Save me

2. First day

"I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labour has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you."
— The Fault in Our Stars by John Green ❦ ❦ ❦

1. 

Death was inevitable. Those words rang in Annabelle's mind every single day, hour and second of every minute, and it had seemingly become a comfort to her. 

The fact she could not control what would happen to her.

However, Avonlea so far had made it incredibly difficult to even feel a slight tinge of misery, because how could she be when for the first time in Annabelle's life she was experiencing the picturesque beauty of the woods,  And perhaps this was her hope clouding the reality that so often crushed her spirit, but Annabelle simply could not bring herself to find a fault with the engulfing environment around her. Lush flowers and trees and bird calls enthralled her senses, all things which she had only ever read about in books. She couldn't even find the right word, wistful? Perfect? serene? 

"Billy! get off!" The scream of a girl hit Annabelle in a second, the serenity of her walk to the first day at her new school dissipating into the crisp morning air, her body reacted before she could, her head snapped towards the yelling,  What on earth was that? she thought, stunned for a second before her feet began towards the sound of rustling and disgruntled cursing.

Annabelle stopped suddenly behind a large oak tree staring at the scene in front of her, a  girl whom she could only assume was her age stood frightened but in a strong stance, two plaits resting on her shoulders, the bright red of her hair was beautiful, the kind of colour you wonder how could be so bright. The contents of the girl's basket were spilt across the forest floor, books with dirt kicked onto them and a singular apple had rolled in between the girl and one much taller boy who stood over her with a wicked grin plastered onto his face, his pale skin did no favour to the blonde hair and strong face which projected danger.

"What's the matter stray? Blythe not here to protect you?" He moved closer to her, his eyes darting to a tree branch near his foot. Another flash of fear across the girl's face appeared before he picked it up and continued to slowly walk towards her, leaves crunching beneath his black boots. Annabelle gasped moving forward the sound of a snapping branch beneath her alerting both people in front of her presence. The boy stepped back examining Annabelle, "who-"

"Sir, if you could be so kind as to drop the stick and take a step back from her I will consider not running back quicker than you can say 'jail' to inform my uncle whom you may know as the head officer of the county that a disgruntled looking boy of this town is assaulting girls in the woods."
The boy scoffed but Annabelle watched as a glint of anger washed over his face and fear flickered through his eyes, "Miss...you better walk-" But Annabelle remained still tilting her head, stopping him mid-sentence. She learnt that tactic from her mother, the one Annabelle was familiar with due to its frequency in receiving, as it was often the threatening response to Annabelle showing any slight discomfort with a certain dress that her mother picked out for her, such as the ruffles irritating her skin or the shoes being too small on her feet. Any sign of irregularity or questioning resulted in this look. Harsh eyes squinted and brows slightly furrowed enough to form unease in whoever it was aimed towards, and then that the head tilt to the right which sealed an unspoken question, 'do you really want to continue with what you are doing right now?'. And for once Annabelle was glad for that slight resemblance between her mother and her looks, he analysed the look before something clicked in his head to drop the branch and grunt in frustration, but he still dared look over to the fox-like girl, "This isn't over Anne" and just like that he was gone, the tension in the air fading. Annabelle bent down to collect the scattered items, placing her own basket to the side, she felt the rush of adrenaline quickly fading and that nauseating wave of exhaustion hit her as it so often would. "Never in a million years did I imagine having the pleasure of meeting an angelic being like you who would come frighten away the likes of Billy Andrews." Annabelle couldn't help staring at the girl with wild eyes and unlike herself, freckles that only accentuated her beauty. "Not an angel I just detest bullies"