(New Light?) {On Hold...}

Chapter 3

           *Beep, beep, beep, beep!* I groaned as my alarm clock started to go off. I open my eyes and reached to turn off my alarm clock. I got out of my warm bed, shivering as cool air met my skin, and went to my closet to get my clothes for school. I picked out a faded blue tee and a grey sweater. I pulled on some socks and jeans, slipped on my shoes, grabbed my bag, and headed downstairs for breakfast. Once downstairs, I grabbed some toast as I was putting on my jacket. I looked out the window and saw the bus drive past my house. 'No!' I thought frantically as I ran out the door after the bus. The bus stopped to pick up a few kids, I was praying that I would make it. I didn't. The bus pulled away down the road and disappeared out of sight. I slowed to a stop as I stared after the bus. 'No! No, no, no!' I thought. 'What?' It was the voice again. I groaned. This was definitely not my day. First I miss the bus to school, and now I hear the voice in my head. 'You miss your bus?' the voice asked. I wanted to pull out my hair. I wish I would stop hearing imaginary voices in my head. Then I heard the sound of a car pulling up behind me. "Hey." said a male voice. "Need a ride to school?" he asked. I slowly turned around to find myself staring face to face with the mystery boy from the bus stop. " I'm Ethan, I go to North Valley high school, I'm going to guess you go there too?" he said, looking at me. I looked around, no one else was around or in distance as far as I could see. "Uh, I um, I mean, I-uh yeah I-I do" I managed to stutter out. "Well maybe I could give you a ride in exchange for directions on how to get there." he said calmly as he got out of his car and walked around to open the door for me. I just stood there frozen in place as I stared at him and the car. "Here," he said, reaching for my backpack. "Let me get that for you." I pulled away, "Uh no, no thanks, I-I got it. R-really." I stuttered. It looked like I was trapped. I looked around, the only escape was through the woods on the other side of the road. The boy frowned. "Hey, it's okay. I promise. I'm not going to hurt you." he said it slowly as if he was talking to a frightened animal. 'Trust me.' The voice in my head said. 'What?' I thought. It took me a moment to process this, and connect it to the scene unfolding before me. My eyes went wide as I realized what was happening. I backed up a step, as scared as ever. "I-I-I can't. I mean no, I-I..." I trailed off as I took another step backwards. My head was spinning and it felt like the world around me was going to cave in at any second. "Karoline!" The boy shouted an alarm as he rushed over to me. I took a few steps backwards away from him and tripped. The last thing I remember before I blacked out was the boy running to me and catching me before I hit the ground. "Karoline! Karoline!" the boy shouted with urgency filling his voice. "Karoline!"

           I woke up with a major headache. There were people in the room talking. Everything was fuzzy and I couldn't move. It was like my limbs were made of lead. "...and then she tripped and blacked out and wouldn't wake up." Said one voice. "Idiot! It was obvious she didn't want a ride! You are making her nervous! You should've just left her alone!" I recognized that voice as Christian's. I groaned, my head was killing me. "Kay!" Christian yelled. " Thank God you're ok!" he sounded really worried. "Chris?" I managed to whisper. "Back up boy, let me see her." Said a female voice. "Miss. Duchanes, how are you feeling?" She asked. "My head hurts..." I said weakly. The woman went over to her desk and came back. "Here, take this." she handed me a pill and a glass of water. I took the pill gratefully and in a moment my head was already feeling better. "Thanks." I said. The nurse took my glass, "Think nothing of it. I'm only doing my job." she said. "Where am I?" I asked to no one in particular. "The school's nurse's office", the boy said. " I took you here after you passed out." 'But i thought...' "Didn't you say...I thought..." I started to stammer as I recall the events that happened earlier. "I called your mom, she'll be here soon to pick you up." Said the nurse as she walked back into the room. 'At least nothing can go wrong back at home.' I thought. The boy looked at me with a question his eyes. I looked away. Christian stood up, "I'll go and see if your mom's here Kay." He said as he walked out of the room. I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "Okay." I said. The boys shuffled his feet as he came to sit down next to me. I tensed. " I sorry I startled you earlier. I wasn't trying to do that." He said, looking at me. I managed a nod. 'Startled can't even begin to describe how I felt.' I thought to myself. "Yeah, I know, I am really sorry." He said sheepishly. My eyes snapped up to meet his. My head was running 90 miles an hour right now. "I mean, I know how you must've felt, I mean..." he said, trailing off as he looked away. Christian walked into the room with my mom. my mom had an unreadable expression on her face, but I could tell that someone must've told her something that shocked her, and now she was puzzled. "Hi honey, how are you doing?" She asked. I got off the small bed and went over to her. "I'm doing fine mom." I said. "Can we get out of here?" She nodded. "Sure hun, lets go." I grabbed my bag and followed my mom out to the car.

           The ride home was quiet, and when we got home I saw my step-dad, Kevin's car in the driveway. "Mom, what's going on?" I asked her, once again confused. "Let's go inside first." she said getting out of the car and heading into the house. I got out as well and followed her in. "Hey kiddo." Said Kevin coming over to me. "How's it going?" I looked up at him, "Hey Kevin, I'm doing okay." "Awesome, here let's go sit on the couch, your mom has some news for you." he said. I let him lead me over to the couch and sit me down next to him. My mom came into the room with some cookies and milk. "What kind?" asked Kevin reaching for one. "Chocolate with chocolate chips. And they're Karoline's." said my mom swatting his hand away. I laughed and took two cookies. "Here, you can have one." I said, handing one to Kevin. "You, my dear, are my favorite stepdaughter." he said smiling. I laughed, "I'm your only stepdaughter!" I said. "Oh yeah." he said laughing. My mom laughed and shook her head, "What am I going to do with you too?" she asked . "Well, you can give me some more cookies." said Kevin. My mom looked at me. "He can have some, just save some for me." I laughed. "Yes!" shouted Kevin. My mom laughed and surrendered. Then she sat down across from us and I knew it was time to be serious. "Kevin said you had some news for me?" I asked. She took a moment to respond and said the last thing I ever would have thought I would've heard. "Your father is coming to visit." she said.

          I felt like I was going to pass out again. My father had left before I was born, so I had never met him. The only connection we had was when he called to see how I was. I'd only ever known my mom and step-dad, so this was really a surprise for me. "When?" I barely managed as a whisper. "That's just it, he says he will be here tomorrow." she said slowly, still as confused as I was. I felt like my world was spinning out of control, "Can I go to bed now?" I asked. "Of course." said my mom, staring at the wall. Kevin squeezed my shoulders, "It'll all work out kiddo. You'll see." he said as he kissed my forehead goodnight. I gave a sort of half not as I walked slowly to my bedroom and closed the door behind me.

           'When did my life start falling apart?' I asked myself as I flopped onto my bed. 'When did everything start changing?' I sat up, went to my desk, and sat down. I opened my laptop to check my email. I had one new message from someone who I didn't recognize. It read:

                                                              Your life is falling apart,

                                                                But at the same time,

                                                           It's being put back together.

'What?' I thought, 'What is that supposed to mean?' The sender's name was unknown, so I sent an email back saying:

                                                            Who are you? And what are you

                                                      talking about? How do you know me?

I clicked send and not even a minute after I sent the message did i get a response.

                                                           Your answers will come in

                                                       due time. Be patient Karoline.

I shook my head. This couldn't be happening. I wasn't talking to a total stranger, who seemed to know more about me and my life than even I did. I shut my laptop and stood up. 'Some sleep will do me good' I thought as I made my way towards my bed and crawled under my covers. I quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.