wilderness | paul lahote

{02}

I was awakened by the light of the morning. The pain had subsided, not being as horrible as it had been for the last two days. For what I was conscious of those, the least. 

Looking over to my right, I saw a sleeping, snoring Jacob in a chair, that looked ridiculously small under his big body. He had taken Sam's order to stay with me quite literally it had seemed. His head was resting on his chest, his neck at an angle that didn't look comfortable in the slightest. He'd for sure be sore whenever he woke up. 

I could make out more of the small room I was in now that it was light. The overall of it was quite cluttered, yet homely. Tapestry hung on the walls, books and mugs lying around. The sofa I was on was accompanied by a small wooden coffee table, that seemed to have been hand crafted, and two small chairs. The window and backdoor were worn out, and all that could be seen from them were spruce and evergreen trees. Even though I had never been here before. Even though I didn't know Jacob. Or Sam. This place felt safe.

Yet I'd decided then and there, that I'd have to get out of here somehow. I was sure the other guy, Sam, would arrive soon. Jacob was sleeping. And I awfully needed some fresh air. I didn't know how my body would hold up, but I was sure to try. 

I lifted the soft beige blanket off of me. The motion hurt, but it wasn't unbearable. I tried not to make any sounds in fear of waking Jacob from his peaceful slumber, so I gritted my teeth as I sat up. When my feet hit the floor in front of the sofa was when I let go of the breath I didn't know I had been holding. At this moment, I truly had felt like an old woman, struggling getting out of bed.

Closing my eyes I took a deep breath once more. In through the nose, out through the mouth. That was the only way I knew how to level my head and push through. 

I heard shifting from where Jacob was situated. Not a good sign. If I wanted to act on my plan, I had to act fast.

I opened my eyes and lifted myself off of the couch. Holding onto the left side of me, I slowly made my way towards the back door of the small forest house, praying to whatever is holy that it wasn't locked. 

It wasn't.

That's when I made, what I thought was, my greatest escape. Stepping into the fresh air was the best feeling there ever could've been at that very moment. It was now, in the cold breeze, that I had realised what I'd been wearing. Someone's old T-shirt that had been way too big for my small frame - almost up to my knees - and fuzzy socks that were as baggy on me as the shirt was. 

I snickered at the sight of that. Thankfully I hadn't passed any mirrors. Heaven forbid of what I could've looked like. With my bruised up arms and knees, who knew what state the rest of me was in. 

I remembered what Jacob had told me the night before, how I had been found by Sam. I felt bad for leaving without thanking him, or Jacob for giving me a place to stay. Or the lady named Sue, who I had not met, but who had supposedly patched me up when I was found. My thoughts were interrupted by voices coming from inside the house. I had to think fast, and my first thought was to run straight into the woods. 

This was probably not the greatest decision, knowing how I got into this situation in the first place. But oddly enough, the forest seemed the safest place for me at this point. It always had been. I didn't know if I could trust the people I had just left behind. I didn't even know if I could trust myself.

I had run for what felt like a solid few minutes when I could see light emitting from behind the trees. The smell of seaweed and saltiness was noticeable within the gusts of wind blowing my way. I fastened my pace as I made my way to the treeline. I had arrived at a beach. 

Driftwood was scattered along the shoreline. Gray waves crashing onto the heavy rocks. The weather, overcast, but still magically beautiful. A smile crept onto my face as I made my way further onto the beach. I had ditched the baggy warm socks along the way, letting the cold sand caress my feet. Only now I realised how cold I'd actually been. 

I sat down on a bleached white driftwood bench, near the forest entrance. The salty sea air felt relaxing, as did the sound of the waves. People could be seen walking along the shoreline further away. A few of them were surfing in the expectedly freezing waters.

I crossed my arms and let my head rest on my knees. It was just me, the sea and the clouds, yet my moments of peace were cut short. Everything hurt. I was cold. And I still had no idea where I was. I had oddly recognised this beach, however I couldn't have been sure.

I closed my eyes as tears began to fall. Images of what had happened flew through my thoughts. I remembered now, yet every piece of me didn't want to. 

There was a rustle coming from the forest behind me, where I had just walked through some time ago. Slowly I perked myself up, making sure I didn't hurt myself more than I already had, yet looking behind me there was nothing but the trees. The emptiness of the mystically green forest. 

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hi to anyone out there reading this, this is me, the author, interrupting your peaceful reading. thank you for taking the time out of your day/night. i appreciate you boo. 

my wattpad app seems to be messing up and chapters have not been publishing in order, it also keeps saying some chapters are still a draft, that have actually been published :( anyone else have a similar problem with the app? 

also, i know the story might be going a bit slow for some people but i don't feel like i should rush things. i'm also not quite sure about this story yet, and have been thinking about starting another one with another storyline. still about paul though. (doesn't still mean i'll be rushing them to be together, i'm trying to make things as realistic as it can be) please let me know if i should keep on going with this or work on another story. cheers!