Safe

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

At school that Monday, I felt absolutely horrible. All I could think about was my attacker, whose shadowy face I saw everywhere. He peered around corners, hid behind dumpsters... he never disappeared. The clothes I was wearing were most likely dirty, and I hadn't even bothered with doing my hair. A shiver crept down my spine; I felt like I was being watched. My head snapped around, and I glared around me, seeing no one. No one, that is, except for Drake. He was leaning against the school, with a cigarette clamped between two of his fingers. He was staring directly at me, completely ignoring his friend, who was talking quickly and gesturing wildly. I nodded at him, and continued walking.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you looked at it, I didn't have any friends to bother me. My lab partner in biology, Brianna, asked me if something was wrong, but I quickly brushed her off and she thankfully didn't ask any me more questions. She was the only one who suspected anything, or at least, she was the only one who cared enough to ask.

I knew that my appearance matched my terrible mood, but I didn't really care. The bags under my eyes were impossible to cover up with make up, anyway. I had stayed up until four in the morning, staring out my now locked window, as if I expected to see him there. I even found myself wishing Drake was there, but I quickly dismissed that as my tired imagination getting away from me.

At lunch, I sat in my usual chair in the corner of our school's huge cafeteria. In recent years, it had been built on to, due to our city's rapid growth in 2010. I always sat closer to the older part of the cafeteria, because it looked ugly, so people avoided it. I made sure to keep my back against the far wall, ensuring that no one could sneak up behind me.

I pulled my knees up under my chin, and glared at my spotted, blue lunch box, which sat undisturbed on my table.

"What are you looking at, punk?" I asked it, glaring.

"Nothing, no need to be rude," it replied. I opened my mouth to reply, but then I realized that I was talking to my lunch box... and it was talking to me! I always knew I was crazy. At least now I had someone to talk to.

"I'm sorry, that was mean. I'm Alexis, but you can call me Lexi. What do I call you?" I said politely.

"Well, you normally call me Drake," came his reply. I looked up and saw a laughing Drake to my left. I blushed when I realized how stupid I was to actually believe that my lunch box was talking to me.

"Shut up!" I ordered. "And leave me alone."

Drake straddled a chair, and scooted up next to me, completely ignoring the second part of my sentences. I wondered why he was here, instead of with his usual friends. I wasn't too familiar with them, but Drake was usually with the same group of guys after school, and during lunch. They were all a bunch of troublemakers.

"I'm sorry," he smiled.

"I told you that you can't talk to me anymore. Remember what I said about your eyes? Or did you just decide that you don't need the ability to see anymore?"

"Yo, Drake!" one of his friends yelled. "What are you doing with that freak?"

"Shut up, Wyatt!" Drake yelled, venom seeping into his words. "How are you holding up so far?" he asked, turning back to me.

I didn't bother replying, I just put my forehead down on my knees, which were still under my chin, and stared at the darkness. I refused to speak to him.

"Come on, tell me. I'm a great listener."

"If I tell you, will you leave me alone?"

"Sure."