He Led Me To Life

Chapter 13:

I awoke in the middle of the night, my hand throbbing painfully where it was wrapped tightly in the sheets. I groggily untangled myself, flipping around and shifting to a more comfortable position. I felt hot a stifled, so I sleepily flung the blankets off of myself before settling down to sleep again.

I felt like I hadn't slept at all, even though a quick glance at the clock informed me that it would be dawn in a couple hours. I felt restless and unable to fall asleep again, even though I felt tired enough to sleep several days through.

Laying there, trying to fall asleep, I suddenly realized how hungry I was. Eating the old pasta the night before felt years distant. I sat up and stretched for a long while before finally making my way downstairs to find something to eat. I also felt parched, so I grabbed a glass of water to drink while I search.

I eventually found an old-looking granola bar in the back of the pantry. I was skeptical, but I just shrugged and ate it anyways. It tasted okay.

Deciding it would be pointless to return to bed when I was now wide awake, I sat on the couch. The house seemed quiet, just like it had the night before. I started to wonder why Samuel hadn't replied to my texts. He'd said he would be free after homework. I also wondered why Amy had never brought up the topic of their planned discussion. I suddenly felt abandoned, like everyone had suddenly forgotten that I even exist, as if I was the only one in the entire world.

I curled up with my knees to my chest, trying to force the thought away. Samuel had simply been busy. Amy must have forgotten, because of the erratic way her brain seemed to work. My family was the easiest explanation of all, because I know for sure why they aren't talking to me. They don't support my decision. They probably wish I didn't exist.

A sudden, very horrible thought occurred to me. What if my family was telling Samuel to back off? What if they were making him stay away from me because they thought he was a bad influence, because of the way he'd led me to Jesus.

A chill ran up my spine. Surely they wouldn't do that? They couldn't be so mean. Even the thought that it might be true made tears form in my eyes, blurring my vision of the dark living room. I took a deep, shuddering breath. I would ask Samuel before I make any rash assumptions. He would tell me the truth, and then, once I know exactly what's going on, I can act on it. If my awful thoughts turn out to be correct, I can confront my family about it. The thought of all the stress that would come from that conversation made me shy away, but there was no way I was going to allow my family to do this.

I don't even realize or remember exactly when I fall asleep, but the next thing I know, I'm yawning awake on the couch. My heart skips a beat when I realize that it seemed very bright—later than I usually wake up.

A glance at the clock on the wall above the couch confirmed my suspicions, the bus would arrive in five minutes, and I wasn't ready in the slightest. I ran to my room to quickly change into the first clothes that my hand came into contact with when I reached into the dresser, and just a quick glance in the mirror, only enough to register that it was a coherent outfit, and I was bolting down the stairs again, almost tripping over myself in my haste.

The bus was at the stop, clearly about to take off. I ran down the street, thankfully arriving before it drove off again. I climbed on and took a seat next to Amy, in the usual row, catching my breath.

"Didn't you want to talk?" I ask, swallowing to ease the scratchy feeling in my throat.

"Yeah." She was bright eyed and bushy tailed, very unlike the way I felt, and must have certainly looked as well. "The reason Peter was distant was that he was applying for college, and his dad said he couldn't have money," she stopped for a second, heaving in a breath before she went on. "but his dad had promised the money, but apparently there was some financial crisis in their family or something, so he couldn't have the money, and he was getting really stressed because he didn't know where he was gonna get the extra money, and omg, look at that dog!!" she squealed the last part, pointing through the window at a fluffy golden retriever.

I laughed. "Yeah, it's pretty cute. And I'm glad it wasn't that big of an issue."

"Oh yeah, we're fine." She assured, twisting in her seat to keep eyes on the dog as the bus drove past.

I nodded, wondering if I should spill the beans about Samuel and I officially dating, but they were driving into the school parking lot, and I decided that Amy would make a big deal over it, and pester me with a million questions, and I didn't want that right before school started.

I made my way to my locker, grabbing my stuff before heading to class. It was apparently the only classroom I would have all day. I was looking forward to seeing Samuel again. It seemed like much longer than it really had been since I had last seen his luminous green eyes.

But when I got to class, the seat next to mine was empty. Samuel's sweet smile wasn't greeting me like it had for so many days.

I took a seat, willing to wait for a few minutes before jumping to conclusions, but minutes passed like years, and then the class started, and still no Samuel. Horrible thoughts immediately jumped into my mind. He wasn't coming because he wanted to avoid me. He was horribly injured and in the hospital, unable to contact me. My family was keeping him away, somehow managing to come up with a bad enough threat to even get him to skip school.

Whatever the reason, he wasn't there in the seat beside me.