Wicked Lovely

Chapter One: Nightmares & Chocolate

Flashes of yellow fangs dripping with fresh blood were all that I could gather from my nightmare last night. A chill had settled into my bones and didn't look like it planned on leaving anytime soon. I huddled myself into a ball, trying to create warmth and eradicate the dream at the same time. I reached for Mr.Snuggles, the teddy bear that is all worn and torn now but was once brighter and softer when my dad had first given it to me. It contained many memories and gave me a small sense of security, which was needed and well appreciated every night- especially since it's been about two weeks now since I last heard from my parents.

Everything had gone to shit so fast. I would say I had lived a very comfortable life up until now. Nice, big house full of warmth and happiness, loving parents who doted on me and who always took an interest in my life, money stored away for my college tuition so that I might have a bright future...But now I felt lost and abandoned. I wished I hadn't had that fight with them. I wish I would have just listened and not thrown a temper tantrum. After all, they only wanted to look out for me and do what was best. After the fight, I had stormed up to my room and slept my problems away, only to wake up in the morning to find them gone without a trace. At first, I didn't fret much. It wasn't uncommon for them to both be out at the same time- be it work or some other errand. So I had waited until dinner time rolled around and there was still no sign of them. I called and texted repeatedly all to no avail. I called the police but they wouldn't do much until 48 hours. Now it's been 336 hours and I still haven't heard jack-shit.

An obnoxious symphony of birds chirping along with an electric keyboard went off and jerked me out of my one track mind. I clambered for my phone to shut it off and sighed before getting out of bed. It was another day where I had to pretend that everything was normal. Sure, a lot of the kids at school had caught on by now but they at least had the curtesy to try to not stare too hard at me. It was my last year of high school and I wanted try to finish it somewhat mentally sound, so I kicked my ass into gear to get ready. If I looked better on the outside, maybe I would feel better on the inside.

I scavenged my room for pants, as my bedroom floor did a lovely job of keeping all my clothes ready for me until I needed them. If mom was here right now, she would lose her mind scolding me to not be such a slob. That was partly the reason why I had let my room get so messy. A part of me thought that maybe, if it got bad enough, it would somehow summon my mom in a fit of disbelief and outrage. So far it hadn't worked yet but we'll see how it goes. A dark grey pair of skinny jeans caught my eye so I snatched them off the ground and began the laborious process of yanking them up my thighs. I wasn't fat, per se. Was I obese? Nah. Did I get winded from walking up a slight inclined hill? Sure. I certainly had a hard time liking what I saw in the mirror though so I grabbed a large black hoodie to cover up the little pudgy bits that wanted to stick out in my t-shirt. Somedays I felt less confident than others. Today was one of those days it seemed. I'm still gonna grab a rather unhealthy chocolate muffin for breakfast though.

My old 85 Buick chugged and sputtered its way to the school, but the trusty girl still made it and that's what counts. I patted the hood lovingly and made my way to my first period. Cramming the muffin in my mouth, I tried digging out my phone from my backpack while simultaneously dodging my fellow students in order to avoid skin contact because that was a pet peeve of mine.

"You're playing hard to get this morning, aren't ya?" I whispered into my bag, still searching for my phone. I began to get frustrated at the possibility that I left it at home and thus would have to suffer without music for the day. I started searching more aggressively until I got slammed by a very heavy, wooden door. The impact knocked me back and made me stumble and clamber to the floor. I groaned and put a hand up to my now probably red forehead. Laughter ensued as students filtered past, not one of them offering to help me up. Cool. Gotta love these people.