.
“Really? Poor girl, never even heard of her before.” I wanted to tap Cameron and show him that I was still there, but I had no physical form to touch him with; like I was a ghost. No. NO. I’m not dead, I’m- I’m still alive! I squeezed my eyes shut and soon memories of that fateful day replayed over and over in my head.
It was nighttime and I was alone staring down to the ground from the roof of the school. I had no control whatsoever and I felt myself breathing in and out slowly. I wanted to get off of the school and go home, I wanted to live! But I watched as I stepped off the building and began hurdling toward the ground head first. As the ground got closer and closer…
*Reality*
I woke up. My eyes shot open and I immediately sat up, breathing hard and shaking in a cold sweat. I tried to control myself but lord behold I started to cry again. It wasn’t from sadness, it was from true fear. I didn’t want to die, and I sure as hell wouldn’t commit suicide.
I heard a soft knock at the door. Great. I look like crap and there has to be someone at the door now? It was 12:30, so I couldn’t be anyone from school. I slowly got up and opened the door. I squinted at the brightness from outside and looked at the figure in front of me. I sighed and said
“Cameron I told you that-“Wait. Hold the fucking phone. Cameron?! My brain snapped awake at the sight of him.
“Cameron what the hell are you doing here?! School is still going on you know! And how do you know where I live??” I bombarded him with questions and he just looked at me, not saying a word. I noticed something; those bright green eyes no longer twinkled as they were dark and cloudy.
“Cameron?” I asked quietly. Something didn’t feel right with him. I didn’t like the way that this felt so I pulled him inside. He didn’t move, rather he let himself be moved by me. I ignored this and took him to the living room. I sat him down on the couch and put his backpack on the coffee table. I sat down next to him, not quite sure what to do next.
I looked over at him and he pursed his lips like he was going to say something. But he stopped and fell silent again staring at the floor. I waited for him to say something, anything. I touched his shoulder and he cringed at it. I pulled back and looked away from him. We stayed this way for a good five minutes before he said anything else.
“Right after you left, I could hear the people in the hallway whispering and giggling at the scene we had created. I wasn’t quite sure why that was something to laugh about so I walked over to one of the groups and asked. They told me that you were…” He paused to look up at me, eyes dead like a fish. I nodded my head slowly motioning to continue.
“They told me you were a freak because you’re able to do some superhuman ability. I didn’t believe them, you’re just a normal girl. Even as I walked away I couldn’t shake off the fact they were talking about you that way. I kept thinking about it so much that I didn’t even bother to continue classes. I went down to the office and asked for your address because wanted to check on you to make sure you were alright. At first they didn’t give it to me because of school regulations crap so I began to beg. I told them you were my friend and I wanted to see you and after ten minutes of arguing, they finally gave it to me.” I couldn’t meet his gaze any longer so I just stared at my lap. I felt his warm stare and I got the same feeling as I did when I first met him. I felt my cheeks burn. This was so embarrassing.
He knows.
I breathed in and said
“They’re right. I’m not just a normal girl. I have a sixth sense. I can read people’s minds. It’s not like I chose to be born with it, I just was. And every day I have to walk down the halls listening to the remarks of the people who don’t even have the guts to say them to my face.” My voice began to falter.
“You don’t know what it’s like, everyday hearing, FEELING the harassing words of the same people that you call friends. You can’t hear them mocking me, tormenting me with their malevolent thoughts. I don’t have friends I can talk to; I don’t have anyone to talk to about any of this! And you know what? There’s nothing you can do to stop it.” My voice crack and became hushed. I couldn’t talk anymore fearing that I would break once again in front of him. He watched me with gentle eyes and I could see that they had lightened up a bit. Cameron sighed.
“You do have friends and you do have someone to talk to, me. I might not be able to stop it, but I will try to help you through this as best that I can. I want to help you Adriana, I don’t like seeing people unhappy.” I lifted my head up slowly to look him in the face. I honestly didn’t believe it. No one has ever tried to be my friend.
I felt the familiar feeling of tears come up again and this time I didn’t hold back. As I cried into my hands, Cameron just sat there, probably taking in everything I had just said. I felt his strong arms pull me into a hug. I just let him hug and console me, but this time, I was okay with it. This time I couldn’t hear those dreadful thoughts of other people. I was in my own home. In my own home… My home… Alone with Cameron. OH MY GOD.
As I had an internal breakdown, I heard my phone go off upstairs. I pulled out of the hug and said
“Ah, um my phone went off, I’ll um be right back.” I got off the couch and went up to my room to get my phone. As I walked past the bathroom, I looked in the mirror and instantly realized I was in my pajamas still. At this point I don’t think I could have blushed any harder. I shook it off and went to grab my phone. The text was from my mom:
I’m going to come home later than I expected. Please pick Anders up from school. Thanks.
Love you.
I quickly replied to confirm I would pick him up. I put my phone in my pocket and went back downstairs. Cameron was off the couch and was now looking around the house.
“Nice place you got here.” I giggled a bit and walked over to him. I poked his ridiculously muscular arm
“Hey, thanks for the pep talk.” He smiled that lazy smile and I could see the sparkles in his eyes. Maybe he did truly worry about me?
YOU ARE READING
Fly Away
Teen Fiction"Every man has his secret sorrows in which the world knows not." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Adriana Pennington is a psychic. No she can't channel the dead, but she's able to read peoples minds. And she hates it. Her Sixth Sense, as she calls it...
