Heartbreaker

T W E N T Y N I N E

It wasn't a long walk from my house to the beach, only about ten fifteen minutes. It felt nice to go on a walk, clear your head. I don't think I've gone for a walk by myself, ever. It was nice though, for a while I was either too young, or in the stage where I had to go everywhere with my friends.

My toes hit the sand after I walk off the boardwalk. It was cool, and felt nice to dig my feet into. There weren't many people here surprisingly. But the sunset was super pretty tonight, all different sorts of colors seem to emit from it. It lit up the sky in a bright cherry orange color. It was beautiful.

I sit down not too close to the water, but close enough that I could still smell the salt. It was peaceful, I should really start coming here by myself more.

My eyes stay on the sky, watching the birds fly by, or taking in the different colors. It felt good to not have a thought about anything else besides what was in front of me. For the first time this week, I felt the anxiety dissipate from my body.

Once the sun had disappeared from the sky, I had decided it was time to walk back home. I didn't want to walk home alone in the complete dark, so I definitely had to pick up my pace this time.

I don't look at Emily's house this time when I pass it. But I could tell that there were people sitting out on her porch when I passed it. It was awkward no doubt, but this was the only way to my house. If there was another path I could've taken that wasn't directly through the dark woods, I would have taken it. Trust me.

You know when you can feel that someone's eyes were on you? That strong urge when your mind is begging you to turn around and see? Yeah, that's what was happening right now. They were all watching, and I wanted to start to run. It was so awkward.

But I walk past the tree's and so was eventually out of their sight. My body seemed to relax again. And I went back to focusing on nothing.

When I was almost home, it was pretty dark out. There was still a small amount of light in the sky, but because of the surrounding woods, it got dark quick.

The sounds of sticks snapping deep in the forest are what I heard every so often. It was almost like a pattern, I'd walk a little bit, and then sticks would snap again. Like something, or someone, was following me. I will admit I was a little freaked out, but I didn't want to let it show. I was almost home. I could see the front lights on my house up ahead.

Boom.

I jump, and quickly turn around. It was loud, and I had absolutely no idea what it was. There was no one, not an animal, or person in sight. It almost sounded like a log or something had dropped. But there was no one around.

Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. I was already working myself up. If no one was around, then there couldn't be any logical explanation as to why I heard that.

I turn back around and let out a scream. A woman was standing in front of me, bright curly red hair. I didn't expect her, and I let out a laugh after.

"I'm sorry," I say, trying to catch my breath. "I didn't see you there."

"That's alright honey," She says, "I tend to be really quiet when I walk."

This woman was gorgeous. She looked like she was in her late twenties, maybe. Porcelain pale skin, not a blemish in sight, she was toned, and had a good height on her too. I honestly couldn't spot a singular flaw about her. But when my eyes landed on hers, I realized that they were red. Not the color of her hair, but red like, blood.

I suddenly get very spooked.

"Have a good night," I say and try to walk around her.

But she touches my shoulder and spins me around. My heart starts to beat uncontrollably loud, she was a lot closer than she was before.