Forbidden

~Chapter One~

If you've read this far, I thank you oh so much. I'll update whenever I can, I promise you. Vote, comment, thank you! Seriously, just that one little person who has faith in me will keep me going. ;-) Thank you, thank, thank you! I am your new best friend!

BTW, that person on the right >>>>>yup, you guessed it. That there is what I would like Meaghan to look like. Any ideas for an actress who should play her? Leave it in my comments if you do! :-)

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~Chapter One~

“River!” Meaghan ran up to my car window, followed by her cohorts, Hayley and Jenna. “Oh my God, are you okay? It’s all over the school!” She began to feel up my arms, her hands running over the noticeable crescents on them. Meaghan yanked them away after a shocked moment, clasping them to her mouth. “Are those knife wounds?”

            “Yeah,” I admitted, groaning inwardly as I got out of my car. Here we go. “Yeah, but I’m fine, Megs, really.” When Hayley and Jenna unhappily stepped forward to voice their condolences, Meaghan waved them off.

            “Guys, don’t overwhelm him,” she scolded. “River’s just been through a tragic accident. I mean, really, don’t you think…”

            I gladly faded away from the conversation, though Meaghan kept a tight hold on my arm. The voice came into my mind again. I hadn’t heard it since last week, when that crazy thug had chased me and nearly killed me. Surprisingly, I missed it. I missed hearing the voice worrying about ridiculous things that I could take care of myself. But…somehow, I knew that the voice had saved me from getting murdered, though I couldn’t understand how hallucinations could save my life. Had it ever happened before? To anyone? Nevertheless, I was glad I had gotten rid of it.

            “…River?” I turned to look down at Meaghan’s big blue eyes. They were full of worry, which somehow annoyed me, for an unknown reason. “You okay? I mean, you weren’t listening to us at all.”

            Irritated, I roughly shook off her arm. Never mind the worried thing. Meaghan was only worried about herself. Apparently, if I wasn’t listening, it signalized that she wasn’t important to me anymore. And not being important to one of the most popular guys in school? Meaghan wasn’t having it. “Meaghan, I’m fine,” I assured her. “You’re worrying about nothing!”

            “But—but River—you could’ve been killed!” Meaghan protested.

            “But I wasn’t,” I quickly pointed out. “Trust me, everything is A-Okay.” Meaghan’s eyes welled with tears, and I searched frantically for a way out of her “Poor Meaghan” act. “Hey, I’m going to go talk to Brock and Ethan. I’m sure they want to know I’m okay, too.”

            Meaghan nodded. “I’ll catch up with you three later,” she said. She turned to Hayley and Jenna. “C’mon, girls, give him some space.”

            As they sashayed away, I groaned. This was going to be a long week. Already everyone was sending me sympathetic looks, and eyeing my scars with pity that I didn’t need. I felt like screaming, “I’m fine! Just go away! Disappear! Get lost!” I rolled my eyes as I stalked over to my friends. I knew that I would never be able to do that. It just wasn’t me.

            “River!” Brock called as I approached. “Good to see ya, man!”

            “Get a load of the scars!” Ethan teased. “Macho man!”

            I chuckled, feeling at ease. “Glad to see that you were worried about me.” 

            “Meaghan worries about you enough for the entire frickin’ school,” Ethan explained, shrugging. “It’s like you’re her damn boyfriend or something.”