Wonder

THE MAN IN THE HOSPITAL

Ariel shot awake, springing up so violently she fell of the edge of her bed and onto her carpeted floor. Carpet? Bed? She looked around. Sure enough, the blonde was in her bedroom, lying on the floor next to a half read copy of Pride and Prejudice and an empty bag of potato chips. As if on reflex, she felt for her hip. 

Her hand was met with the coarse texture of a bandage. Looking down, Ariel discovered that her skin was covered by a thick white strip of gauze, placed very efficiently. Grabbing one side, she pulled the edge of the bandage up. Sure enough, the bite from last night was there. It hadn't been a dream. She could still feel the smooth touch from the man, the searing burn of his caress.

Shaking herself out of it, Ariel pushed off the floor, stumbling into the bathroom. Griping the edge of the sink, she surveyed herself in the mirror. Her blonde hair was tousled, spilling over her shoulders in a tangled mess. Surprisingly, no remnants of the leaves it collected whilst rolling down the hill remained. The dull throb in head was all that remained of her fall, a small hash evident on her forehead. A thin band aid covered it, adding to the mysterious nature of her morning. Scott must have found her in the woods and carried her home. That's the only plausible explanation. 

Unless- no. 

She didn't want to think about the events of the prior night. Of the man/beast thing, whatever it was. Looking down, Ariel noticed that she had been changed out of her bloody shorts and shirt. Instead, an oversized tee hung on her small frame. It was foreign, something she'd never seen before. It smelled of pine needles and the musky scent of fire, an odd yet soothing scent.

With a persistent shake of her head, she pushed all thoughts of last night from her head. Slipping out of the warm confines of the mysterious tee shirt, Ariel peeled of her bandage and stepped into the shower. The hard stream of water washed off the dirt caked on her body. It swirled down the drain, taking with it the hesitation and terror that remained in the small blonde.

As far as Ariel was concerned, she was attacked by a wolf and passed out. Then her brother found her and brought her home, giving her an old shirt of his and dressing her wound.
With her resolve steadfast, she left the warm cloak of water, drying herself off before wrapping up in a towel and strutting back into her room. There Ariel pulled on a simple, tight white dress, brown ankle boots and a denim jacket. It was the first day of school- an unspoken rule for girls required her to dress nice. Swiping on some mascara, Ariel headed downstairs, nimbly braiding her long blonde hair as she went.

Scott was already gone, having decided to ride his bike to school. He left Ariel her favorite breakfast- a strawberry parfait. The two had always been close, especially so after the blondes accident a couple years ago. They did everything together, shared the same best friend and were only a step away from conjoined twins.

 Despite Ariels blonde hair, they shared the same tan skin and large brown eyes, as well as a passionate love of animals and midnight snacks. Ariel, however, had a more sarcastic and hotheaded personality as compared to her brothers compassionate, do no wrong persona.

-

Ariel pulled into her parking space, smiling at the smooth job she had done. It was no secret that the blonde was a horrible driver- many fallen mailboxes and crushed petunias could attest to that. She's taken the license test three times before the instructor finally pitied her enough to just throw one at her. Surprisingly, the morning had passed without any disgruntled neighbors and minor crashes. The blonde was in a good mood, brushing aside the events of last night and focusing instead on the beautiful weather and her best friend standing outside the main entrance, waving his arms wildly at her.

Ariel bent over to grab her backpack from her little Honda when a rush of air and a cold metal brushed against her backside. She jumped in fright, smacking her head against the roof of her car. Pulling out of her doorway with back pack in tow, Ariel turned towards her assailant. A gleaming silver Porsche sat in the spot beside her, only a foot away from her precious car and pressed closely to her butt. She hit the roof of the sports car, flipping off the cocky boy inside. Jackson swung his door open, hitting another McCall in the ass. Scott let out an indignant cry, turning away from his bike to glare at the lacrosse captain.