~~~Ellie~~~
He stares back at me like some wounded animal, but I never expected how numb I'd feel.
"Leave?"
"Yes, leave."
"Where would I go?"
"...Not my concern."
Jude blinks, stunned with how withdrawn I could be.
"Now you understand. How shitty it feels," My voice falters slightly.
"Fine," Jude turns and heads out my bedroom door into the darkened hallway. I regret it almost immediately, an alien ache settling in my gut. But then the overwhelming urge to cry starts to compete alongside bashing Jude in the side of his head. I rush to my bedroom window where he now treks down my driveway and on to the deserted road. His hair is dusted with white quickly and he passes slowly under one streetlight onto the next.
But I'm empty, even more so than before. I need answers. So I dash down the staircase and grab my winter coat, snatching Mom's leather gloves from the banister as I choke over a thick scarf. My feet secured within my snow boots, I tip toe over to the patio door and drudge through the backyard until I'm out on the driveway and down the street. Jude's already left but there aren't any footprints left behind. I reach the stop sign at the end of the road and look frantically to each side. His house is to the right, but why would he go back.
I swallow gingerly as I remember the creek that runs to the left. Past a few blocks, along the back entrance to the neighborhood is where an old creek ran through the forest. So I start a brisk pace, hoping to catch up with him along the way. But there's nothing and no one in sight, and only one streetlight remains lit. Every house is dark, the sidewalks slowly caking with fresh snow as the wind carries more of the powdery demon.
I cover my mouth from the harsh bite of the cold, breathing raggedly into my scarf as I near the end of the development. Jude is nowhere to be seen and my eyes sting from the wind, brimming frequently with tears as I keep onward. I just need to know. Then all of this will be over, all of this will be laid to rest just as Jude was. I'm selfish in that sense, I guess. If he really is real, if I'm not on the brink of a complete breakdown, then I'll take this chance if it's the only one I've got.
And there he is, just turning the corner past a mailbox into the covered entrance.
"Jude!" I shout, and suddenly my legs begin to pump faster.
I dash after the receding figure, pulling down my scarf to free my lips. I pant as I dig my toes into the snow and lunge farther than before.
"Jude!"
He can't hear me or see me for that matter, but I make it to the bend in the road until I'm faced with the darkness of the long drive that extends ahead. It's eerily quiet, the naked trees curving inward to form an arch over the pot-hole laden asphalt. I squint, trying to pin point Jude down the road but I've lost him once more.
"Jude!" I nearly scream now, and I beg that I hadn't just manifested this entire night.
"Ellie?"
He's behind me, and I whip towards his voice where his eyes rest worried.
"I-I couldn't let you go without knowing."
"Knowing what?" His cheeks are flushed red from the cold, can he feel it?
"What did I do?"
His eyes fall, lips parted slightly in defeat. His whole figure slumps slightly and so I lean forward, placing a hand on his cheek.
YOU ARE READING
Trace
Teen Fiction"Jude." "Yea?" "Look at me." I sigh and turn back to Ellie, hands shoved in my pockets as the tingling grows more intense. She stares eerily into my face, her skin blanching as her lower lip begins to quiver. "What's wrong," I swallow. "Why are you...
