The November Raven

4

ANGELO

Last night was a bit intense for me. The woods were really scary. I was waiting for a murderer to come out, it didn't help that it sounded like someone was following us for a while. Seth didn't talk much, if he did then it was because he was telling me that there was a big root or low branch to watch out for. I wondered how many times he had been through those woods and why he went back to the hospital.

It was finally morning and the air was crisp. The leaves were beautiful oranges, yellows, and red. It was really pretty watching them fall. My stomach growled and it ruined the whole moment. I was starving. "Seth?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we eat soon?"

"Yea. There's a café nearby."

"Can we go now?"

He thought for a moment before responding, "Fine."

Based off of the suns position I knew it was around seven o'clock. Back in eighth grade, I was obsessed with astrology and Sam, my brother, taught me how to tell time with the sun. That year was pretty fun. I really developed physically and mentally. I met my best friends Kennedy and Xavier. They were amazing friends but we stopped talking sometimes after Sams death. I don't think they even know I attempted suicide.

"Low branch" Seth interrupted my thoughts. I looked down and smacked right into the branch. I stumbled down a steepish hill and my body flew against the gate. "Shit!" He yelled while running after me. He helped me up, "what the hell was that? I told you there was a low branch! Shit shit shit shit." He picked up me up and carried me the rest of the way I didn't exactly know what was going on until we stopped by a convenient store. Seth was still carrying me and I said I was fine several times but he just wouldn't listen. He bought a package of ace bandages, bandaids, gel stuff you put on a wound to help it heal (I forget what it's called), and wet wipes.

When we got to the register the woman asked: "is he ok?"

"Yea he's just a bit of klutz and doesn't listen very well. Mom told him not to go in her garden & guess what he did, he went anyway. He stumbled over her gardening tools and ruined her gardenias" Seth answered. I don't like it when he lies. It makes me feel guilty because I know he's doing it and I'm not doing anything to stop him. She rang us out and we went outside. Seth set me on a bench and tended my wounds.

He opened the wet wipes and cleaned up the side of my face. I hissed and jumped back. "That hurts!"

"Well if you sit still it wouldn't hurt so much!" He yelled back. I growled and tried my best to sit still. Of course, I almost kicked him at one point when he was cleaning up a leg wound.

After a few minutes, he said, "you should be ok. Do you think you can walk?" His voice was so gentle it actually kinda surprised me.

I nodded. "Have you done this a lot? You seemed like you knew exactly what to do."

Pain filled his eyes and he looked away. He thought for a moment then got up. "Ready to go?" I don't understand why he ignores me so much. I stood up and almost fell right back down but Seth caught me. I was tempted to ask if he could hold me for a bit longer since it was kinda like a hug but I thought he'd say no. He kept one arm around me and helped me walk.

We walked like this all the way to the café and I took a seat by the window. "What do you want to eat?" Seth asked.

"Um...," I thought for a moment, "if they have pancakes then I'll have that but if not then just a mango smoothie." He nodded then walked off. I was thinking that maybe because this whole 'I'm in a mental hospital' thing I'd start trying to get better. I wasn't sure if it would work but it sounded like a good idea. My first 'road' to recovery is by eating. I don't eat much unless it's been a few days and I'm starving. Then I eat but I usually throw it up.

I looked outside and it was cloudy. There were some people with umbrellas but it wasn't raining. This was the really good weather for October. Usually, it rains nearly every day. This week it was sunny for two days and the rest of the week has been cloudy.

As I thought about the weather Seth sat down & handed me a smoothie.

"The pancakes will be done in a few minutes."

"Thank you." We sat in silence and I took a look around the room. All the tables and chairs were metal. The walls were a dark brick but some were painted white. There were cute little lights hanging from the ceiling. Also, there were plants everywhere! It was a cute place. This whole area was cute. Across the street, there were lots of little shops and lots of old couples with, I assume, their grandchildren. Some people had their shops all ready for Halloween but some were still decorating. It made me think of Christmas. Everything was so well decorated and everyone seemed so happy. Even though Halloween was tomorrow some old people were sitting outside in front of the stores and had buckets of candy. All the children were dressed up like skeletons, ghosts, Jack Sparrow, etc. they were all really loud too when they said 'trick-or-treat'. This was the kind of place I'd want to raise my family. Maybe when we get Seth's sister we can come back here.

After what felt like hours my pancakes finally came. The man set the pancakes in front of me and gave me a tub of syrup. It smelled so good and it tasted even better. I knew I was definitely coming back.

As I was eating Seth had a disturbed look on his face. "What's wrong?" I asked him. Like most of his answers, he stayed silent.

"Seth?" I spoke a little louder. This man is scary when something is wrong. Actually, he's scary in general. He still wouldn't even glance my direction. I put my hand on his, "Seth? What's going on?"

Finally, he looked at me, "We have to go." With that, he took my hand and dragged me out of the cafe. I wasn't even done with my pancakes.

Hello! I really hope you enjoy this book so far. Please let me know what you think of it so far and please vote. The fact that you made it this far makes me really really happy. I'm thinking that at the end of each chapter I'd ask you guys a question. I wanna get to know you guys! So today's question is *drum roll* what's your favorite food? Mine is chocolate chip cookies.
Have a great day and see you in the next chapter!!