Into The Woods

Chapter 16

Lark:
As soon as Suzette hung up on me I wanted to break my phone in half. I wanted to tell Chasity to leave because she was not supposed to be here. We weren't dating or anything, we were just going to prom together. I was happy that I didn't have to go to school tomorrow and I could stay at home all day and sulk. Tomorrow was Chasity's birthday and I had to go see her sister Faith and Faith's physco boyfriend Tyson. And also tomorrow I finally would get to see who that person was and why they were messing with Suzette and I.

I sat on the couch, imaginging prom if it were different. It would be great if I was going with the girl I actually loved and wanted to be with. I wanted to go and hang out with Porter, Jake, and Kendall. I even wanted Marin and Ava to be there because they are my friends and they make everything fun. To top it off Suzette could be there as my girlfriend and not as my nerdy best friend that everyone makes fun of.

I almost forgot that Chasity was there until she grabbed my hand and said "Lark, Where'd you go?"

"What?" I say and I blink a couple of times.

"You dissapeared on me for a couple of seconds there. What were you thinking about?" She asks?

"Prom. Prom is what I was thinking about and how it's going to be great. And how you didn't tell me tomorrow is your birthday." I say.

"How do you know tomorrow is my birthday?" She asks, but her voice sounds distant and guarded. Like she can't trust me. Which I totally understand but hey I can be a nice guy, most of the time.

"I guess Suze must have told me." I say.

"Oh well okay." She says.

A moment of silence goes by but as soon as I open my mouth to tell her to leave but she says "Suze isn't riding with us to prom anymore."

I can't hide my shock and hurt. But as soon as Chasity sees it her face darkens.

"W-w-w-why." I say struggling to get the words out.

"She just said she had someone else to go with." She says.

But I know better than that. Suzette wouldn't have the guts to ask someone else to go with her. She wouldn't even have anybody to ask which sounds really mean but I'm not trying to to be mean. I just feel really hurt right now. We were supposed to go together and she is taking this staying away from each other thing way to seriously. I didn't want to stay away from her. I wanted to look into her beautiful brown eyes forever.

"Well I was really looking forward to her going with us. Normally she would miss out on a dance but I thought she was really looking forward to going to prom with us." I say.

Chasity just breathes a "yeah" and she leans her head on my shoulder. I shudder and tense a little. I grab the remote to the T.V on my side. I turn it on and the screen lights up. It shows a reporter at our high school. I turn up the volume and the woman starts talking.

"Kendall Clark was reported missing by her boyfriend Porter King. She is eighteen years old and has been missing since she got home after school." She says.

A picture of Kendall shows up and her face is smiling on the screen. Her eyes are bright green and her dark hair brings out her eyes even more. My eyes burn with tears. But I hold them back. Guys aren't supposed to cry and I wasn't about to. I've known Kendall since 5th grade and we'd always been friends. Chasity grabbed my hand and squeezes. I lift my eyes to meet hers. Her eyes are glossed with tears which makes me want to slap her. She doesn't know Kendall and they were never friends. I honestly didn't even know why she was here.

"Chasity I need to be alone right now but I'll see you tomorrow." I say.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow." She says.

Before she leaves she kisses me hard and fast. She turns around grining, leaving me staring after her. I want to disinfect my mouth. I feel like I betrayed Suzette. I told her that she would be the last person I ever kissed and that didn't work out very well. I pick up the remote again and turn off the T.V. I get up off the couch and I hear my little brother start to cry. I open his door and he's standing up in his crib. There are tears falling down his face like a waterfall. I rush over and pick him up.

"Larken." he says.

"Hey Sky. You want to sleep in my room tonight buddy." I say.

He nods, his tears still falling. I kiss his forehead and he throws his arms around me. I whisper that everything's going to be alright. My mom is out with her friends and I didn't even think about him while Chasity was here. I walk through the doorway to my room and I lay my little brother on my bed. I pull down the comforter and I crawl underneath with him. He curls up to me and I pat his back.

"Sky do you wanna tell me what happened?" I ask him?

"Larken I dreamt about Suze. She was walkin over here to me and then there was red stuff everywhere. I saw a girl with blue eyes and she was coming toward me. She told me that she loved you Larken and that you would always be hers. But I didn't get it. I don't know what that meant." He says.

"It's okay Sky. You can go to sleep now. I love you." I say.

"Love you too Larken." He says.

I love how my little brother calls me by my full name. I hate my name. It's the worst name known to man. Who names their kid Larken. I wish my dad was here. He always makes things better. My dad is my best friend and we are really close. But then he left on his trip and now he's living in a different state. I sigh and pull the covers off of me. I get out of bed and pull the covers back over my little brother. I grab my phone as I make my way out the room and into the hallway. I tap Porter's name on the screen and he answers on the fourth ring.

"Hello." He says.

"Hey man. How are you?" I ask?

"I'm uh not good." He says and his voice cracks a little.

"I'm sorry man. I hope they find her. But I think they are going to find her. I have hope that they will." I say.

"Lark I really hope they do becuase I love her. I know this is kinda stupid to ask and I really don't want you to be mad at me. But Kendall was going to make me do it anyway. I want to take Suze to the prom so she's not going alone." He says.

I feel the wind knocked out of me and a twinge of jealousy. But I don't want her to go alone and Porter's a great guy. I think he would take care of her and make her have a great night. Porter starts to talk because of the long period of silence.

"Dude it's fine if you don't want want me to." He says.

"No dude it's fine. I want you to go with her. And she would take your mind off of Kendall and Suze is a great person to hang out with. I guess you'll see why I love her." I say .

I hear Porter gasp because I said I loved her.

"Okay well tell Suze I'll pick her up tomorrow." He says.

"Alright bye." I say.

I hang up the phone and walk back into my room. I slide back into bed with my brother. I close my eyes. I send Suze a quick text and then finally I turn my phone off for the night. I close my eyes, dreading for what tomorrow will bring.