Taken

Chapter Twenty Five--GRADY

Denny stopped talking to me after the encounter on the porch.  I didn’t know if she was upset with me still or if she just didn’t have anything to say, but I took Sarah’s advice and kept my distance.  If space didn’t help anything, I didn’t know what would.

          That morning I tried to avoid her as much as possible, to make her avoiding of me easier.  I went to Sarah’s, but eventually ran out of things to say and do.  So then I went exploring, but I got lost and it took me until sunset before I found my way back.  I decided my thoughts and concentration were out of whack so it wasn’t a good idea to poke through the forest anymore.  Everything looked the same to my unfocused senses anyways.

          It was dark when I found myself sitting in the kitchen going through the ritual of lighting the lanterns, as I did every night.  Denny had retired to bed early, probably because she usually spent her time in the kitchen but I was there.  I only lit one light and set it on the table.

          Through the window the moon was but a sliver, and it didn’t shed much light.  As a result, the forest was covered in an eerie blanket of darkness.  I was almost considering going to spend the night with Sarah until I thought about having to make my way in the dark.  I didn’t think I was up for that.  I would probably start hallucinating or something.

          I sat there for about an hour longer, just me and my thoughts, when I heard a door squeak open.  When Denny appeared in the kitchen she looked startled. “Oh!” Her hand flew to her heart.  “You scared me.  I thought you had already gone to bed.”

          She walked over to the cupboard and set down a mug.  She pulled her robe tighter around herself self consciously and lighted the fire over in the small fireplace.  She put her water on to boil, then drug a chair out to sit in. 

          “Couldn’t sleep?” I asked her.

          “Nope,” she replied.

          We were silent for a moment, neither of us talking or even moving.  The only thing I could hear was the light sound of Denny’s breathing and the crackle of the fire.  I couldn’t help noticing how far away she was from me, how she pulled her chair quite a ways from the table.

          Finally the water came to a boil and she fixed her tea.  I wanted to say something to her in that moment, to make everything better, but I didn’t know what to say.  “Denny,” I started, but when her blue eyes met mine, they were frozen, no emotion whatsoever.  The lack of admiration that was once there rendered me speechless.

          “Yes?”

          “Nothing,” I mumbled lamely and blew out the lantern, throwing everything in darkness so I couldn’t see her eyes anymore.  I ignored the fact they were still glassy even in the dark, the night reflecting in them.  I didn’t care if she needed the light to finish her tea. I turned my head and stalked out of the room, shutting myself in my bedroom. 

-

          I was in the woods, sunlight streaming through all the branches and filling my life with warmness.  The trees were blooming deep shades of green, regaining what they lost in the harshness of winter and I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, taking it all in.  The smell of winter was replaced by the goodness of spring and I breathed in deeply.  The smell that met my nose smelled sickly sweet, roses to be exact and my eyes snapped open.

          It was Denny, smiling up at me, her beauty radiating more so in the spring sunlight.  I grinned back, drunk with the thought of her being mine.  I kissed her cheek, held her close to me, drinking in all I could. 

          She pulled away and began to run through the trees, her silky black hair cascading down her back.  Then the wind caught it and sent it whipping around and the scent traveled all the way to my nose.  Sweet, sweet roses.  She looked back, still smiling, inviting me to follow.

          I ran after her but no matter how fast, I couldn’t catch her.  She was too quick, too cunning, she knew exactly when to make a right or left turn or zigzag through a dense patch of trees to throw me off.

          I started to breath hard, and I was slowing down even more.  She kept running on and before long she had pulled ahead. I lost sight of her.  A sudden sense of hopelessness filled my body and suddenly I saw her again, ahead in a meadow.  Only she was with Jeremiah, and not me.  Her eyes were icy, she wasn’t smiling anymore.  She looked as if she hated me…

          I woke in a sweat, cold beside the fact I was drenched and I jumped out of the bed.  I shook my head, trying to get the dream to leave my brain.  It wouldn’t, and I still felt that hopelessness.  I couldn’t have Denny.  She wasn’t mine to have.  I couldn’t believe I had been so stupid as to think so. 

          It was only a dream, I told myself.

          I opened the door and went down the hallway to the kitchen.  Denny was already awake, enjoying her usual cup of tea and I slid into a seat at the table and rubbed my eyes.  “Are you okay?” she asked, peering at me with those same eyes I saw last night.  “Your sweating.”

          “I got kind of hot.”

          “How? It was freezing.”

          I shrugged, thinking at least she cared enough to ask, even if she was a little snappy.  I avoided her eyes, though they were chillingly beautiful.  I couldn’t bear to have her pierce me with them. I swallowed hard.

          “What’s the plan for the day?”

          “I don’t know.”

          I knew by her answer whatever he plan was, most likely didn’t include me.  I just sighed, audibly so she could hear my disdain.  “What?” she asked, but I just shook my head and pulled a sweater over my T-shirt before heading to Sarah’s.