Stricken

Chapter 5

After I was left sitting in the grassy field alone outside of the school I texted Whitney. She showed up 3 minutes later. When she saw me she teared up and wrapped her arms around me asking me what had happened. She helped me to her car and now we were on our way to my house.

"I just don't understand how you managed to fall down the bleachers and bust your nose!" Whitney exclaimed. I had to come up with some explanation for the bloody nose. I couldn't tell her that my ex boyfriend had beat me up. She already felt sorry for me. If she knew, she'd go straight to the police and then everyone would know and then I'd be even more humiliated.

"It takes true talent Whit." I mumbled. I hated lying to her.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the hospital? You could've broken your nose!"

"I'm fine. It's just a bloody nose." And a horrific pain in my stomach, that I had left out from telling her.

"If you say so." Said Whitney as she drove up my driveway.

My house looked creepy, abandoned, and haunted just like it always did. Half of the white panels on the house had fallen off or where barely hanging on. Green vines snaked up the walls of the house. If you were standing really far away the house would appear to be painted white and green zebra, there were so many vines.

" You sure you wanna be home alone? I could give you company. I'm probably not gonna go back to school anyways." Whitney placed her hand on my shoulder.

" No it's okay, mom and dad should be getting home soon from visiting their friends. But thanks for taking me home." I smiled at her reassuringly before getting out of the car. She had a disappointed look on her face. I could tell how much she wanted to help and comfort me, but I turned her down.

I unlocked the front door and made sure to lock it back. I was relieved to be home. I had so much to think about... cry about. I still had blood all over my face and hands. It had even dripped down and gotten all over my white sweater. Oh well, I didn't like that top anyways.

I headed towards the shower, stripped off my clothes, and turned the water on hot. It felt good on my skin sending tingling sensations all throughout me.

I just couldn't believe todays events. First I saw sandy haired blue eyed boy, Landon. How in the world did he not have a scratch on him? That was impossible! I raked my head thinking of ways, but it came up empty. No one, no one can heal that fast. It was simply not possible. Had I imagined everything the night before? Did I fall asleep outside the club and have another nightmare? No. I know what I saw. I just didn't know how to explain it.

And the note he had given me.

Protect it, keep it safe. If they find out you have it, they will kill you.

He must've snuck the feather into my bag the night before. So when he said 'they' was he referring to the 4 men that had attacked him? Why did they want this feather so much? Did it belong to a rare bird and was worth a lot of money? It all just didn't make since.

And then there was the whole melt down with Jason. I couldn't believe the last two months was all a lie, but when I think back to all the time me and him spent together, it actually made sense. He started talking to me in our 7th period together. He had never talked to me before. Of course I was just in total shock a cute and popular guy was talking and flirting with me, it should've crossed my mind that it was a joke.

Jason was my first boyfriend. My first kiss. And I had thought of him as my first love. It was a simple relationship. Hang out at school in the hallways, text cute messages, go watch him play football on fridays, and have date night saturdays. Nothing too serious, but when he told me he loved me, I said it back. I thought I did, but I'm the type of girl that is inlove with the idea of love. And that blinded me from seeing his true colors, I was so caught up that I could possibly be inlove.

Jason had always been so gentle, I had never seen him mad. I had no idea what happened to him today. It was like he was a completely entirely different person. The Jason I knew would never, never even think about hitting me. I looked down at my bare stomach and felt a little nauseous when I saw the ugly browning baseball size bruise. I hated him. How could he do this to me?

A loud knock on the door brought me back to reality. Mom and dad must be home, I thought. "Hey Mom. Dad." No one answered. Must've not heard me over the shower.

I sunk back into my thoughts. The thing that had got to me the most was the boy who had tackled onto Jason and saved me from him. Where'd he even come from? And how'd he and Jason disappear so fast? I looked away from them for 10 seconds then poof they were gone. What the crap is going on in this messed up world?

And the boy in black. I knew him. I don't know how, but I knew him. He was beautiful. He couldn't have had better features. He was frightening, but alluring. You'd think I'd remember seeing a boy like that?

What was going on in my life? Just awhile ago did I find out I was adopted. I was already in a bit of a mental stage before all this stuff happened the past two days! I didn't need any more reason to be stressed out.

A let out a long sigh and dragged my hands over my face. I turned off the faucet and wrapped a towel around my body. The room was foggy from all the hot water. I opened the door and walked up the wooden creaky steps to my bedroom. Technically my bedroom was the attic, but it looked like a normal room. It was the only room upstairs.

I made it to my room and froze. My large rectangular window was slid all the way open. The window had been jammed shut for as long as I can remember. I quickly tossed the thought aside, dad must've finally fixed it for me!

I threw a robe on and wrapped the towel that was on my body in my hair. I ran downstairs and bust into my parents room to thank dad for fixing the window. My parents room was empty. That's weird I thought they were home? They must've left to go somewhere, I thought.

I scurried back upstairs and checked my phone. I had a text from mom. I opened it:

Sorry sweets got hung up in West Virginia with a bad lightning storm and flooding. Looks like we'll have to stay the night at a hotel. You may spend the night with Whitney or have her over so you don't have to spend a second night alone. Love ya! Xoxo

Fear rose up in my body as I read the message. I thought about the knock on the door and the open window.Someone is in my house! I stopped breathing, trying not to make a sound. Someone is in here! What do I do? What if it's Jason, what if he came to apologize or hurt me again? What if it's the four men here to take that creepy feather?

I decided to make a run for it. Down the stairs, out the door, down my drive way, there was a house about a little over half a mile down the 2 lane. Just as I was about to take off I noticed a piece of paper laying on my nightstand. It hadn't been there before I went to shower. I slowly reached for it my heart beating loud in my chest. It was a folded up piece of notebook paper. I struggled unfolding it my body trembling in fear. I opened it and read the message written in bad hand writing.

Abreille, meet me tonight at the old abandoned Brook Feilds playground at 12 sharp. I'll give you some answers. DO NOT bring the feather. Come alone and tell no one, or there might be trouble.
-Landon