Saving the Girl With Lilac Hair

Camila

Wednesday, September 27th

Camila's House

8:05 p.m

I watch as Austin walks down the front steps of my house. I close the door and sprint up stairs ignoring my mom yelling for me to go to the kitchen. I run into my room and grab my laptop. I go out my window and climb up onto my roof where it's safe enough for me to sit. I turn on the laptop and accept the incoming call. 

"Hey" Chris says through the computer. The only way we can talk to each other is through Skype but I can't complain, it's better than nothing. We made an agreement to talk to each other everyday at eight. 

"Hey" 

"So how was school?"

"It was alright except.." my voice trailed off at the end. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to tell Chris about being paired up with Austin for a school project. 

"Except..?" 

"It doesn't matter. So how was school for you?" I tried my best to change the subject. I didn't want him knowing yet, I knew how he felt about Austin. 

"Well I'm known as the new kid. Besides that I found a girl I like. And I mean it this time" I looked at his face as saw that he was serious. I sighed in response. 

"Do you know if she likes you back?" 

"Well I'm working on it" he said as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. 

"No way."

"What?" he asked worried. 

"You're scared to talk to her"

"No I'm not" he said defensively.

"I never thought I would see the day Chris was scared to talk to a girl" I threw my head back as I laughed. 

"You know what. I'll talk to you tomorrow" Chris said angrily and ended the call. 

I shut my laptop and got off the roof. I put my laptop down on my bed and saw something on my desk. I walked up to it, to see that there was a cookie left on a plate. There was a piece of paper next to it. 

'You can have the last one'

I shook my head and gladly ate the cookie. I grabbed the plate and took it downstairs to the kitchen. I walked in to see mom and dad talking. I put the plate in the sink and tried to walk out of the kitchen quietly, but I almost knocked down a vase. 

"Sorry" I said sheepishly. 

"It's fine dear, but since you're already here. Your father and I need to talk to you" mom said as she pulled out a chair for me to sit in. I quietly sat in the seat and looked at them. 

"Well what your mom and I have been meaning to tell you is that we have a business trip that we need to go on. We're not sure how long it's going to last" dad said as he looked at mom and then at me. 

"When?" I ask.

"Tomorrow morning" 

"What?!" I yell as I stand up pushing my chair back. 

Wow Camila. Can you be any more dramatic?

"Why are you two barely telling me now?"

"Well we weren't sure if we had to go but we just got the call" dad said as he stood up from his chair as well as mom. 

"Whatever" I left the kitchen ignoring their yelling. 

I run up to my room as fast as my feet could carry me. My heart is racing rapidly as I slam my room door shut and lock it. I walk up to my desk with my binder in hand and sit on the chair that Austin sat in a few hours ago. I glide my fingers across the sides of the binder as I open it for the last time. I look through pictures of me with someone I left in the past. These pictures were everything to me before, but my perspective changed when I looked at myself from the outside. I shut the binder and place it in the bottom draw of the desk. I lock it and hid the key in another draw. 

I connect my phone to it's charger and walk towards my bed when I hear it ring. I stop in my tracks and stand still for a moment. The phone's ringtone bounces off the walls of my room. I turn around and walk back towards my desk. I pick up my phone and see an unknown number. I stand still has I feel my heart pound against my chest. I look at the draw where I locked the binder in. I begin to feel lightheaded, closing my eyes to try to regain my composure. 

It can't be him. He's in the past and I'm in the future. 

I drop my phone back onto my desk and retreat back to my bed. I crawl under my covers and lie still as the phone continues on ringing. Eventually it dies down for a few minutes but it rings again. I don't even bother getting up because I know it's going to be the unknown number. I stare at my phone from my bed. Startled by the knock on my door, I throw the covers over my head. 

"Camila" I hear my mom's voice from the other side of the door. Although I'm still mad at them for telling me not even 24 hours before that they're leaving for a while, hearing her voice drives away the fear I felt. It reminds me that they helped me before and that both, mom and dad, are there for me. I try to say something but the words get caught in my throat. I open my mouth but no words seem to find their way out. "Good night" is the last thing I hear before the hallway lights are shut off and I hear her footsteps move further and further away from my door. 

Throughout the night I laid in bed hearing my phone ring nonstop. I thought about getting up and turning off my phone but I couldn't find the strength in me to get up. My parents were leaving to who knows where in a few hours and I would be alone in this house. My thoughts begin to wander into memories that I thought I had buried deep within my mind but they seem to have resurfaced at the worst time possible. I stare at the ceiling and try my best to fall asleep but the feeling never comes. I never feel my eyes get heavy to the point they feel like anchors pulling my eyelids shut. 

Then it stops. The phone stops ringing and silence fills the room. It's so silent I can hear my heart beating in chest. I got up from my bed and walk towards my phone. The screen lights up more time and I see that it's five in the morning already. I hadn't slept at all and I had a feeling I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. Right under the time I see a message from the same unknown number. It read one word that made my world stop for a moment. 

Hi :)