Chapter 2
By the end of the day, I was almost too tired to walk myself home from school. Just as the final bell rang and I stepped out of the classroom, my friend Marcy saw me and walked over to my side.
"Hey girl, how was your day? You look exhausted." I let out a sigh and nodded my head.
"Long day." The words quietly left my lips and she looked at me, her brown eyes full of understanding, but she didn't understand. Not unless she too was having dreams with a mysterious man luring her in, entering into her reality like it was mine. How could I tell her about everything going on without sounding crazy?
As if she could sense the inner conflict in my head, she asked if I wanted a ride home.
"Sure." I gave her a grateful look, and she smiled at me like I just made her day. She tended to take things straight to the heart, and I learned that the hard way when I chose to go to my ex-boyfriends over hers in freshman year. She had stayed mad at me for a week straight, acting like I didn't exist. Then we both realized how stupid it was, and laughed it off. We still laughed at that to this day.
As we walked through the doors, the moist air hit me immediately. I knew as soon as I walked outside that there would be rain again tonight. The moisture stuck to my body like a second skin, and it was then that I realized that my hair probably looked super frizzy and gross. Instinctively, I reached up and smoothed it.
"Relax, your hair looks fine." Marcy sighed and we spotted her red beatle in the closest spot. That was easy for her to say, she had gorgeous blonde locks that flowed to her ribcage. She never had any problems with her hair; I've never seen it frizzy and it has always been styled perfectly.
As we got in the car, she smiled at me mischieviously, knowing that I always complained about her erratic driving. She was never the best driver, but at least she hadn't crashed yet.
And I crossed my fingers that this wouldn't be her first crash as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed for my house.
--
Twenty minutes later, I walked around to the back of my house to the woods behind it. We lived in a secluded area and had only a few neighbors, but we never really talked to them. I had my own little 'thinking' place about ten feet into the forest, complete with a stone bench surrounded by flowers that I had planted. It was my own little garden, my perfect getaway when I needed space.
To make it even better, I had built it in the spot where there was a clearing of trees above me so sunlight could replenish the growing flowers that had just recently bloomed from the spring showers. Everything was so green and I loved it. The sun was about to set, which created sunrays that looked absolutely beautiful against the green hues.
With a smile, I sat down on my bench and rested against it, watching the birds above me jump from limb to limb. The chirps relaxed me as I closed my eyes and blocked everything out. I thought about everything except last night, making sure to keep my mind off of the dreams. Then I let go, just feeling the air around me, and I relaxed against the cold bench.
It was a few minutes later when the snap of a twig made my heart race. Instantly, I was jolted awake, my eyes opening wide. I looked behind me, only to find nothing there. I noticed the sun had been blocked by dark clouds in the west and I sighed. I didn't want this bliss to end.
The rich greens were replaced with a darkness that hadn't been there before. Shadows were everywhere. My palms began to sweat with nervousness. I told myself it had probably just been an animal.
But somehow, I knew it wasn't.
The air around me changed, making the moist air impossibly thicker. It was almost hard to breathe. The scent of fresh rain hit my nose. I felt compelled to sit and listen, I didn't want to run. I needed to know what made that noise. My eyes roamed the forest, searching for answers.
There had to be something, but I couldn't see it. I felt it.
Goosebumps covered my arms, a strange hot tingle made it's way down my body, replacing all the moisture against my skin. The strange thing was, I liked it. I liked the way I felt.
I could only feel this way when he was near.
Thunder erupted in the distance. A storm was coming.
"Cassandra!" I heard my mom yell.
Instantly, all of the tension vanished. Gone. There was nothing there. I missed the bliss instantly, I almost craved it. I got up from the bench, taking one last look around me with my heart hammering in my chest. Just a forest.
But somehow, I knew that the thunder in the distance wasn't the only storm coming.
