| LUCID |

Chapter | Two

Monday - End of Winter Break

Alex

The sound of my alarm blaring pulled me from my sleep. I barely slept last night and now I have to wake up at the crack of dawn. I looked at my clock which read 5:30 am in bright colors. I slid my black comforter off of my body and stepped out of bed. I walked to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and my hair, then sat in front of my makeup mirror. I don't usually do too much. Mostly because I'm lazy and have no one to impress. I brushed the mascara wand through my eyelashes and put a little concealer under my eyes to hide the sleep I didn't get. I opened my closet door and pulled out a burgundy crew neck, slipped on some leggings and Converse and walked out of my room. I walked down the stairs and went into the kitchen and sat down with some orange juice. All you have to do Alex is keep your head low and not talk to anyone and your day will be good. That's pretty much what I tell myself every morning to make me feel better. But today it seems that may be more difficult than usual. 

See, there is one person I never introduced. There's this guy that my brother used to be friends with, like best friends. His name is Jordyn Avery. He and my brother had been inseparable since birth. They did everything together, until about a year ago. Something went down between the two of them, Ryan never told anyone what it was about. Jordyn and a group of guys jumped my brother and beat him to the point where he almost died. Jordyn hasn't been to school all year since the incident. They sent him away but he never did any sort of jail time, even though he deserved it. Jordyn was close to both of us, he was like another brother. Ryan won't tell anyone the reasoning or how things fell apart and escalated so quickly. He was always around, always so sweet. He treated me like I was the only girl in the world when he was around. Not in a weird way, he was just that person. His betrayal hurt both of us in different ways. 

However, rumor has it that Jordyn is coming back to school today. He's a year younger than my brother so he's still in school. It's not that I'm scared of him, it's just that I've seen the lengths he went to when he hurt my brother and I don't want the same to happen to anyone else. If he can snap and hurt someone he had known for years, his best friend, who knows what he'd do to someone else. I don't know if he has anything against me personally. However, I despise him for what he did to my brother. I haven't seen him since it happened. 

"Morning Alex." My brother greeted me as he walked into the kitchen. Before I could respond, he began talking again. "Look, I'm not trying to scare you whatsoever, and I don't want to bring up the past, but Jordyn is supposed to be back at school today," Ryan added, looking at me intently. "I just wanted to tell you to be careful and steer clear of him. If he says anything to you or even touches you in the slightest, I will kill him. He had an advantage over me last time but I won't let that happen again." You could see visible anger and hurt written all over his face. I can't imagine what it must be like for him. He was so close to death, but not only that, he lost someone who was like his brother. He never got closure, and now is going to constantly worry about my wellbeing.

"If he even comes back, I will stay away from him, promise." I reassured him. Ryan and I have gotten significantly closer since my mom left. In a town like this, you need someone to depend on to survive. I can't have him driving himself crazy worrying about me or my safety. He's going through enough. He nodded at me before walking over to the counter and starting his coffee. 

"Well unfortunately I need to get going. I'll see you after school." I reluctantly stood up and put my glass in the sink. 

"Be safe and stay alert. Text or call if you need anything, I mean it." He responded, pointing at me for more effect. I nodded and sent him a small smile before I grabbed by bag and my car keys.