Watching Him

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

                I dreamt that I was 7 again. I dreamt that I was in a classroom full of children and we were having an English lesson. I dreamt that he was there.

                Everything was normal and everyone knew who he was. He smiled at me from across the table and those blue eyes shone. I smiled back at him and blushed. I had a crush on him when I was 7. I didn’t talk to him that much, I was too shy, but he said hi to me now and again.

                “Now, can anyone help me spell ‘difficulty’?” Miss Keggin asked the class.

                Nick’s hand shot up immediately and his blue eyes lit up with excitement. He was the smartest in the class. His older brother and sister were clever too. Gabriel and Ivy. Only a year older than us, twins. They were a very close family. Mr and Dr Jordan were beautiful people, they were also respected in our little town, and everyone liked them.

                “D-I-F-F-I-C-U-L-T-Y” Nick recited from memory.

                “Well done, Nick! Now, can anyone spell…?” Miss Keggin got interrupted by the doors being smashed in and the windows getting broken.

                We all screamed and everything went in slow motion. I saw the men in black masks smashing tables and pushing kids out of chairs. Immediately, I leapt from my chair and crawled underneath the desk. I lay on my front underneath the desk, breathing loudly with terror, trying to ignore the shouts and screams going on around me.

                The sounds of things smashing and people screaming echoed in my ear until I was physically shaking. I felt someone gently take my clammy hand and hold it tightly. I looked to the side of me and Nick was lying down next to me, grasping onto my hand. Fright filled his face, but I could tell he was trying to calm me down. He put a finger to his lips, a signal for me to be quiet and calm down. I nodded at him and we waited in anticipation.

                “Find the boy!” one man yelled.

                “He isn’t here!” another yelled back.

                “FIND HIM!” an angry voice screamed.

                Suddenly, Nick snatched his hand away from mine as the desk above him got flipped from above his head. I pressed my hand over my mouth in order to not scream.

                That’s when he looked at me. It was a look that gave me everything, and meant everything to me. It was worried, it was desperate, and it was love.

                He got dragged away and part of me got dragged away with him.

                They found me 10 minutes later and took me into a dark room with no one in it. I was so scared. I remember a bright light and then things got fuzzy.

                After that day, I never saw Nick again. And in turn, no one ever spoke about him again. I remember asking about him again, but I asked the wrong person and got taken to the dark room again… and again and again. After my 5th session in the dark room, I realised that no one knew that he existed, and no one remembered who he or his family was. So, in turn, I came to convince myself that he didn’t exist, and I forgot about him completely.

                “Ebony? Can you hear me Ebs?” I heard Tom asking me, breaking me from my sleep.

                “Of course I can hear you, what happened?” I asked drowsily, trying to sit up from my lying position. Tom pushed me back down and I opened my eyes, squinting at the instant brightness of the room I was in.