Premonitions

Chapter Four

I walked out of the police station doors; the sky was dark and there were no stars. I glanced behind me to see if the boy was still there. He wasn't. I sighed in relief; it seemed to be so much more peaceful with him not around. (In the few hours I'd known him, it had become evident that he attracted attention wherever he went, and I didn't like people's eyes to be staring at me.)

I turned back around, sighed again, and reached into my black leather purse to fish around for my phone. I stopped walking, the crunching of gravel under my feet ceasing. My fingers closed around nothingness; well, not necessarily nothingness, more like the emptiness of a phone not where it should've been.

I breathed in a sharp breath of shock, where was my phone? I started rifling around in my purse, hoping, praying, that I just hadn't gotten to the part of my purse where my phone was at yet. I couldn't find my phone, my lifeline that connected me to my music, my-

A large hand closed around my upper arm, and I screeched, alarmed. With my other arm, I threw a punch out behind me, trying desperately to get away from whoever it was that had grabbed me. My clenched fist connected with a jaw, which was quite a surprise, considering how short I was. I brought my balled-up fist back for another punch; another barrage of five-foot-two fury, when the person who gripped my arm let go unexpectedly.

"Whoa, Crimson, whoa. It's me."

The voice of the Canton boy resounded from behind me.

"Jesus, will you just leave me alone? I know you helped me and everything back there, but I don't want anything to do with you, you... Ugh, can you just not be so rude? You snuck up on me. You didn't even say anything; is this a game you Canton boys play? 'Infuriate the local loner' or something? You scared me." I spat out, and even more white-hot fury spilled out of my mouth than had spilled out of my fists. "Jesus, godammit."

I took a step away from him, my foot hitting a rock, and I fell. Except I didn't fall; the Canton boy's left hand perched on my shoulder, his right hand cradled my waist. I nearly collapsed; pain shot up my right ankle. My right leg gave way to the spreading fire-feeling in my ankle, and I nearly toppled over. The Canton boy was still holding me, holding me like a small bird, and-

What? What was I thinking?

"I just, y'know... You left your phone in the police station, so I thought I'd... Return it to you..." The Canton boy uttered, taken aback by the reaction I'd given him.

He released me from his gentle but protecting grasp, and I quickly told myself that he just did what he did to try and get close to me, that it meant nothing, that he saved me in an attempt to embarrass me somehow. He held out my phone in his right hand; his other hand went behind his head and scratched at his neck. Little pieces of short, butterscotch-colored hair stuck up on his head, escaping the gel-covered prison they'd been stuck in. He kind of looked... Raggedy.

I took a deep breath, which extended into a sigh, as I reached forward and, ever so gently, closed my right hand around my phone. My other hand went up to my forehead out of habit, and I pushed my maroon hair back, my fingers running through my scalp, trying desperately to make sure that the scuffle hadn't messed up my hair at all. "Thanks..." I muttered, as shy as ever.

The sound of gravel as it was tread on made me turn my head ever so slightly to my right side. A lanky boy in an Avengers t-shirt and a pair of jeans approached; as he got closer, I realized it was Griffyn.

Thank God.

"What's going on, Crimson? You okay?" His large eyebrows furrowed; he was clearly worried. "What's going on?" He repeated; this time, the question was directed at the Canton boy whose name I still did not know. Griffyn closed the distance between us, taking the final few steps to come stand just to my right. "Crimson...?"

I swiveled my head slightly in his direction, tipping my head up a little to look him directly in the eyes. His usually calm or happy eyes, normally lit up with their familiar smile-like glow, were filled with distraught. I exhaled, releasing some tension, but I was still very tense. The accident from my workplace and the encounter with this Canton boy had started to take their tolls on my emotional and mental well-being. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said softly to Griffyn. His eyes still looked worried, so I added on, "No, but seriously, I'm fine."

I wasn't fine; I just didn't want to make a scene outside of the police station. Not that I was ever fine; after all, I did have those premonitions quite often, but it wouldn't be good to make Griffyn more anxious than he already was.

Griffyn didn't look or seem convinced, but he sensed that I wanted to let the subject drop, so he did. "Okay," he breathed out, "let's get you home." He smiled a shy and not entirely convinced smile. His eyes shot daggers at the Canton boy; Griffyn was still sure he'd done something to me.

"Bye." I breathed out, as I took a step away from the Canton boy. My feet crunched on the gravel.

After a few steps, Griffyn followed me. Once we were a good distance away from the Canton boy, he asked, "Did he do anything to you? Your face is flushed."

I took a deep breath. "No," I said. "I left my phone in the station accidentally, so he came outside and returned it to me." I fell in step with Griffyn, trying to convince him I was fine.

Distantly, I heard, "I... I didn't mean..." and then, a little louder, "Crimson, I'm sorry!"

I walked on. A twist formed in my gut. His voice... It sounded so familiar...

We reached Griffyn's car, which was his mom's old black minivan. Griffyn headed over to the driver's side door. Once the car was unlocked, I climbed in the shotgun seat, closed the door all but gently, and buckled my seat belt. I breathed out, exasperated, and dug around in my purse for my earbuds. I plugged them into my phone, turned the volume up almost all the way, and put them in my ears to drown out the world. Tonight, though, nothing could drown out reality screaming to me to pay attention to what had been happening in my life.