Red.

4

Marietta's POV

He's everywhere. He follows me everywhere I go. He's in my dreams, which are quickly turned to nightmares at his appearance, and in the back of my head. His words never leave me. You can't get away from me.

As I sit in this too-small classroom, surrounded by oblivious people, I feel his presence beside me. I feel it like cold fingers running up my spine, sending shivers through my body. I feel it like a blanket wrapping around me too tightly, suffocating me. I feel my breathing pick up, my body is thrown into a state of panic. He's closing in on me, I can feel it; there's no where to run this time.

The air around me seems to vanish, leaving my lungs screaming for help. My vision fades around the edges, everything slowly fades into an ocean of black. Mr. Kern's voice morphs into a quiet drone, the only thing that rings clearly in my head is my heartbeat. Beat. Beat. Beat.

Darling, he whispers in my ear. My heart jumps to my throat and I gasp, trying to suck in even a little bit of air but to no avail. You've been a very bad girl.

His hand travels from my left shoulder to my right, never once leaving my skin. I could hear his sharp footsteps move from behind me to before me. I knew he stood in front of me, waiting for me to look at him, but I couldn't muster the courage to do so.

His cold hand reached out and grasped my chin in a firm grip, harshly yanking it up. My eyes meet his cold, deep brown ones. They were dark while mine were light. They were cruel while mine wavered with innocence.

You have to be punished for what you've done. His voice could be heard but his lips didn't move. His hand tightened around my face while the other wound itself in my hair. He dragged me out of my seat, deeper into the darkness. I could feel the screams leaving my body, but as he pulled me deeper and deeper down under I knew no one could hear me. No one would save me from this hell.

Hands wrapped around my shoulders and shook, violently. I writhed and twisted, trying to get out of their grip. I could hear voices now, voices that were different from his. Voices that meant I was saved.

"Marietta?! Marietta wake up!" I jolted upward, nearly smacking the person above me in the face. My eyes frantically scanned the room, searching for him, his dark eyes. It was only when I discovered he was nowhere to be found that my heartbeat slowed and my breathing returned to normal. My eyes found a pair of soft blue ones before me, a contrast to the ones that have haunted me. Nathan stood there, his eyes wide with panic and his hands clutching my shoulders as if he thought I would drift away if he didn't hold on.

His eyes softened when he saw I was okay but there was still this underlying emotion that he tried to hide: curiosity. And fear. What did he have to be afraid of?

"Are you alright?" He asked, his hands still clutching me. I stared at him, my eyebrows furrowing at such an absurd question. No, I was not alright. I was far from alright. But all I said was, "Yeah. I'm fine."

That was when I noticed our surroundings. I was seated in the back of the classroom, like usual. I sat here because no one paid any attention to me, their eyes were focused on the front of the room. But they weren't right now. Right now they were focused on me, and they didn't hold the most polite of expressions.

I gulped and felt my cheeks reddening, my brow perspiring with a nervous sweat. Abruptly I stood up, shaking Nathan's hands from my body. I stooped and swung my bag over my shoulder, hurriedly making my way to the door. The room was dead silent, aside from the sound of my frantic footsteps and rapid heartbeat. I'm sure everyone could hear it, it was deafening.