Broken

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Hayley!"

I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in the middle of some sort of wooded area. The trees were partially bare, and an array of colors covered the ground. The full moon above my head lit the area well enough for me to see several feet ahead of me. My eyes told me I was all alone, but ears warned of someone nearby. I took a step forward and the crunch of the leaves was loud under my feet.

"Hayley!"

I stopped moving and tried to discern were the sound was coming from. It was distant, but clear enough that I knew it was my name. The voice called to me, it comforted me. I needed to go to it.

"Justin," I whispered. It was his voice. There was no doubt in my mind it belonged to him. I closed my eyes. I needed him to call out again. I was sure if I heart it again I would be able to tell which way to go. I heard nothing for far too long. I wanted to yell for him, but I felt as though I could only whisper. My throat felt like it was constricted.

I shivered in the cool autumn wind. I tried to pull my jacket around me tighter, but it still felt so cold. It was as if I was only wearing a t-shirt. I took a few steps forward, fearing Justin had moved away from me. Then I heard it again.

"Hayley!"

It was coming from before me. I began to take more steps, trying to move as fast as my body allowed me. I opened my mouth, but I could not find my voice. The crunch of the leaves grew louder as I moved quicker. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to find warmth. I stopped when a different noise arose. It came to my ears like a flag flapping in the wind. I followed it to see the movement on a tree branch. I walked over to it and realized it was my shirt, the shirt I wore to every football game. I pulled it down from the branch it was caught on. There was a long tear right down the back of it through Justin's number. My fingers traced the cut before I held the shirt close to my chest.

"Hayley!"

The sound seemed closer to me. I looked down at the shirt. He had to be close. I tried to run, but I could only manage to walk. I walked and walked for what seemed like forever. My mind was fighting for my body to push on. The cold air seemed to get worse and worse as I went.

"Hayley."

The voice was not a yell anymore. It was calmer, just speaking my name. It was no longer coming from ahead of me, but rather from behind me. I spun around, squinting to see through the moonlight.

"Hayley."

That time it had come from the right. I turned my head and was met with a cool breeze on my cheeks and waving tree branches. My teeth began to chatter. I turned completely around, searching for the boy I wanted nothing more than to see. His voice carried like the wind, seeming to be all around me and yet nowhere near me all at the same time.

"Justin," I found my lips moving. The wind slowly died down for a moment. I looked down at the green fabric in my hand. The Lathrop letters had remained completely intact despite the large rip. "Justin!"

"Hayley, where are you!"

The voice was so close to me, surrounding me. I looked around, desperate to see his brown eyes. My eyes were caught by a small movement. I looked up to see a familiar waving in the air. I saw something hanging from a branch of a tree. This one was much higher than the previous, but I was still able to grab it. The green fabric was identical to that of what I had already found. It was my shirt again, but this time there was a thick black line through Lathrop.

"Hayley!"

I looked up again to see no one. My eyes fell back down to the two t-shirts in my hands. How was there two of them? I held them both to my chest and closed my eyes. I could get through this. I would get through this. I just needed to keep moving.