Dawn

IV

EDITED BY Whitney

© 2014 by Mpule Clarke/cheeky_gurl

Chapter 4

Dawn-

I hastily got off of the bus and looked up and down the deserted street, ever since I got here I had this itching feeling that someone was watching me and the fact that my aunt lived in the suburbs made it worst. Two years and I still wasn't accustomed to the well populated area. I could've sworn I saw something shift from the corner of my eye and it only made me scurry faster across the road. It was just a cat Dawn. I scolded myself and started my five minute walk to home.

Groaning I shook off my shoes at the door and let my eyes adjust to my aunt's new paint job, neon isn't even strong enough a word to describe the orange- orange of all colours!

"Mausi?!" I yelled and passed the plastic covered furniture into the kitchen where I heard a lot of shuffling.

"Yes Dawn?" my aunt called back in her thick accent, "You home ready?"

Her English was poor, unlike my parents who were eager to learn, she could just care less.

"Yah," I replied leaning against the door frame then I soon realised it was wet with freshly coated oil paint, "Ugh."

"Oops!" I heard her exclaim along with a soft thud. She stood up rubbing the top of her head animatedly with an unlit cigarette protruding between her fingers; such a nasty habit she had. Her fading red hair was tied up, her clothes unkempt and splattered with paint of many different colours, other than that she looked serene... almost happy.

"I'm just going to...," I trailed off gesturing upstairs at my room.

She nodded her head multiple times and waved me off "Dinner in fridge and I going out when done."

She painted the upstairs neon yellow. She painted whenever her moods were significant. Like now, she got her twentieth five, star rating just last night and she was over the moon about it.

Realising that I had a small smile on my face when I closed the door behind me, I let out a long breath. A lot sure has happened today.

That Daniel boy reminded me a lot of my Daniel... my Daniel I scoffed at that. It's been two years since I last saw Daniel. Two years since he told me he loved me-I bet he's moved on already. Two years since I ran away from him. I shuddered and reminded myself that I was not about to go into a state of depression all over again. The phone on the desk rang distracting me from my train of thought.

"Hello?" I answered quietly into the receiver.

"..."

"Hello?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"..."

I quickly hang up the phone. This has been happening for the past week but I don't like to think much of it.

"Ugh."

I shook off my pants and dropped onto my bed, enjoying the coolness of the room pooling around my warm legs. My mind ran on Daniel and his beaten up state, it actually made my pulse quicken thinking about him like that, thinking about who or what could've done that. Closing my eyes I exhaled softly and my mind shifted back to the first time I met my Daniel, it was around eight years ago at summer camp and all of us, the campers, had snuck out that night seeing as it was our last night there.

"Come on Dawn!" Rebecca one of my cabin mates exclaimed from outside on the pathway "It's literally our last night here and that cute older boy-what's his name again Emma?!"

"Daniel," Emma my other cabin mate whispered, I could literally hear the swoon and I rolled my eyes.

"Pleeeeaaaase Dawn!" she made a puppy dog face at me when she realised the fact that an admittedly handsome older guy would be engaging in our reckless activities would make me immediately want to go with them.

"There'll be candy" Emma cooed with a sly grin on her face.

"Illegal candy?" I asked biting my lip.

Emma and Rebecca both nodded their heads quickly with huge grins on their faces, they knew how badly I loved my candy, conflict involved and illegal.

"There better peeps," I muttered as I closed the cabin door behind me and strolled across the porch and down the steps towards them.

"Come on!" They groaned in unison, each grabbing one of my arms and started skipping down the pathway dragging me behind them until we reached the edge of the forest.

"Where are we going?" I asked when two girls and three guys passed between us. One of them looked back and flashed me a grin, his green eyes almost gleamed in the moon light, I think that was Daniel and I think I felt my stomach squirm as I looked away from him to Emma.

"To the lake," Emma started.

"Duh," Rebecca finished, I was surprised to think that they met each other two months ago.

"But the lake's that way," I point in the opposite direction to which we were heading, my eyebrows furrowed confused.

"That wouldn't make sense now would it, Dawn?" Emma asked raising an eyebrow at me making my ears get hot.

She was right going to that lake this late wouldn't make any sense, the camp directors will see and hear us and then send us back to our rooms with a scolding. This other lake was completely concealed by the thick forest surrounding it. Only the directors and the 'super elite campers' knew about it.

I fell into step behind them focusing on the giggling and the sound of footsteps.

There was a big circle of flash lights on the ground away from the shore line of the lake and I got the feeling that I was supposed to add mine to the pile.

"Where's the shitting candy Embecca?" that's what I call them whenever I'm too lazy to call them by their individual names.

"Over there," Rebecca pointed to a bag that was starting to be surrounded by silhouettes.

"Peeps are for creeps," I stood still and shivered when the low voice whispered in my ear but I quickly regained my wit.

"Speak for yourself," I spun around to be face to face with the same smiling green eyed boy from earlier

"Daniel," he put his hand out in a manner for me to shake it, his eyes met mine and his smile grew wider.

"What?" I asked smirking "like from the lion's den?"

He was full on grinning now.

"Dawn," I said easily, placing my hand in his.

"Glad to make your acquaintance sunrise girl," then before I could pull my hand away he brought it up to his lips- and I held my breath- and he placed a tender kiss on it before one of his friends pulled him away.

"See you around morning girl!"

....

The memories of that night were so vivid when they came back to me, I felt the same feelings all over again. I sighed to myself then smiled before opening my eyes to reality.