Blindfold (Book One)

Prologue

Amelie's POV

"JIM WAIT!"

I am shouting desperately. I can't find the air in my lungs and my legs are giving out. I am tripping over my long, yellow dress; while I run on a cold, clear, July night by the decks of the beautiful cruise ship, the Independence of the Seas. My best friend in the entire world, Jim Parsons is running rapidly... He just revealed a secret, a secret he's been keeping for a very long time. Maybe he regrets telling me this, maybe he's ashamed. The only thing I can think about right now is that he's running away from me and I am not a hundred percent sure why.

I pass through the glass doors, feeling the cold breeze from the inside of the ship brushing my face. The smell of freshly baked pizza drowns in the air as I run past Sorrento's Pizzeria, my ears filling with undefined chatter and music from the large crowds talking, walking, sitting; dancing around the place. I finally reach the front part of the ship and stop.

"Damn it," I whisper to myself, as I realize lost him in a large group of people.

I am standing on Deck 5, turning everywhere searching for a sign of him. Suddenly, I see someone running at the end of the ship, going up the main stairs to Deck 7. It's him. I take a deep breath and grab the front part of my dress. Maybe he is going to his room. Immediately I start running as fast as I can, but I stop, stop because of the pounding of my head. I look up and I realize I lost him again. Urgency shoots through my body and a force helps me move, the force that tells me that I can't let anything happen to him.

Jim's POV

I feel a knot in my stomach and I'm shaking intensely.

Why in the world did I tell her that? This could ruin our friendship forever. I can't take this thought out of my mind; neither can I get rid of the image of her expression when I told her this.

I stop running and look up to the ceiling to stop the hot tears from running down my face. Everything's moving; I can feel the rotation of the Earth. I grab tightly from the railing to keep myself from falling. I can feel every single drop of sweat going down my face, my back, my neck. Slowly I start going up the stairs again, then faster and faster. I've never felt my legs this heavy, but this didn't stop myself from running, not now.

I finally reach the 7th Deck and run towards my room, which is at the end of the hallway. Tears start filling my eyes again to the thought of screwing what we had. I feel a rush of desperation through my body and my legs give in. I am in the floor of the hallway, unable to move. My eyes are beginning to close, as my vision gets blurry, and my head pounding, pleading for some rest. But that is impossible, as I listen to her voice.

"JIM PLEASE WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Anxiety hits me and I stand up, grabbing the wall to prevent falling again. I finally get to my room and open the door. I catch a glimpse of her beautiful yellow dress and I close the door, rapidly locking it behind me. I walk towards the large window of the ship's suite, looking at the gorgeous night sky of the Mediterranean Sea. Images of what happened come back to my mind, but this time I don't stop them, I don't fight, I simply let the fear come in and the tears come out.

Amelie's POV

I saw him. He went into his room, I'm thinking while taking a deep breath to continue running. My heart is beating very fast and my legs are shaking. My body is trying to make me stop, but I won't let it stop me, not this time, not at this moment.

I run fast to the door of his room, which is right next to mine, and start knocking desperately.

"JIM PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR! YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY IT IS VERY IMPORTANT!"

No answer.

"YOU DIDN'T EVEN GIVE ME A CHANCE TO SAY A WORD! OPEN THE DOOR!" I am shouting and knocking.

I try opening the door, but it is locked. Jim's reaction is so strange to me; I can't understand why he reacted that way. I can sense that something's not right, that there's something bad happening inside this room, inside this place with a body but no words. I am scared; terrified that something might happen to him. To that thought, my heart sinks and tears start dominating my eyes. I finally give up and sit down outside of his room, letting myself cry.

Jim's POV

I can't hold the tears back. My brain, drowning on its own thoughts, thoughts that I can't get myself to control. My legs enervate and I fall down to my knees, defeated.

"Jim what the hell did you do?" I say to myself. "What if everything gets lost? What if we start drifting apart because of this?"

I bring my hands to my face and try holding back the tears once more. Nothing. My body and my thoughts are acting madly against me, trying to destroy me, trying to bring me down. Maybe I'll let them; maybe I'll let myself get lost.

I know Amelie is outside, but I can't let her in, I can't see her, not today, not right now. Not because of something that she did, but because of something I couldn't control saying, that I didn't even realize.

Thoughts of her expression come back to my mind. Rage takes possession of my actions, and I stand up and explode, throwing to the floor everything that is on the table. I breathe, trying to take command of my body once more. Suddenly, I see something from the corner of my eye, something silver, resting on the dark carpet of the room, shining with the light. It's a knife. I bend down to pick it up. Thoughts take over my mind, many thoughts, uncontrolled, but I don't feel anything this time, nothing else other than anger towards myself. No emotion, no sadness, just vexation, the silver blade resting on the palm of my hand. Thoughts drown my mind again, and I'm suffering. I look at my hand and I hold the knife tightly. Suffering ends here, or does it?