Taint (Formerly Claimed) Dark Midnight 1

Chapter 24

*thanks for the support!  I'm really groggy at the moment (comming down with something I think, but I really wanted to get this chapter out) so I *may* have posted the wrong version of this chapter by accident.  If I did, I'll check back later tonight and fix it

Thanks!*

The rest of the day just went downhill from there.

            It was like the siezure had shattered through the calm like a hand smashing through a sheet of glass; everything was jagged, and sharp, and stung.  

            She was late for gym class.

When the teacher demanded a reason why, all she could think of to explain away the bruise was that she forgot some stuff in her locker and hit her chin off the door.

            It was a plausible lie, but earned her a detention anyway.

            Every class after that was pure torture. 

She flinched at every flicker of light. 

Every glimpse of the color blue had her shaking.   

This time not even the guilty thoughts of Eliot were enough to keep away the fear, and not even the warmth of his jacket could work its magic on her mood. 

Once again the school day became just something else to suffer through and dread. 

            It was only when everyone began to scatter around her that she realized the bell had rung and the day was finally over.

            Which only hastened the occurrence of another dilemma.

She only thought of it as she got her bag from her locker and started to shuffle toward the flow of students rushing from the front door;

Would he be there?

Would he make good on his promise...or maybe it was more like a threat?

            The back of her neck tightened with anticipation as she joined the rush of kids streaming out into the parking lot. 

            Somehow, she gathered enough nerve to glance out among the sea of hand-me-down pickup trucks and battered used cars…

Where one sleek vehicle was conspicuously absent. 

He wasn’t there. 

Or, at least, there wasn’t a shiny black car in sight. 

            Miriam figured she should have been relieved.  She should have hiked her backpack over her shoulder and marched across the parking lot with her head held high, like she usually did. 

           But, somehow, as she stood dazed on the edge of the curb and watched the other kids hustle into cars, she felt…disappointed.

The walk home wasn’t long—but suddenly, it seemed a lot more daunting as the bitter chill bit at the bared skin of her shins and the wind whipped up the edges of Eliot’s coat.  

            It was stupid.

She was stupid.  Stupid for letting him get to her—get inside her head. 

She should have known better; it was always better not to rely on anyone.

Never to trust.

Eliot with his creepy red eyes, could just join the long list of people who had disappointed her in some way or the other, she thought gritting her teeth as she stepped out onto the icy street.