Intertwined (Published)

A frozen moment in time

Ten days before Prom

My room

 

I try to look okay.  But in truth, I was not.  I was scared about a lot of things.  I was scared that I will not find the right guy by the time I was thirty.  And I was scared that Trip will not be the last guy who will cheat on me. 

Moreover, I was afraid that I will die a virgin.  Or if not, I was afraid that the person I will lose my innocence to, will treat me as unimportant the next day, will think low of me, or worse, will cheat on me with a filthy slut like what Trip did.

“Did you hear the news?”  Cindy called me that night.

“No.  What news?”

“There was a girl dumped in the fields a mile from school.”

The hairs in my neck rose.  “Really?”

“Yes.  They don’t know who it is yet.  They were trying to identify her.  It was said that she was only seventeen or eighteen.  They were still finding out whether or not she’s from town.”

“Gees!  I thought this is one of the safest towns there is.”

“I know.  It’s nerve-wrecking, right?”

“Sure!”

“What about you?  Has your mother come home yet?”

“Nope.  I’m still alone.  But the maids are here so I’m not really alone.”

Just then, I heard a stumbling noise outside my door.

“What the heck…”  My heart pounded in my ribcage.

The door opened and Travis barged into my room.  He was breathless, like he had been running.  But his face brightened as soon as he saw me sitting on the bed.

“There you are!”  He said, his voice relieved.  “You weren’t answering your phone!”

I looked at my mobile and realized that I have twenty missed calls, all from Travis.  I left it on silent mode that is why I didn’t hear him calling.

“I’m sorry.  Silent mode.  Why?  What’s wrong?”

“They found a girl somewhere.  She was not yet identified.  I just thought I’d check up on you.  And when you didn’t answer, I rushed here.”

I smiled at him.  “Well, as you can see, I am not that girl.”

Travis took off his jacket and sat on my couch.  “You really had me worried.”

“I’m okay, Trav.”