He entered the field where I awaited. His chiseled face showing no signs of aggression, until he recognized who I was. With a blink of an eye he was running towards me with dangerous speed. The only thing I remember is the sensation of the cool wind brushing my hair behind me as I sprinted as fast as my scrawny legs would carry me. When I finally arrived home I ran straight to my room, locked the door behind me and flopped face first onto my bed. I almost immediately felt the plush conform to my body giving me a second’s worth of comfort until the reality seeped in. All this time I was too afraid to think about it. How swiftly and relentlessly he glided the knife along her throat. The pure hatred in his eyes when he saw me watching with horror. The twitch in his muscle as he began to chase me, determined to kill me without remorse just as he killed Sydney, my bestfriend. The one person I could confide to. The one person who knew the real me, not the bubbly persona I portrayed to everyone at school. No, she knew the real me, the one who was overwhelmingly self conscious , the one who wanted desperately to disappear from it all. All of the girls fawning over me, wanting to be my bestfriend and go shopping and sip lattes. None of the things I wanted to do. All I wanted to do is is escape and go take a walk somewhere desolate. To get mud on my shoes and not care. To be able to not worry about my nails and if my skirt will get dirty. I’ve never been able to be that girl again. Not after my father’s death. He was like a rock to me, always pulling me back down to earth. After he died, my mother wanted transform me into a girl I wasn’t. I know I should have stopped her but she was so depressed from his death, I couldn’t bear to say no to her at a time like this. So I let her chip away at me, until I was unrecognizable. With a new hairstyle, girly clothing, and expertly applied makeup, I was a new person. At first I enjoyed the change. It got my mind of things, more importantly my father. I felt as though if I were a different person, with a different past.
The sounds of foot steps break my thoughts. A faint knock sounds at my door.
“Adraunna” calls my mother “What would you like for dinner?”
I guess I took too long to reply because she called out my name again and tried to open my door.
“Adraunna, is everything alright in there?”
I hopped off of my bed and open the door.
“You know I don’t like when you lock your door”
“Sorry” I choke out.
I cross my arms over my chest and look at a pen on the ground to the left of me.
I guess she sensed something was wrong because she grabbed my left shoulder and looked me with her worried grey eyes.
“What’s wrong sweetheart? You’ve been so distant lately”
“Nothing is wrong I’m just stressed about a test in algebra”
“Adraunna are you su-“
“Yes mom I’m sure” I snap “Now what’s for dinner?”
“Forget that for right now,” she said “We need to have a serious talk.”
Everything I’d been hiding came rushing into my mind. I was so afraid the talk would be about him, how I already knew what happened to Sydney. I was afraid she knew what I knew, and that I didn’t come forth with my information on the death of my dear friend.
“You know Sydney’s parents are devastated” she said wearily “At this point, we don’t care if you two were drinking, we all just need to know what happened to Sydney”
“Mom we weren’t drinking, I already told you, we were at Chase’s party and she said she would be right back”
“Okay honey, I really hope that’s all you know”
